Avon and Somerset Constabulary has begun to equip its female officers with a uniform issue hijab to wear when they enter a mosque. The £13 headscarves are embroidered with the West Country force's name and logo, and come in two colours — black for police officers and blue for community support officers. A spokeswoman insisted that they were not intended purely to cater for Muslim cultural sensibilities but were multi-faith.
"They are designed to be used in any place of worship and can be used to cover the head or the shoulders. For example, plain clothes officers could use them to cover their shoulders in a Catholic Church, or they can be used to cover the head in synagogues," she said.
The scarves were however developed in a joint project with the Aklima Initiative, which focuses on working Muslim women, and the Mosque Initiative - both Islamic groups.
The scheme is believed to be a first for the British police. The Metropolitan Police, the largest and most diverse UK force, said that it issued headscarves to its Muslim female officers but not to non-Muslim officers.
"We have had these scarves for Muslim female officers for some time, but as far as officers going into mosques — if it was appropriate for them to wear a scarf they would do that. But I don't think there are any plans to issue 15,000-odd officers with a headscarf," a Met Police spokeswoman said.
Jackie Roberts, Assistant Chief Constable for Avon and Somerset, modelled the black headcovering for reporters yesterday, arranging its folds with the help of PCSO Nora Ndiaye, who modelled the blue version. They are among 15 women officers to have received the head coverings so far.
Ms Roberts said that the scarves were intended to respect the cultural and religious practices of local communities.
"This is a very positive addition to the Avon and Somerset uniform and one which I'm sure will be a welcome item for many of our officers," she said.
Rashad Azami, imam and director of the Bath Islamic Society, said he was pleased with the move. ''This will go a long way in encouraging a trustful relationship between the police and the Muslim community," he said.
"The Avon and Somerset Constabulary has been working closely with the Muslim community in the area on many levels for the last few years. We have found their co-operation very helpful and hope this step will further strengthen the mutual relationship."
It is not the force's first foray into the minefield of cultural sensibilities. In 2006 the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset had to apologise after it emerged that the force had used positive discrimination to try to increase the number of female and ethnic minority officers, randomly excluding 186 white male applicants during a recruitment drive on the grounds that they were already over-represented.