Description

This summer uniform in the linen dress style for female police officers was in use from 1965 until 1987 when it was replaced by the next generation uniform. It was the longest serving uniform. In the early 1960s, the number of female police officers burgeoned. Women joining the Force began to be attached to different units and specialised departments. They were no longer confined to office clerical duties and dealing with women and children. Their duties increasingly diversified to include directing traffic, patrolling in uniform, crowd management, criminal investigation, etc. A review of the uniform for female officers was initiated to design a uniform to meet the changing needs of their work that was both convenient and attractive.

This summer uniform consists of a beige linen open-neck dress, a beige cloth belt, skin tone stockings, black flat leather shoes, and a female bowler hat—named after the shape of the hat, which resembles a bowl for holding water. Although the uniform was aesthetically pleasing, the linen skirt wrinkled easily and the cut of the skirt was a little too snug, making it slightly awkward for female officers to move around. The uniform had only two chest pockets to hold items. Nevertheless, the pockets were not very practical due to the close-fitting design and the female bust line, so there was no place for female officers to store their notebooks when on duty. In those days, police officers wore a black lanyard and carried the police whistles in the left chest pocket, and female officers were no exception.

Since 1995, female police officers began to carry firearms, and their uniform was changed to an olive-green tunic with trousers. This lasted until 2004 when the uniform of female officers was changed to a light blue shirt (for Constables and Sergeants) and a white shirt (for Station Sergeants and Inspectors and above) and dark blue trousers.