A collar number, also known as a shoulder number, Force Identification Number (FIN) or occasionally as Force Number (although this can also refer to ID number of a force itself) identifies uniformed officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSO), and some police staff in UK police forces. Although now displayed on epaulettes (i.e. on the shoulder), it is still commonly referred to as a collar number.
In most forces it is simply a one- to five-digit number, but in larger forces a letter code (also known as a Division Call Sign) may be added to indicate the officer's base area or unit.
City Of London
- A number followed by a single letter to indicate the division.
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| Suffix code |
Meaning |
| A |
Anti-Terrorism & Public Order (Dogs, Mounted, Traffic) (formerly Moor Lane) |
| B |
Snow Hill |
| C |
Bishopsgate |
| D |
Specialist Crime Operations (formerly Cloak Lane) |
| E |
Professional Development Unit |
| F |
Economic Crime Department |
Metropolitan Police Service
A number, followed by one or two letters indicating the station/sector, borough, or unit. Current practice favours use of borough codes rather than station codes (with the borough code generally taken from one of the borough's stations - see below - which can cause confusion).
Divisional area codes are still used to identify the areas themselves, together with the police station and vehicles (if any) nominally covering them, but not officers. So for example QY88 would be a panda car notionally assigned to Kingsbury, though it would actually be based at QD (i.e. Wembley, the nearest operational police station) and be crewed by officers whose collar numbers all contain the letters 'QK' (since they are counted as Brent officers regardless of which station they may happen to be based at).
A one or two digit number denotes a Sergeant, a three digit number denotes a Constable, a four digit number beginning with 5 denotes a Special Constable and a four digit number beginning with 7 denotes a PCSO. Confusingly, MPS epaulettes display the letters over the digits, i.e. 81FH (a Sergeant based at Hammersmith) would show FH over 81 on his/her shoulder, which reads more like FH81 (the call sign of a panda car based there). Ranks above Sergeant do not have collar numbers - officers are identified by name (e.g. Inspector Smith, who may once have been just PC 123KG).
Specialist MPS units do not necessarily follow any of the above numbering rules, with both Constables and Sergeants having anything from one to four digits.
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-
| Borough |
Sectors |
| KG Barking & Dagenham |
KB Barking, KG Dagenham, KK Marks Gate |
| SX Barnet |
SA Barnet, SX Colindale, SF Finchley, SG Golders Green, ST Whetstone |
| RY Bexley |
RB Belvedere, RY Bexleyheath, RS Sidcup |
| QK Brent |
QC Chalkhill, QH Harlesden, QK Kilburn, QD Wembley, QL Willesden Green, QY Kingsbury |
| PY Bromley |
PB Beckenham, PH Biggin Hill, PC Chislehurst, PY Bromley, PN Orpington, PG Penge, PW West Wickham |
| EK Camden |
ED Albany Street, EH Hampstead, EO Holborn, EK Kentish Town, EW West Hampstead |
| ZD Croydon |
ZD Croydon, ZK Kenley, ZA New Addington, ZY Norbury, ZN South Norwood |
| XB Ealing |
XA Acton, XD Ealing, XG Greenford, XI Hanwell, XP Northolt, XW Norwood Green, XS Southall |
| YE Enfield |
YE Edmonton, YF Enfield, YP Ponders End, YS Southgate, YW Winchmore Hill, YC Cheshunt (now in Hertfordshire Constabulary) |
| RG Greenwich |
RM Eltham, RG Greenwich, RA Plumstead, RT Thamesmead, RK Westcombe Park, RW Woolwich |
| GD Hackney |
† Dalston, GH Hackney, GD Shoreditch, GN Stoke Newington |
| FH Hammersmith & Fulham |
FF Fulham, FH Hammersmith, FS Shepherds Bush |
| YR Haringey |
YR Hornsey, YM Muswell Hill, YA St Anne's, YT Tottenham, YD Wood Green |
| QA Harrow |
QE Edgware, QA Harrow, QP Pinner, QW Wealdstone, QS West Street |
| KD Havering |
KL Collier Row, KA Harold Hill, KC Hornchurch, KM Rainham, KD Romford, KU Upminster |
| XH Hillingdon |
XF Harefield, XY Hayes, XH Hillingdon, XN Northwood, XR Ruislip, XE West Drayton |
| TX Hounslow |
TB Brentford, TC Chiswick, TF Feltham, TX Hounslow |
| NI Islington |
NH Holloway, NI Islington |
| BS Kensington & Chelsea |
BC Chelsea, BD Kensington, BH Notting Hill |
| VK Kingston-Upon-Thames |
VK Kingston, VN New Malden, VE/VS† Surbiton |
| LX Lambeth |
LD Brixton, LC Cavendish, LN/LM† Clapham, LG Gipsy Hill, LK Kennington, LS Streatham |
| PL Lewisham |
PK Brockley, PD Catford, PP Deptford, PL Lewisham, PS Sydenham |
| VW Merton |
VM Mitcham, VR Morden, VW Wimbledon |
| KF Newham |
KE East Ham, KF Forest Gate, KN North Woolwich, KW/KO† Plaistow, KS Stratford |
| JI Redbridge |
JB Barkingside, JI Ilford, JN Wanstead, JF Woodford |
| TW Richmond Upon Thames |
TR Richmond, TT Teddington, TW Twickenham |
| MD Southwark |
MC Camberwell, ME East Dulwich, MM Peckham, MR Rotherhithe, MD Southwark, MS Walworth |
| ZT Sutton |
ZT Sutton, ZW Wallington, ZR Worcester Park |
| HT Tower Hamlets |
HW Bow, HT Bethnal Green / Whitechapel, HR Brick Lane, HI Isle of Dogs, HH Limehouse, HP Poplar |
| JC Waltham Forest |
JC Chingford, JL Leyton, JS Leytonstone, JW Walthamstow, JK Walthamstow Market, JA Waltham Abbey (now in Essex) |
| WW Wandsworth |
WA Battersea, WL Lavender Hill, † Putney, WD Tooting, WW/WH Wandsworth |
| CW Westminster |
AB Belgravia, CX Charing Cross, DM Marylebone, DP Paddington, DS St John's Wood, CD West End Central |
† Some authoritative sources (e.g. Police Almanac) are self-contradictory and incomplete
Not all of these stations are currently operational
References
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