Metropolitan Police world famous 'brand' for sale

Scotland Yard is to sell its world famous name to a variety of merchandise including clothing, toys and souvenirs to fill a funding gap after years of austerity under successive governments. The Metropolitan Police Service [MPS] announced its plans earlier in the week.

The practice is common in the United States where forces such as the New York Police Department (NYPD) have been selling merchandise for over a decade.

Scotland Yard said that, as well as frontline policing, any money raised by the licensing project would be used to train staff and improve the image of the Metropolitan Police Service [MPS] in the eyes of the public.

It will license the use of its logo, the New Scotland Yard sign and the MPS’s font and colour palette, as well as imagery of its officers on patrol.

A contract has been signed with branding firm The Point.1888, which has worked with the Tate galleries and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

The MPS said it was not yet clear how much money it was likely to make each year as a result of the project, which will run until May 2021. The force added that no products that look like MPS uniforms would be produced and Scotland Yard would have to sign off any licensed product made by external companies.