Sir – In the edition of March 17, you printed a photograph of a police operation at Oxford station. The scene encapsulated the decline in the standard of police uniform and appearance.
Here we have shaven-headed individuals, dressed in black with cargo trousers tucked into combat boots. They look like paramilitary riot police in some South American country.
What has happened to the bobby with his helmet and shirt and tie who was a symbol to the world of what a policeman should be only a short time ago.
Police uniform and appearance is too important an issue to be left to the personal choice of the Chief Constable of the Thames Valley and her management team. It is to be hoped that the new Police Commissioners, when they appear, will restore some decency to the appearance of the force.
Paul Hornby, Oxford
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