Police bring back Victorian blue lamps to make stations more welcoming
Traditional Victorian blue lamps are to return to police stations as part of a force’s attempt to make itself more visible and approachable.
Rupert Matthews, police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire, is reintroducing Mercia lanterns – a replica of those first used in London in 1861 – which have largely disappeared as stations have closed or been replaced by modern alternatives.
He is also rebranding police offices as “mini-stations” and opening them up to the public to help tackle crime and provide a visible town-centre presence, complete with the blue lamp outside.
The lamps were originally made blue to match the colour of officers’ uniforms and distinguish them from the red of the military. Their use spread throughout Britain and the empire after their introduction. Bahamian police stations, for example, still have them today.
The Blue Lamp was the title of the first Ealing Studios film featuring Dixon of Dock Green in 1950, from under which the constable gave his monologues.
Mr Matthews says the lamps will help distinguish the new mini-stations from modern stations, which often look like shopfronts.
He said: “The old-fashioned lantern sticking out from a bracket says ‘this is a police station.’ It’s not a shopfront. It’s instantly recognisable and everyone knows what it is.
“The blue lamp is an iconic piece of British policing history and symbolises not only law, order and justice, but safety and sanctuary.
“These values are just as important to our communities today and this is just one of the many ways I aim to reconnect residents with the policing values of the past.”
Mr Matthews is also leading a drive to replace the unisex baseball caps worn by male and female police officers with traditional custodian helmets, with badge, for men, and peaked caps for women. Stab vests that resemble old police tunics will also be introduced.
“It is about instant visibility and identification when you see someone in the street,” Mr Matthews said.
Currently, there are only a couple of Victorian lanterns outside Leicestershire police stations, but under the programme to convert backroom offices into mini-stations dealing with the public, the replicas will be installed at two dozen sites.
Mr Matthews said: “As commissioner, I have made it my mission to increase confidence and trust in local policing. The visible presence of a police officer or police station at the heart of a community has always offered immeasurable reassurance to residents.
“This symbolic gesture will help to remind people that the police take their safety seriously and are there to provide help when it is needed.”
The blue lamp was not always popular with everyone. Queen Victoria objected to the one outside Bow Street police station, which she passed every time she went to the nearby opera house in Covent Garden. It reminded her of the blue room in which Prince Albert, the Queen’s consort, died. Bow Street was therefore unusual in having a white lamp.
