Pittsburgh Police hats with checkered bands, which are dark navy blue and gold in color, popularly known as the "Sillitoe Tartan" and named after its originator, Percy J. Sillitoe, Chief Constable of Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1930s. While the checkered band is a common police symbol in the United Kingdom, Australia and some European countries, the Chicago Police Department, Cook County Sheriff's Police, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police are the only police forces in the United States that have adopted it as part of their uniforms. As recently as July 1930, police were required to wear
Police cadets in the United Kingdom founded in their current form by the Metropolitan Police Service in 1988 and are organised based on the territorial police forces. Membership is open to youths aged 13-18, and some branches include Junior Volunteer Police Cadets for those aged 10-13. Though advertised as giving an "insight" into British policing, it does not guarantee future employment. The Aims of the VPC are:- Historically Police cadets were introduced in 1948, but then changes were made to the new system in 1959. The Metropolitan Police had the initial intention of boosting recruitment into the Metropolitan Police as, at that time recruitment was very