page_title: Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
section_title: Uniform and equipment
hierarchical_section_title: Law enforcement in the United Kingdom / Operations / Uniform and equipment
caption_attribution_description: English: Metropolitan Police Ford Focus Incident Response Vehicle
context_page_description: Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most law enforcement is carried out by police officers serving in regional police services within one of those jurisdictions. These regional services are complemented by UK-wide agencies, such as the National Crime Agency and the national specialist units of certain territorial police forces, such as the Specialist Operations directorate of the Metropolitan Police.
  Police officers are granted certain powers to enable them to execute their duties. Their primary duties are the protection of life and property, preservation of the peace, and prevention and detection of criminal offences. In the British model of policing, officers exercise their powers to police with the implicit consent of the public. "Policing by consent" is the phrase used to describe this. It expresses that the legitimacy of policing in the eyes of the public is based upon a general consensus of support that follows from transparency about their powers, their integrity in exercising those powers and their accountability for doing so.
context_section_description: Uniforms, the issuing of firearms, type of patrol cars, and other equipment, varies by force.
  The custodian helmet which is synonymous with the "bobby on the beat" image is frequently worn by male officers in England and Wales (and formerly in Scotland), while the equivalent for female officers is the "bowler" hat. The flat peaked cap is worn by officers on mobile patrol and higher-ranking officers.
  Unlike police in most other developed countries, the vast majority of British police officers do not carry firearms on standard patrol; they carry an ASP baton and CS gas or PAVA spray. Officers are becoming increasingly trained in the use of an equipped with the TASER X2 as another tactical option.
caption: A typical Metropolitan Police response vehicle.
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