Police Coast Guard - Uniforms

Uniforms

The evolution of uniforms worn by the Police Coast Guard largely mirrors that for the land-based divisions, with its earliest uniforms reflecting British heritage and influence. Early uniforms are based on that of navy sailors, consisting of an all-white attire of long-sleeved shirts and shorts. Officers wore the same Khaki-based uniforms which were introduced in the land divisions from 1890, before switching to the dacron blue uniform in 1969 along with the rest of the police force.

When the Marine Police was reorganised and renamed as the Police Coast Guard in 1993, the uniform was also changed to the Combat (or No. 4) Uniform. This uniform consisted of a long-sleeved shirt and long pants made of a slightly tougher polyester, and does away with almost all metal parts via the use of velcro and plastic buttons. They don a blue beret, but are permitted to wear a baseball cap while on operational duties. Footwear is in the form of lace-up leather shoes with non-slip soles. Unlike the Combat Uniform worn by other units in the police force, the uniform adopted hidden plastic buttons to avoid entanglements, and does away with garters since shoes, and not boots, are worn to allow rapid removal should water entry be required.

In May 2005, the island Patrol Uniform was introduced, consisting of a helmet, dark blue polo top and Bermudas for officers performing bicycle patrol duties on Pulau Ubin. These were introduced to project a softer image on the island where recreational activities abound, and to provide greater comfort for the officers in the humid outdoor weather.

As part of a force-wide review of the police uniforms, the PCG adopted the new combat uniform similar to that currently worn by the Special Operations Command, albeit with a darker shade of blue. While they were introduced to overcome existing limitations of the current uniform, such as allowing for less-hindrance in body movement due to the more relaxed fit, and its non-flammable properties, they met with opposition from some officers who feel it projects the wrong image to the general public, including its "technician" look. Officers began to don the new combat uniform from 21 August 2006.