The Metropolitan Police welcomes PC PC

Scotland Yard is spending £15,000 on ethnically diverse police mascots after complaints that PCSO Steve, its current rubber representative, is too white, too male, and too blond.

Three new mascots – to be known as “Police Pals” – will make up, with Steve, Britain’s first foam-headed Safer Neighbourhood team. A new police community support officer called Sunita will be joined by two police constables, one male and one female, who will appear at schools across London from next year.



Details were revealed yesterday in written answers from Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, to the London Assembly. Sir Ian disclosed that £600 was being spent on designing the mascots and £14,400 had been set aside to provide four uniforms for each team member. Helmets for their enormous foam heads will prove particularly expensive.

The Met’s mascot deployment may have implications for other public services where puppet-like figures with outsized heads play a prominent public relations role. Postman Pat and Fireman Sam could both find themselves rendered unrepresentative and out of date. But construction industry insiders said that Bob the Builder would survive unscathed.