Is the Thin Blue Line being deleted?

Is the Thin Blue Line being deleted?

The thin blue line badge has been brought into some controversy again.  This is a black and white union flag with a thin horizontal blue line running through the centre.  Green is used for the military and red for the Fire Service.  The flag can often be seen on police uniforms and represents the charity, Thin Blue Line, whose sole aim and purpose is to support mental health services and to raise awareness around mental health and well-being for serving police officers.

Why has the Met and some senior police officers in the British Transport Police and other forces banned their officers from donning the image on their uniforms?  They say that some people find it represents a far-right movement because an American flag with a blue line supposedly represents just that.  Firstly, we are not America and our flag is very different, and secondly, our image is very much attached to a charity and not any right-wing group, so leave it the hell alone and stop being frightened off by trouble makers who want to make something out of nothing.

The only reasonable argument I have heard, but which has had no consistency, is that the police uniform should be free from all badges, apart from the uniform itself.  That brings the poppy into question.  Who’s going to be brave enough to ban that?  What about the rainbows of Pride and other associated groups, especially when so many gay people are distancing themselves from these groups now, saying they don’t represent the people they are any more and it’s all very well having exceptions in the Met such as ‘Help for Heros’, but isn’t it ironic the police can only support a military mental health cause and not their own?

The Chief constable of Northampton Police, Nick Adderley is very worthy of a follow on Twitter (@NorthantsChief) who, time after time, shows great leadership by facing unfair critics head on.  He’s suffered from it in the past as troublemakers have formally made complaints in order to hush him.  It’s not worked, however, and even though the Met Commissioner has said he’s likely to ban the patches, Nick Adderley tweeted the following to a member of public who objected to him showing support on the matter: “Why is your crusade, to try and manipulate the interpretation of what the TBL patch stands for, more important than supporting the incredible work that the vast majority of police officers do, to keep the public (including you) safe?”

The Chief said he would personally buy a patch for any officer who wanted one out of his own money and the upshot of this is that his officers feel supported and therefore free to make mistakes and subsequently get great results combatting crime.  The morale in that Force seems to be very positive as a result from the information I receive privately from many officers.  Officers and people, generally, are screaming out for strong leadership.  This means someone who doesn’t follow the ebbs and flows of so-called public opinion, which is, in fact, the opinion of a few who shout the loudest for long enough, screaming and stamping their feet.

In the meantime, The Thin Blue Line UK charity will be supporting those officers who are breaking, and their App called ‘Thrive’ is an incredible tool to enable real benefits for them.  It’s a shame some of the bosses didn’t have the metal to do the same.