If our states have their way, police uniforms across the country would look much smarter and khaki would be a thing of the past.
After five years of elaborate research, premier design institute in Ahmedabad, National Institute of Design, has developed prototypes of police uniform. The prototypes were designed by taking into account the climatic conditions and weather of the states all around the year.
Associate senior designer, product design at NID, Dr. Vikram Singh Parmar, who headed the research, told THE WEEK that “khaki” had not changed ever since the Britishers had left.
Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) had given NID a brief that the uniforms should provide occupational protection and take into consideration different weather conditions, he said. The uniforms also needed to be easy to maintain. Options of colour combinations were sent to BPR&D and it would then be send to the state governments. The shirts and pants are not of the same colour.
While in the current khaki uniform, the thickness of the cloth used to make shirts and pants is same. But in the new prototype this has been changed.
Parmar, citing an example of the loops, said that they have been increased from three to five so that cops can sit comfortably. Similarly, pants have been double folded from the bottom so that threads do not come off from the bottom due to wear and tear.
The senior faculty said that they have selected cloth that is antibacterial and antifungal and also wrinkle free. A lot of detailing has been taken into consideration to develop the prototype. For example, the collars have been made removable. Normally, it is the collar that gets dirty and so in the new design if the collar is damaged, it can be replaced, Parmar said.
After moving across states and talking to police personnel of all levels, NID also designed a new shirt for women in the police force. The shirts will have a zip and regular buttons on top of it.
NID has suggested that the regular insignia be replaced with textile based material, woven with threads. This, Parmar said, would be according to the rank of the police personnel.
During the research, it was found that shoes caused lot of inconvenience. The prototype of shoes is anti slippery and fire resistant. It is anti static as well and provides protection against sharp objects.
Duty jackets have also been designed to be visible from long distances. The head gear, rain wears and winter wears have also been designed. The colour combinations look smart, Parmar said.
