When is a policeman not a policeman?

[Nihil]

Or, to put it another way,

How can you tell the difference between a "real" policeman and a
"community support officer"?

(For overseas readers, the government have been gradually bringing in
a tier of wannabe coppers. They are usually cheaper than real police,
mainly because they don't have anything like as much training.
The government line when they were first introduced was that the CSOs
would just be "eyes and ears in the community" but they were still
given the power to hand out fines for a wide range of offences.
In addition, there is a bill going through parliament at the moment
that would allow CSOs to search suspects, enforce licensing offences,
direct traffic and "deter" begging ... amongst other things.)

My question is to find out how you are supposed to tell the difference
between a real police constable and a plastic plod. A few photos in
the media have shown some sort of patch on the black uniform jacket
but I wasn't sure if that was just the choice of the local council
(or whoever decides). Similarly, what about when they have their
luminous yellow waterproof jacket on ... does it have an "L" plate
or something?

(More at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4119011.stm)

Nihil

[orpupilofnature57]

1. When their the problem, and not the cure. eom