Oxford’s public have been left mystified and vexed after the police force changed its badge.
Thames Valley Police is celebrating over 50 years since its formation in the 1970s and has decided to update certain aspects of the force’s identity.
One of these is the badge which has been in use since the 1990s and features the Coat of Arms in a shield shape with the chequerboard and the force’s name.
Now Thames Valley Police has updated this badge and changed to a more simplistic crest which features no words or Coat of Arms.
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A spokesperson for the force said: “The world has changed dramatically since 1968 and we need to reflect the modern policing service we provide.
“We are now investigating types of crimes that were unimaginable 50 years ago and living in a completely different social and digital age.
“We’ve taken inspiration from the coat of arms to maintain a sense of history and from now on will protect the use of it for ceremonial purposes.
“We are proud to have now created a strong, clear and simpler identity, which is accessible, scalable and over time, can be consistently applied so that we are easily recognisable in all our work to protect our communities.”
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The badge did not go down well with the greater public though with a major backlash occurring across social media on Wednesday morning as the new logo was revealed.
“Why? Some things just don’t need to be changed, sorry TVP,” said one commenter.
Another person left irked by the switch said: “Sorry, I know that I am an old traditionalist, but this new 'badge' looks unfinished!”
“If it ain't broke, don't mend it, sorry TVP,” added another.
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Others felt very strongly about the change and took issue with how the new crest looked.
“Why has the logo changed for God's sake,” someone remarked.
Another added: “Very disappointed not what I would have chosen.”
Someone else simply put: “Why oh why?”
Thames Valley Police defended the new crest but revealed that it would take some time for it to filter through all channels and become the new norm.
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A spokesperson for the force said: “It will take time to filter across all our documents and forms.
“In the meantime, it will be visible to our partners in our communications and joint activity.
“You will start to see it across our external channels including our website and social media accounts.
“For example, physical items such as signage and vehicles will be updated in line with when they are routinely due for replacement.
“This means, we expect the full refresh of our identity to take time to be fully in place.”
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