"Now for something completely different." 
With all the pro/con discussion about the UK police, this is an interesting, but sad, angle.
For hire: Britain's Keystone cops
Maurice Chittenden
AND before I ask you to blow into this machine, sir, a word from our sponsor. Britain's police are turning to ever more resourceful means to raise funds from private companies.
Chief constables are allowed to raise an additional 1% of their total budget from sponsorship. Police organisations, however, complain that, by putting brand names onto officers and equipment, they are cheapening the reputation of the force.
A reporter from The Sunday Times last week posed as a fictitious American firm called Keystone Security to find out how easy it would be to turn a British bobby into a Keystone cop.
As part of the campaign to raise £75m, several forces offered to emblazon the firm's name on a four-wheel-drive patrol vehicle for the next three years at a cost of £20,000. An extra £5,000 a year for fuel would get the logo on the petrol cap.
North Yorkshire police said that for £10,000 an anti-burglary campaign could be named Operation Keystone in the company's honour.
By spending at least £5,000 on "target-hardening" a new police station in the village of Earl Shilton, Leicestershire, with alarms, anti-shatter glass and anti-climb paint, Keystone was told it should be able to get its logo on the wall outside.
Shirley Hargreaves, the sponsorship co-ordinator for Leicestershire police, said: "Normally we cannot advertise outside a police station, but the new building is a council property we are going to share so probably there could be potential for that."
Roy Philpot, marketing officer for North Yorkshire police, is one of the chief co- ordinators of Polfig, the police forum for income generation, which was set up three months ago and now includes 35 of the 43 forces in England and Wales. He said: "There are possibilities for doing things on a wider scale. We can facilitate working across police forces."
Firms ranging from multinationals to local builders and even solicitors are scrambling to cash in on security- conscious Britain by linking their names to the police.
One of the first sponsorships was by Harrods, for a Rover patrol car near its store in west London. Transco, the gas pipeline company, has sponsored flying hours for a police helicopter in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and has just given £600 towards three electrically powered bicycles in Leicestershire.
BP sponsored a police horse in Humberside and provided blankets with its logo. In Bathgate a firm of solicitors has paid for a scooter for Lothian and Borders police.
The firms want the kudos of advertisements on buildings and equipment that say "working in partnership" or "in the community" with the police.
The biggest sponsorship deal to date is £1m by Yellow Pages for a London neighbourhood watch campaign based on the alertness of meerkats. The company's logo appeared on 30,000 street signs and on leaflets sent to 800,000 Londoners.
Paul Lillington, the business liaison officer at Avon and Somerset police, which has attracted £500,000 in sponsorship, said: "We have got to be very careful to protect our image because I can imagine Keystone would be very keen to protect theirs.
"We cannot endorse people's products. We have to follow guidelines, but we do give acknowledgment." It does not always run smoothly, however. Avon and Somerset had to reduce the size of the logo for Thresher's, the off-licence chain, from a police van it had sponsored for £10,000 after complaints from anti-drink driving campaigners.
A scheme by Danka, the office equipment suppliers who used to sponsor Everton football club, to put their name on yellow bibs worn by police at home matches was abandoned after fans chanted, "Who's that Danka in the helmet?"
The Police Federation recognises the dangers. Fred Broughton, the chairman, said: "We are opposed to the commercial exploitation of the brand 'Police'. Logos on vehicles and buildings cheapen the image of our service."
Broughton wants sponsorship money dedicated to important schemes such as an automatic fingerprint retrieval system and a national database.
The Association of Chief Police Officers said, however, that it approved of sponsorship "in the right circumstances and with the right people."
Copyright 2000 Times Newspapers Ltd.
With all the pro/con discussion about the UK police, this is an interesting, but sad, angle.
For hire: Britain's Keystone cops
Maurice Chittenden
AND before I ask you to blow into this machine, sir, a word from our sponsor. Britain's police are turning to ever more resourceful means to raise funds from private companies.
Chief constables are allowed to raise an additional 1% of their total budget from sponsorship. Police organisations, however, complain that, by putting brand names onto officers and equipment, they are cheapening the reputation of the force.
A reporter from The Sunday Times last week posed as a fictitious American firm called Keystone Security to find out how easy it would be to turn a British bobby into a Keystone cop.
As part of the campaign to raise £75m, several forces offered to emblazon the firm's name on a four-wheel-drive patrol vehicle for the next three years at a cost of £20,000. An extra £5,000 a year for fuel would get the logo on the petrol cap.
North Yorkshire police said that for £10,000 an anti-burglary campaign could be named Operation Keystone in the company's honour.
By spending at least £5,000 on "target-hardening" a new police station in the village of Earl Shilton, Leicestershire, with alarms, anti-shatter glass and anti-climb paint, Keystone was told it should be able to get its logo on the wall outside.
Shirley Hargreaves, the sponsorship co-ordinator for Leicestershire police, said: "Normally we cannot advertise outside a police station, but the new building is a council property we are going to share so probably there could be potential for that."
Roy Philpot, marketing officer for North Yorkshire police, is one of the chief co- ordinators of Polfig, the police forum for income generation, which was set up three months ago and now includes 35 of the 43 forces in England and Wales. He said: "There are possibilities for doing things on a wider scale. We can facilitate working across police forces."
Firms ranging from multinationals to local builders and even solicitors are scrambling to cash in on security- conscious Britain by linking their names to the police.
One of the first sponsorships was by Harrods, for a Rover patrol car near its store in west London. Transco, the gas pipeline company, has sponsored flying hours for a police helicopter in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and has just given £600 towards three electrically powered bicycles in Leicestershire.
BP sponsored a police horse in Humberside and provided blankets with its logo. In Bathgate a firm of solicitors has paid for a scooter for Lothian and Borders police.
The firms want the kudos of advertisements on buildings and equipment that say "working in partnership" or "in the community" with the police.
The biggest sponsorship deal to date is £1m by Yellow Pages for a London neighbourhood watch campaign based on the alertness of meerkats. The company's logo appeared on 30,000 street signs and on leaflets sent to 800,000 Londoners.
Paul Lillington, the business liaison officer at Avon and Somerset police, which has attracted £500,000 in sponsorship, said: "We have got to be very careful to protect our image because I can imagine Keystone would be very keen to protect theirs.
"We cannot endorse people's products. We have to follow guidelines, but we do give acknowledgment." It does not always run smoothly, however. Avon and Somerset had to reduce the size of the logo for Thresher's, the off-licence chain, from a police van it had sponsored for £10,000 after complaints from anti-drink driving campaigners.
A scheme by Danka, the office equipment suppliers who used to sponsor Everton football club, to put their name on yellow bibs worn by police at home matches was abandoned after fans chanted, "Who's that Danka in the helmet?"
The Police Federation recognises the dangers. Fred Broughton, the chairman, said: "We are opposed to the commercial exploitation of the brand 'Police'. Logos on vehicles and buildings cheapen the image of our service."
Broughton wants sponsorship money dedicated to important schemes such as an automatic fingerprint retrieval system and a national database.
The Association of Chief Police Officers said, however, that it approved of sponsorship "in the right circumstances and with the right people."
Copyright 2000 Times Newspapers Ltd.