Jam sandwich (police car)
{{Short description|White police car with red stripe}}
{{refimprove|date=February 2015}}
{{multiple image|
|direction = vertical
|image1 = GX04FMG 110410 CPS (4520863014).jpg
|alt1 = White hatchback with red and amber horizontal stripe along the midline and 'Surrey Police' lettering below the stripe
|caption1 = Surrey Police Ford Focus patrol vehicle at Silvermere, demonstrating a minimally marked variant of "jam sandwich" livery
|image2 = Jam sandwich police car marking.svg
|alt2 = An orange stripe with a dark yellow stripe in the middle, surrounded by a blue border
|caption2 = A "jam sandwich" marking based on the one used by the Metropolitan Police}}
In British slang, a "jam sandwich" or "jam butty" is a police car with a red stripe applied to the side.
History
File:Day 118 - West Midlands Police - Rover SD1 3500 (13958225937).jpg Rover SD1 circa 1979, featuring "jam sandwich" livery encompassing most of the vehicle's midline]]
The term "jam sandwich" came into common use in the 1970s, as police cars changed from block colour schemes such as the blue and white "panda car" to broad fluorescent sidestriped liveries on white or grey base paint. A thin amber sidestripe, fitted using fluorescent tape and vinyl sheeting, was first applied to vehicles of the East Sussex Constabulary in 1965, introduced on the recommendation of Chief Constable George Terry. Some forces, such as the Hertfordshire Constabulary, would later introduce a blue border around the sidestripe.{{cite book |last1=Carpenter |first1=Paddy |title=Police Stop! Patrol and response vehicles in England and Wales |date=2016 |publisher=Amberley Publishing |location=Stroud |isbn=978-1-4456-5831-5 |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eLJNDQAAQBAJ |access-date=5 February 2024}} This livery scheme was seen as reminiscent of jam sandwiched between two slices of white bread, hence the name. The slang was popularised on TV shows such as The Bill, The Sweeney and Minder; as well as spreading through the use of CB radio.
File:Met police car.jpg with "jam sandwich" stripe, silver base paint and large 'POLICE' lettering]]
The "jam sandwich" first came into use with London's Metropolitan Police in 1978, first applied on a fleet of new high-performance Rover SD1 traffic cars.{{cite news |title=New look for police cars |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/westminster-and-pimlico-news-new-look-fo/133726425/ |newspaper=Westminster and Pimlico News |date=14 July 1978 |page=41 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=5 February 2024 |archive-date=14 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114205504/https://www.newspapers.com/article/westminster-and-pimlico-news-new-look-fo/133726425/ |url-status=live }} Marked vehicles were initially finished in base white paint with "jam sandwich" livery applied on each side, however the base colour was changed to silver from 2002 to help improve a vehicle's resale value when it was retired from police use.{{cite news |last=Gibbs |first=Nick |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-silver-lining-for-the-m/135385999/ |title=Silver lining for the Met |date=14 June 2002 |newspaper=Evening Standard |location=London |page=99 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=5 February 2024 |archive-date=18 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118150317/https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-silver-lining-for-the-m/135385999/ |url-status=live }}
=Replacement=
File:Police cars at New Scotland Yard - geograph.org.uk - 3114621 (cropped).jpgs in "jam sandwich" livery (left) and Battenburg markings (right)]]
The "jam sandwich" livery on police vehicles across the United Kingdom has today been replaced by Battenburg markings, first introduced in 1998 on the recommendation that the livery makes the vehicle easily identifiable by oncoming drivers as a police vehicle from at least {{convert|500|m}}. As part of a move to promote "High Visibility Policing" in conjunction with the use of force logos, by 2003, 76% of forces had begun adopting the markings as well as a "half battenburg" variant for urban and suburban patrols.{{cite web|url=https://www.fleetid.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Home-Office-PSDB-14-04-High-Conspicuity-Li1.pdf |title=High Conspicuity Livery for Police Vehicles |publisher=Home Office Police Science Development Branch |date=2004 |access-date=5 February 2024}} This livery began to be introduced on new vehicles delivered to the Metropolitan Police from November 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.london24.com/news/crime/met_police_cars_to_adopt_battenburg_style_livery_1_1698432|title=Met Police cars to adopt Battenburg style livery|last=Jacobs|first=Luke|date=19 November 2012|website=London24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501091114/http://www.london24.com/news/crime/met_police_cars_to_adopt_battenburg_style_livery_1_1698432|archive-date=1 May 2016|access-date=24 July 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/police-union-chokes-as-battenberg-replaces-jam-sandwich-8328448.html|title=Police union chokes as Battenberg replaces jam sandwich |last=Davenport|first=Justin|date=19 November 2012|website=Evening Standard|access-date=3 November 2020}}{{cite news |author= |date=19 November 2012 |title=Met Police cars to have Battenburg livery |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20393064 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |access-date=5 February 2024 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709070639/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20393064 |url-status=live }}
However, a handful of older vehicles are still marked in "jam sandwich" livery in some police forces in the United Kingdom. In the Metropolitan Police, the term 'jam sandwich' now colloquially refers to the car's livery only, as worn by remaining older vehicles and public order carriers that have not yet been replaced.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{wiktionary|jam sandwich}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jam sandwich (Police Car)}}
Category:Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
Category:Automotive terminology
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