Refreshing our Force Identity

You may have noticed that our logo and the appearance of some of our documents have started to change recently. Over a number of months, we have been working to update the visual identity of Thames Valley Police to something more modern and accessible. More information about the change is below.

Why have we changed our force identity?

We needed to create a strong, clear and modern visual identity which is understood by all, while respecting the history of our force and incorporating our key principles​. 

It needed to be accessible, fit for now and future, scalable for all uses, and to respect the past taking inspiration from the ceremonial coat of arms to maintain a sense of our history.

Long term neglect of an identity is not quickly fixed and by doing this piece of work we are starting to turn around 30+ years without brand management. 

The previous identity was dated and far too complex for everyday use, which has resulted in inconsistency. Since the last update to our identity over 30 years ago, the logo and its use have become inconsistent and confusing and so our work now is just the start of building a strong new identity. To keep costs to a minimum and avoid unnecessary waste, physical assets such as uniform, badges, car stickers and signage will only be replaced with the new logo once current stock needs replenishing, so this will be a gradual transition over a number of years.

The new identity work has been completed solely by our in-house graphic designers who are part of the Corporate Communications team and therefore, has come at no added cost to Thames Valley Police.

The history of our identity

Thames Valley Police’s first coat of arms was developed in 1972 and was used on assets up until the 1990s.

The logo that had been in use from the 1990s up until now was developed by an Assistant Chief Constable, reducing the coat of arms within a shield and adding our force name and the chequerboard.

This version had been used for over thirty years but had its challenges. Due to its fine detail, it did not transfer well when printed onto badges, pins, ID cards, or used online on our social media channels.

We will now exclusively use our Coat of Arms for celebratory and memorial purposes so you can expect to see this at our award ceremonies, on our certificates and our flags.