Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2021 May 23

= May 23 =

The color blue and its association with law enforcement/police
What does the color blue have to do with the police? Is the word "blue" a metonym for police and other law enforcement agencies due to the fact some police departments have uniforms that are light blue or navy blue for their officers? I noticed that the term is used in slogans by supporters of the police like many conservatives and right-wingers in the United States such as "back the blue" and "blue lives matter" which sounds like a figure of speech because it can also mean to me like supporting the Democratic Party due to its official color being blue or shopping at IKEA due to its trademark blue and yellow buildings and logo. Are the Thin Blue Line (like the black and gray U.S. flag with a blue stripe in its center) symbols trademarked by any entity worldwide? 47.145.112.144 (talk) 10:14, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Side point: The two major US parties don't have "official colors" as parties in some places do. See red states and blue states for more on this. --184.145.50.201 (talk) 19:56, 23 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Yes, the color blue is associated with the police due to blue being the most common color of their uniforms. Don't know about trademarks. Blueboar (talk) 11:24, 23 May 2021 (UTC)


 * In the United States, a blue uniform color is often associated with police, a brown uniform color with state troopers (and park rangers), and a green uniform color with soldiers -- though I'm sure there are many local variations and changes over time in the colors of such uniforms... It has very little to do with the red=GOP / blue=Democratic system. The phrase "Thin blue line" long predates the political party color  associations... AnonMoos (talk) 11:44, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Yeah, "the boys in blue" was a reference to police officers many decades before "red states and blue states". The blue = Democrat symbolism only really dates back to 2000.--Khajidha (talk) 13:26, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
 * In the UK, peelers haven't worn blue since what, the 50s-60s? (cf. The Blue Lamp, Dixon of Dock Green, etc.) Now they are very much the men in black. Hence the pejorative "blacks" being applied them by Republicans and their ilk. ——  Serial  13:47, 23 May 2021 (UTC)


 * For workwear in some forces, yes, although their formal uniform, known as No.1 dress is a very dark shade of blue known as "midnight blue", like this. The original use of blue stems from the first London police:-
 * In 1829 the first modern police force, the London Metropolitan Police, developed the first standard police apparel. These first police officers, the famous "Bobbies" of London, were issued a dark blue, paramilitary-style uniform. The color blue was chosen to distinguish the police from the British military who wore red and white uniforms at the time. The first official police force in the United States was established in the city of New York in 1845. Based on the London police, the New York City Police Department adopted the dark blue uniform in 1853. Other cities – such as Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Buffalo and Detroit – quickly followed suit by establishing police departments based on the London model, including the adoption of the dark blue, paramilitary-style uniform.
 * The psychological influence of the police uniform. See also Police uniforms and equipment in the United Kingdom. Alansplodge (talk) 16:30, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
 * BTW, the Police Service of Northern Ireland wear dark green uniforms, so it isn't a universal truth. Alansplodge (talk) 16:45, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Also the term "thin blue line" is a paraphrase of the original Thin Red Line formed by the Sutherland Highlanders to repulse an entire Russian cavalry division at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854. Alansplodge (talk) 16:56, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
 * TL;DR the OP makes no reference to dress uniform, and in practicality, the RUC wore black. FTFY. ——  Serial  17:15, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
 * "Pre-1970s RUC uniforms retained a dark green called rifle green, which was often mistaken as black. A lighter shade of green was introduced following the Hunt reforms of the early 1970s, although Hunt recommended that British blue should be introduced. The Patten report, however, recommended the retention of the green uniform". See Police Service of Northern Ireland. The Met Police everyday jacket and trousers are still blue like this, although I agree some forces do have black. Alansplodge (talk) 18:34, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Blue is not only associated with the police in the UK and US. In Sweden "Uncle Blue" (farbror blå) is slang for the police, probably due to the colour of their uniforms. Sjö (talk) 17:03, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Swedish police uniforms were first introduced in 1839, but whether or not that was influenced by the London police I don't know. This article says that the model of the French National Gendarmerie was widely followed in Continental Europe, who like the rest of the French Army, also wore blue coats. Alansplodge (talk) 18:16, 23 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Before the Metropolitan Police the Bow Street Runners also wore a uniform that included a Blue tailcoat. MilborneOne (talk) 17:52, 23 May 2021 (UTC)


 * In Germany, the various police forces have abandoned their green uniforms for blue "since 2005", according to Landespolizei. Alansplodge (talk) 19:45, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Which, if i recall correctly, had to do with making police more uniform across the EU with a single baseline colour for police. Not sure if that ever became binding or just prefered, like passport colour for example (could be any colour but there is a prefered EU wide colour scheme). Anyway, because blue was used by a majority of countries already, and France/Italy in particular wanted to hold on to the colour, it was decided to be blue. For some reason, the German language Wiki article about domestic police uniforms mentions that the UK advocated for some sort of reddish orange and not blue in those talks (that paragraph has no reference though). I assume they would not have looked like binmen in the end though lol.91.96.27.231 (talk) 16:54, 26 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Berlin's Finest Go Blue. I couldn't find anything about the orange uniform proposal; good God, can you imagine the fuss? As it was, the loss of the British blue passport seems to have been a major issue in the Brexit referendum.  Alansplodge (talk) 11:00, 27 May 2021 (UTC)
 * I wonder if the association with blue may also be related to the flashing warning lights to be found on top of police cars, turned on when the car wants to drive somewhere fast to request priority from other people on the road. I presume that these lights are flashing blue (or sometimes blue or red) because that's the easiest way to clearly distinguish them from the more common white, yellow, red and green lights found on the roads.  Police cars aren't the only cars that have such lights, but they appear to be the most common users.  – b_jonas 15:08, 30 May 2021 (UTC)
 * In the US, in "the 1930s, red lights were introduced and included to the roofs of patrol vehicles to signal civilian drivers to pull over and have a little chit chat with the law enforcement officers. It soon became a popular practice and it later evolved into the rotating gumball light in the late 1940s and was later succeeded by horizontal lights in the 60s. Blue lights were introduced into the emergency vehicle system in the late 1960s..."
 * In the UK, blue flashing lights were introduced for police cars in the 1963. However, a distinctive blue lamp has been used outside British police stations since the late 19th century. Alansplodge (talk) 20:50, 30 May 2021 (UTC)