Police chiefs will spend £15,000 creating "ethnically diverse" mascots after an officer criticised a model for being too male and white. The uniformed mascot, known as PCSO Steve, was created by the Metropolitan Police to visit primary schools.
| Not to be confused with the Army of Steve, hrrrmmph. |
The comments sparked a row with some claiming the criticism was taking political correctness too far. However, senior officers said they would invest £15,000 in the design and production of three new characters.
In a written response to the London Assembly, Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said staff from the force's Diversity™ unit were brought in to help create the costumes. "These characters will be more representative of London's population and the diverse range of police personnel," he said. "The choice of characters will allow the concept of a Safer Neighbourhoods team to be presented to young children as well as delivering an important message about the different roles of PCSOs and constables."
The PCSO Steve costume was based on the Sutton borough police community support officer Stephen King. The character, paid for by a £1,000 deal with a plumbing firm, proved popular at schools. But one sergeant said an Asian colleague could not wear the costume because it had short sleeves.
In a letter to the police in-house magazine The Job published today, an officer said the row could damage relations with the public.
Pc Geoff Parker, who works in Islington, said: "We seem to be taking the issue to the extreme. We need to take a sensible approach to this."
The project has now been renamed "Police Pals" and new versions of the costumes - including male and female regular officers - will be ready early next year. One features a woman PCSO, named Sunita.