Check (pattern) a board used for playing checkers and chess, and in heraldry. The check pattern has a number of symbolic meanings. In auto racing, the chequered flag is displayed at the finishing line to signal that the race has finished. It originates from the "checkers" who watched the finishing line and checked when cars had finished the race. They began using chequered flags to identify themselves. In some countries, the check pattern has become a symbol of the police. Known as "Sillitoe Tartan", it was first used in Glasgow in the 1930s and was inspired by a pattern worn by some
Police ranks of the United Kingdom Inspector-General and had a different rank structure until 1 June 1970, when it fully adopted the rank system used elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The RUC has now been succeeded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which uses the same ranks, but has a different version of the rank insignia, with the star from the PSNI badge replacing the crown. Unusually, the star is worn below the pip by chief superintendents and by the Chief Constable, who wears both symbols above his tipstaves. The PSNI has retained the RUC's distinctive inverted (point-up) sergeants' chevrons. The Isle of Man Constabulary