| Sumario: | This article contributes to the growing literature on gendered challenges in policing by examining how uniform design—specifically standard-issue police trousers—impacts the embodied experiences of women officers and staff. Drawing on qualitative data from 88 participants across five police forces in England and Wales (2023–24), the study highlights a range of physical and psychosocial harms that participants attributed to poorly fitting trousers. While the police uniform is often regarded as a cohesive and neutral symbol of authority, this article deconstructs its material and gendered dimensions, examining how women who voice discomfort or health concerns are often met with institutional silencing—especially when their bodily needs diverge from the normative ideal of the disembodied 'ideal police worker'. In doing so, this article offers a unique contribution to criminological debates on embodiment, well-being and the cultural politics in a uniformed organization.
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