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Male white police mascot to be replaced

3:18pm Monday 19th November 2007

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Police will spend £15,000 on "ethically diverse" mascots after one of their officers criticised an existing model for being too male and white.

PCSO Steve, based on Stephen King from the Cheam Safer Neighbourhood Team, will be ditched in favour of more "ethnically diverse" models.

He was created by the Metropolitan Police to visit primary schools but drew complaints for not accurately representing the capital's communities.

The Met will now spend £15,000 on three new characters, expected to be ready next year.

They include a woman PCSO, named Sunita and a man and woman police constable.

Cheery mascot PCSO Steve made his first appearance in 2005 at Sutton police social club Christmas party, where he entertained 150 children.

Since then he has been a popular figure around Sutton - so popular that his duties were extended across London, resulting in his creator being awarded a Chief Superintendent's commendation.

But in a letter to the police in-house magazine The Job, a Met Police sergeant criticised the lack of thought behind the character.

He said the male, blond and blue-eyed character failed to represent the communities he served, and could leave Asian and women officers "isolated".

In a written response to questions from the London Assembly, Sir Ian Blair said the new characters would be "more representative of London's population and the diverse range of police personnel."

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Sue, South Cheam says...
3:42pm Mon 19 Nov 07

What a load of old cobblers - we are in England FFS. Whos country is it? - obviously not ours. WE are the ethnic minority in our own country.

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Sue, South Cheam says...
3:47pm Mon 19 Nov 07

I forgot to add that Sunita is a good old fashioned English name - I wonder what the other 2 will be called? it certainly will not be Steve. Also if this sort of thing offends people - let them remember we are in ENGLAND and if they do not like it then they can buggar off.

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Lisa, Croydon says...
4:02pm Mon 19 Nov 07

I think you will find Sue that most ethnic people wouldnt give a sh#t what colour this character was or what colours eyes and hair he had etc. Whoever, that officer is who complained, they need to concentrate on fighting crime more than such pathetic trivial things.
These kind of stories pi#s me off big time because all they do is fuel racial hatred by making out as if us 'ethnics' really give a sh#t what colour a bloody mascot is when really we dont and if you asked us, we would tell you we dont! Its just plain stupidity.

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confused?, says...
4:08pm Mon 19 Nov 07

im sorry lisa but i am very confused - i thought it was your boyfriend who was black?

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leanne, london says...
4:18pm Mon 19 Nov 07

I WAS WAITING FOR LISA TO COMMENT ON THIS, AS SOON AS READ IT I THOUGHT I BET LISA WILL BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO WRITE A COMMENT!!!!!!

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Lisa, Croydon says...
4:52pm Mon 19 Nov 07

Confused, get it through your thick head that because I am not black, it does not make me white! For goodness sakes, how many times do I have to explain that. And furthermore, Leanne, so what if I have commented? Have I said anything racist or anything to incite racial hatred? I THINK NOT! I have simply pointed out that these stories are a load of crap and if you actually ask ethnic people, they couldnt care less about what colour the mascot is and whether we should have xmas lights and whether it should be called a white xmas and whether we should call fridges and washing machines etc, white goods. Its ridiculous, and then people go around thinking we actually care about such pathetic trivial things. So bloody what if the mascot is white, go and ask your ethnic colleague sitting next to you if they give a sh#t. Leanne, come up with something constructive rather than obsessing over me pls.

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Lisa, Croydon says...
4:54pm Mon 19 Nov 07

leanne wrote:
I WAS WAITING FOR LISA TO COMMENT ON THIS, AS SOON AS READ IT I THOUGHT I BET LISA WILL BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO WRITE A COMMENT!!!!!!
Have nothing better to do than to WAIT for me to make a comment?

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G, Vauxhall says...
5:06pm Mon 19 Nov 07

PCSO Steve leaves me totally isolated as A Ginger. I mean, why didn't they come up with A Ginger one - this sums up the Mets Arian attitude.

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leanne, london says...
5:08pm Mon 19 Nov 07

i do have better things to do thanks, i just find it amusing on how you disagree with what everyone says and you seem to take it to heart all the time? and why is it you only comment on things that have some thing to do with some one's colour?
can you answer every one's question and tell us what colour you actually are????

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Jock, London says...
5:09pm Mon 19 Nov 07

Actually, confused & leanne, you'll find that what Lisa says is true.

I'm reckoning this sergeant who complained was white, and worried about offending people of other ethnic origins.

It's the same with the old Christmas decoration malarkey. Where it's normally white Christians who pull the plug on the decorations, because they're afraid of offending other religions. The truth of course is that most people from those other religions would not be offended at all.

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Col, South London says...
5:15pm Mon 19 Nov 07

I just think its a waste of £15,000. Seriously, is this the best thing they can spend the money on? Considering it probably came from tax payers money and all. I know its probably just a dribble in the ocean to their budget, but its still a waste.

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Jock, London says...
5:18pm Mon 19 Nov 07

Col wrote:
I just think its a waste of £15,000. Seriously, is this the best thing they can spend the money on? Considering it probably came from tax payers money and all. I know its probably just a dribble in the ocean to their budget, but its still a waste.
They could recruit a proper PCSO for £15k, couldn't they??

Mind you, probably not much difference. Will the mascots have powers of arrest?? =)

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Lisa, Croydon says...
5:34pm Mon 19 Nov 07

leanne wrote:
i do have better things to do thanks, i just find it amusing on how you disagree with what everyone says and you seem to take it to heart all the time? and why is it you only comment on things that have some thing to do with some one's colour? can you answer every one's question and tell us what colour you actually are????
What exactly am I disagreeing with in this instance? I dont beleive I am actually disagreeing with anyone's comments. Read my original comment again. I was slating the officer who made the complaint, as he should be fighting crime, not making pathetic complaints about things we dont care about. And you will find I dont just comment on things to do with colour, it just depends on whether I have an opinion or not. You will find Ive made a recent comment on the Amy Winehouse article, but you have nothing to say on that, do u!
I dont beleive everyone has asked me what colour I am and furthermore it is totally irrelevant so I wont answer you. It is obvious what I am not, just to give you some clarity to the comments I make.
I personally dont care what colour the mascot is, its used to raise awareness to children so Im all for it. Same way I love xmas and everything that comes with it and am looking forward to eating a big fat dinner and pulling xmas crackers and the rest of it, along with my ethnic family and mixture of friends. I just dont know where these stupid people get their stupid ideas from. I mean, do they seriously think it is going to offend us just because he has blue eyes and blonde hair? Ridiculous! Im all for everything else, including having xmas lights up(as long as its not bordering on tacky), flags up etc. But its this sort of thing that makes people say 'they' can buggar off when in fact 'they' were never asked for their opinion and its the MP's, councillors, police officers who make these assumptions and change things.

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Copper, London says...
8:45pm Mon 19 Nov 07

Jock wrote:
Actually, confused & leanne, you'll find that what Lisa says is true. I'm reckoning this sergeant who complained was white, and worried about offending people of other ethnic origins. It's the same with the old Christmas decoration malarkey. Where it's normally white Christians who pull the plug on the decorations, because they're afraid of offending other religions. The truth of course is that most people from those other religions would not be offended at all.
The sergeant that complained is White & done so to fulfill a "PC, Black-friendly" Quota for the job he is in. I should know!
Its crap the way we have to "positively discriminate". Most coppers, Be they Black, white or purple couldnt give a **** about colour, They just care abour Crime & the solving thereof. The government needs to stop getting involved & dictating how we shoule be seen to behave! This story proves its just creating more problems than it is solving.

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just a person, sutton says...
8:58pm Mon 19 Nov 07

I agree with everyone, this is total crap. Pay a real police officer instead of puppets. I seriusly doubt that if a English person went to another country and kicked up a fuss about some dumb mascot not being English enough, that country, no matter it be African/Asian or whatever would tell him to go back to England and shut up. Why do we have to make such a big deal out of everything? Waste of our money. The fact is that people of pure English origins are white and this is England. If one doesn't like that then one is welcomed to live in a country where ones ethnic origins originate and one feels more at home. This is racism against the ethnic English people. The mascot they have is just fine and should just be used as is and teach children about safety, don't teach them about rascism by making it an issue. For this to be brought up is ridiculous. The truth is, as Lisa said, most ethnic people couldn't care less and this is probably just pumped up by some white politician wanting to seem politically correct which is just as much of a insult to ethnic groups. No one asks the average person on the street what they think, it is just politicians trying to be goody goody. They got this one very wrong, to the cost of taxpayers.

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Lyn Gerie, Bra-zil says...
11:35pm Mon 19 Nov 07

You could get 3 dolls of any colour/ethnic group you like in ann summers and dress them how you want for around £200.
As long as you keep voting Lab/Con/Lib then things like this will never end , it's your choice.

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Jock, London says...
2:51am Tue 20 Nov 07

Copper wrote:
Jock wrote: Actually, confused & leanne, you\'ll find that what Lisa says is true. I\'m reckoning this sergeant who complained was white, and worried about offending people of other ethnic origins. It\'s the same with the old Christmas decoration malarkey. Where it\'s normally white Christians who pull the plug on the decorations, because they\'re afraid of offending other religions. The truth of course is that most people from those other religions would not be offended at all.
The sergeant that complained is White & done so to fulfill a \"PC, Black-friendly\" Quota for the job he is in. I should know! Its crap the way we have to \"positively discriminate\". Most coppers, Be they Black, white or purple couldnt give a **** about colour, They just care abour Crime & the solving thereof. The government needs to stop getting involved & dictating how we shoule be seen to behave! This story proves its just creating more problems than it is solving.
Totally agree with you about the government. And look where they've got us all. Political correctness in this country crossed the stupid line years ago.

Also time that they got rid of a lot of the red tape and form filling, so that you good men and women can actually get out and about and do the job you trained for. Sadly, the government at the moment seems hellbent on doing anything but that. I mean, how are you supposed to reach targets if they make it next to impossible due to the paperwork?

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Shelokay, Cheam says...
3:32am Tue 20 Nov 07

well if steve is too male and white.. then i think sunita will be too female and black....
wtf ?!?!?!
it makes no sense.. madness!

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andif, Kingston says...
9:14am Tue 20 Nov 07

I don't see what the problem is. Steve/Sunita should a mixed race trans-sexual. Now, the big question, what about a wheelchair?

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Sam, London says...
9:50am Tue 20 Nov 07

I always find these kind of stories so funny. It's like when some Wiltshire council decides to call Christmas 'Winterval' to stop offending their 1% ethnic minority population (who weren't offended anyway). Or when Greg Dyke, in a desperate attempt to score PC brownie points, said the BBC was 'hideously white'. lol

Lisa is right though it does fuel anti-immigrant hatred.

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Sam, London says...
9:52am Tue 20 Nov 07

I've just realised i may have offended people by saying 'brownie points'. I'm apologise if i have, please believe me i'm not a racist. Please.

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greg, says...
10:32am Tue 20 Nov 07

People who are not white need to say that they are not happy about this cause and all ther other PC crap that goes on..before the white indigineous population will only tolerate so much before they snap

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Jock, London says...
2:00pm Tue 20 Nov 07

Sam wrote:
I've just realised i may have offended people by saying 'brownie points'. I'm apologise if i have, please believe me i'm not a racist. Please.
But sadly, you've just lumped yourself in with the PC brigade. Apologising for the use of a common, and inoffensive, turn of phrase just because you think you might offend somebody. It's exactly that attitude which causes the problem.

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BG, London says...
2:15pm Tue 20 Nov 07

People who are not white need to say that they are not happy about this cause and all ther other PC crap that goes on..before the white indigineous population will only tolerate so much before they snap " Precisely the intention of the people who fuel this nonsense one thinks.. We certainly don't care about anything like this but people are lead to believe that we do by the media, government, etc..

"I've just realised i may have offended people by saying 'brownie points'. I'm apologise if i have, please believe me i'm not a racist. Please."
No one thinks your a racist.. Given the above comments I'm not sure I understand why you'd say such a thing.. Contrary to the popular opinion of the papers/ government, people of skin colour aren't offended by the words black bags, brownie points, black jack, black boxes, brown paper bags etc..

"well if steve is too male and white.. then i think sunita will be too female and black....
wtf ?!?!?!
it makes no sense.. madness!"
Forgive me, but I think Sunita is more of an asian name, not black.. (Am not calling you a racist for this comment and am not offended, am just pointing out that it is not historically a black name)...
You are right though, it is absolute madness.

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Lisa, Croydon says...
2:41pm Tue 20 Nov 07

BG,u make some good points. I think Sam is being sarcastic, or at least I hope he is!
As for Greg, is that a threat? Because really, anyone with common sense would realise that its the PC brigade (politicians, police, etc) who come up with these ridiculous things. Noone actually asks us what we think. And I think BG is right in saying that it is this type of nonsense that fuels racial hatred and I beleive to a certain degree its intentional. Just for the simple fact that they dont consult any ethnic people or enquire amongst communities before making decisions. And by doing so, they cause more hate, hence Greg's comment....

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Dave, Barnoldswick (originally Wallington) says...
4:33pm Tue 20 Nov 07

What about a Wheelchair-bound, ginger, chinese, albino,paraplegic copper called Rasmus, with his equality prompting partner Samantha (was Samuel), the sex changed, blond with black streaks, asian,deaf, blind, mute lesbian, off work on benefits single mum. I reckon that would please these total f@nnies...eh?

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noddy, St Ebbas says...
5:54pm Tue 20 Nov 07

I was thinking they could use a doll of a gay, afro caribean, empowered, whale for a mascot and if this offends whales then too bad, they are all going to die anyway if the Japonese have their way.

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disgusted, says...
10:13am Wed 21 Nov 07

this is ridiculous, this is England so of course our mascot should be white. I am not racist but you know this country makes me sick. The law is in the favour of all the foreigners in this country and bows down to their every bloody request. I dont agree with racism at all but people come to this country and start being racist towards us and if we try to retaliate then we are the ones that get the blame. The race card always comes into play and as a country i can firmly say we are getting sick of it.

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FedUp, London says...
11:28am Wed 21 Nov 07

disgusted wrote:
this is ridiculous, this is England so of course our mascot should be white. I am not racist but you know this country makes me sick. The law is in the favour of all the foreigners in this country and bows down to their every bloody request. I dont agree with racism at all but people come to this country and start being racist towards us and if we try to retaliate then we are the ones that get the blame. The race card always comes into play and as a country i can firmly say we are getting sick of it.
"The law is in the favour of all the foreigners in this country and bows down to their every bloody request."

This request wasn't made by a foreigner or someone of skin colour. If you see the posting from 'Copper' it tells you exactly who made this request. So no one of skin colour is using the race card.

"I dont agree with racism at all but people come to this country and start being racist towards us and if we try to retaliate then we are the ones that get the blame."
Quite possibly, I couldn't comment, however try being somone of skin colour who gets accused of using the race card when you have done no such thing, when the media/government talk about all this PC malarkey when they haven't even bothered asking the ethnic community, yet the ethnic community are the ones who get the blame for it.

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P, says...
1:18pm Wed 21 Nov 07

This country is so gay!! We all laugh about how funny this type of artical is but its not funny at all. Soom enough we wont be able to say or do anything as we might offend SOMEONE! And to be honest I dont blame people not wanting to offend other ethnics. Look at how much damage p!ssed off terrorists do!

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disgusted, says...
2:15pm Wed 21 Nov 07

Fedup - I am sorry but I cant feel sympathy any more for people of different skin colours/Foreigners. The government in on their side, the police force is on their side. Well im sorry but i am not. I am fed up of people shouting at me in the street for being white, or being intimidated walking down the street in a skirt in case i get shouted at. Its bloody ridiculous. I dont go to other countries and start telling them how to live their lives, and what clothes they are and aren't allowed to wear. I wish we could all live in harmony but it obviously isn't working. And now they are adding new mascosts so people of different ethnic backgrounds dont feel left out!! It seems people are starting to forget which country we are in. And before anyone throws the race card at me, I am not racist I just dont appreciate being made to feel like an outside in my own country.

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Fedup, London says...
2:37pm Wed 21 Nov 07

disgusted wrote:
Fedup - I am sorry but I cant feel sympathy any more for people of different skin colours/Foreigners. The government in on their side, the police force is on their side. Well im sorry but i am not. I am fed up of people shouting at me in the street for being white, or being intimidated walking down the street in a skirt in case i get shouted at. Its bloody ridiculous. I dont go to other countries and start telling them how to live their lives, and what clothes they are and aren't allowed to wear. I wish we could all live in harmony but it obviously isn't working. And now they are adding new mascosts so people of different ethnic backgrounds dont feel left out!! It seems people are starting to forget which country we are in. And before anyone throws the race card at me, I am not racist I just dont appreciate being made to feel like an outside in my own country.
Disgusted, if that is the treatment you are receiving then I do not blame you for your thoughts. "I am fed up of people shouting at me in the street for being white, or being intimidated walking down the street in a skirt in case i get shouted at. Its bloody ridiculous." I don't know which street you're walking down or where but yes, that is as you say and more than bloody ridiculous. I have never had this issue or problem, and I'm sincerely sorry that you do. However, don't let the media/government/pol
ice cloud your judgment. Not all people of colour/immigrants act like the ones around your way. In fact, most don't.
I am not suggesting you are a racist either!!
I'm not entirely sure why you think the police are on their side. They so are not.
You are quite correct. You are not an outsider, and no, you shouldn't be made to feel like one.
The people around your way making you feel like this aren't representative of all.

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Bob, Cheam says...
2:09pm Thu 22 Nov 07

How about we break London down into ethinicity per head of capita and create a mascot which reflects that? We could have a kind of patchwork quilt character proportionally representing each ethnic group which would keep everyone happy, although it would of course be not dissimilar looking to Frankenstein and would probably scare the bejesus out of the kids but hey, at least they'd grow up fearing the police.

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H Tyler, Cheam village says...
8:07pm Thu 22 Nov 07

Typical politically correct crap, this discussion has got sidelined focus on the issue

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Lisa, Morden says...
9:21am Fri 30 Nov 07

Obviously coming into this very late but all the comments about "they forget what country they are in" etc. OMG get with the times people. This country has been multi racial/ cutural for years now and people still aren't accepting it and to me that screams out racist tendencies. Steve the mascot should have just been left as he was and maybe they should create Sunita anyway and have the both of them go out and represent the police force.

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Criticised: PCSO Steve Criticised: PCSO Steve

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