Police identification

Police forces around the world, such as this London police officer, have shoulder numbers so that individual officers can be easily identified. NSW police officers often wear no identification.

This officer's badge - AB 42 - identifies the officer individually. The "AB" denotes the police station at which the officer is based. An official report into London policing during a protest in 2009 said that "any lack of police identification is an inhibiter to accountability and generates a question mark about the control of staff. This is why, as the MPS [London Metropolitan Police Service] acknowledges, proper identification of all police officers is important, particularly when the use of force is a possibility." The report added that there was "no excuse for police officers failing to display identification" and that those who don't should be dealt with by their supervising officers "swfitly and robustly." NSW police fail to meet these standards.

This NSW police officer is wearing the small blue badge which police officers are required to wear by the Police Regulation 2008. Copwatch regards this as inadequate, as the writing on the badge is too small, and any attempt to get the details by staring closely at the badge may be interpreted by the officer as confrontational behaviour. It is also impossible to read the writing at night or when the officer is moving quickly, as would be the case if the officer were engaged in violence towards an individual.

Even so, police officers regularly fail to wear identification badges or - when it appears that the police will use force - remove their badges. It is routine for police officers to refuse to identify themselves if they are asked for their names. Photographing the police officer for later identification can lead to arrest or threatened arrest (see photographing police). Complaints about any of this will almost always lead to the police refusing to take any action and then for the Ombudsman's office to later state that taking no action is acceptable. Photographs of police misbehaving at protests have been returned to the complainant on the basis that without a name it is not possible to identify the police concerned, as there are over 15,000 police officers in NSW.

Copwatchers, often at risk to themselves, take photographs of police officers not wearing badges, in an attempt to identify officers at a later date. Police officers have threatened arrest of such people, without a legal basis. In one UK example, two women were held in detention for four days for asking a police officer for his identification.

Police not wear badges at Climate Camp protest: 13 July 2008
An example of the weakness of the Ombudsman's office in relation to following up police officers refusing to wear identification concerned the Newcastle Climate Camp protest on 13 July 2008. On 15 July 2008, Copwatch volunteers made a written complaint (ref C2008 / 5292) with police responding on the 12 November 2008, saying "Your correspondence has been recorded...[but] further investigation or enquiry in this matter is at this time declined..." No further explanation was given. The Ombudsman's office endorsed this court of action, saying in a letter of 27 November 2008 that "I am satisfied that that police have generally handled the complaint effectively and in a timely manner."

Similar complaints and inaction from the police and the Ombudsman's office has occurred in relation to police officers removing their badges during the the anti-Pope protest in July 2008 (ref:C2008/ 5360), an anti-Israeli protest in central Sydney on 29 December 2009 and an anti-Israeli protest on 18 January 2009.

Example 1

Many police officers at a protest on 18 January 2009 against Israeli action in the Middle East refused to wear identification badges. Here, a police officer from the Public Order and Riot Squad obscures his name tag (deliberately or otherwise) by a radio in his top pocket.

Example 2

The same officer? Another Public Order and Riot Squad officer with identification obscured. As police officers from the Riot Squad are similarly built, the wearing of sunglasses and caps makes them difficult to describe with accuracy unless identification is clearly visible. The poor design of uniform makes easy identification normally impossible.

Example 3

Another officer with identification obscured. This time, with a small fire- extinguisher style device containing a contaminant spray, which can be fired on people, causing intense pain.

Example 4

Another police officer not wearing an identification badge. The insignia on her shoulder shows that she holds the rank of Inspector. No police officer on the day was able to identify this police officer by name when asked by Copwatch volunteers. A complaint made to police led to a response that they were taking no action and with the Ombudsman's office approving that inaction (ref: C2009/335).

Example 5

This police officer refused to show his identification or to give his name. On taking a photograph of this officer, the Copwatch volunteer was threatened with arrest. A complaint about the threatened arrest (C2009/490) led to no action by police and this inaction was endorsed by the Ombudsman's office. The Ombudsman's office conceded that the police officer's behaviour "may have been inappropriate."

As of March 2010, Sydney Copwatch is pursuing a complaint about the poor design of uniform which allows police officers to cover their nameplates with yellow vests or items stuffed in pockets. We are advocating the "shoulder numbers" used by London police (see photograph at top of page).

Further reading
For the approach in the UK, see the official report, see page 9 and elsewhere of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Adapting to Protest 2009. HMSO.