The knitted policeman is a type of police officer who is trained to be on the lookout for crime in the community and to stop criminals.
In some instances, police officers wear the uniform of their community in a bid to protect them from the dangers posed by the local community.
Knitted policemen have the distinction of being one of the most controversial officers to wear the badge, and their appearance has been criticised in recent years for its perceived marginalisation of women.
When asked about their reasons for wearing the uniform, knit policeman David Leeming told the ABC’s ABC New South Wales program he didn’t know why he did it, and he didn´t feel he had any choice but to wear it.
“It´s been a very, very tough job for me and my family,” he said.
“I have no choice but.”‘
I wear the shirt’: ‘I wear knitted cop uniform’After the ABC contacted the NSW Police Union, a spokesperson said the officer was not wearing the official uniform but “knitted cop” because the police union didn’t want to be associated with the term.
But in a statement to the ABC, the union said the knittled policeman is “an officer of the union who wears the uniform to help protect members and to show respect for the community”.
“The officer is a member of the NSW State Police and has a duty to uphold the law and the community,” the union statement said.
In the interview with the ABC he also spoke about his “laboratory of ideas” and what it was like to be a knitted policewoman.
“If I had to describe the feeling of knitted, knit policemen I would say it is like a sponge soaking wet, and then you get to the water, and it just kind of takes on a life of its own,” he told the program.
“It really has been a life changing experience for me, but I can tell you I have had so many good experiences with the knit policeman, I love working with them.”
Mr Leeming said the idea for the uniform came from a group of people who wanted to get away from “the stereotype of knits” as a whole.
“We didn’t think we had any options,” he explained.
“You know, knit officers in the states and you know in Australia have been doing this for generations, and we don’t even know what it is.”
Mr Sexton, the police chief, told the broadcaster his department had seen a rise in crime over the past decade.
“Knitted officers in our department have been involved in solving serious crimes, protecting the community, and protecting the public,” he added.
He also said the police force was working to recruit more officers from Indigenous communities.
“The police have to be more visible in terms of their presence in the communities,” he continued.
Police union chief says officers should be able to wear knit uniforms, but he is not ‘tolerating’ it’ He said the “knits” uniform was “not acceptable” to wear, and the police would “look at other ways to address the issue”.
“We are working with the NSW Government to bring in more knit policemen, and this is a very important issue, to address this issue,” he acknowledged.
The ABC understands the NSW Department of Community Safety is working on a report into the issue.
A spokesman for the Department of Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation said the department would be discussing the issue further with the union.
‘It’s time to get over the stigma’ An officer with the Queensland Police Union told the Australian newspaper the union would be “working with the police” to “address the issue of what it means to be an Aboriginal policeman”.
“It’s very important for the police, and Aboriginal people, to be able wear knits, but we don´t want to feel that we are marginalised or excluded, and that the police are doing something wrong,” said the union’s secretary-general, Ian Watson.
Mr Watson also told the BBC that the NSW police were working with police unions in Victoria and Queensland to develop a “stigma reduction strategy”.
“This strategy is about ensuring that people feel comfortable to wear these uniforms, and are encouraged to wear them,” he confirmed.
Victoria Police Chief David McLean said the officers were being treated fairly by the union and he would “support them”.
He told the Radio National Breakfast the union should be looking into ways to get more officers into the ranks.
“They should be getting more members into the uniform and hopefully more people will be able, and hopefully, there will be a better response from the union,” he suggested.
“There’s been a lot of complaints that the officers have been discriminated against.”
Topics:police,community-and-society,community,law-crime-and.justice,community.disputes-and.-problems,crime
