WELLBEING


IS YOUR UNIFORM FIT FOR PURPOSE?


The first ever National Uniform & Equipment Survey reveals uncomfortable truths


Our uniforms are more than just clothing. They are the outward symbol of policing – authority stitched into fabric, visibility woven into every fibre, and the protective layer that officers hope never to rely on but so often must. But what happens when that very uniform – designed to safeguard and support – instead causes pain, restricts movement, and even damages health? That is the uncomfortable truth laid


bare by the first-ever National Uniform & Equipment Survey, published this summer, which paints the most detailed


30 | POLICE | OCTOBER | 2025


picture yet of what it feels like to wear the kit that defines British policing. Led by Dr Camilla De Camargo and Dr Stephanie Wallace from Lancaster


“Years of wearing this kit have reshaped my back and neck.”


University Law School, in partnership with Dr Sahrish Khan of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) and supported by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the


survey collated views from more than 20,800 officers and staff across all 43 forces of England and Wales. The scale of the response makes this the first truly national perspective on police uniforms – and the results are difficult to ignore. More than half of respondents (56 per cent) reported a negative experience of wearing their uniform,


compared with just 20 per cent who described their experience as positive. Almost two thirds (64 per cent) said it actively restricts their movement, making everyday tasks such as running, climbing,


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