Bailiffs in police-like attire

Bailiffs dress in police-like attire, including white shirt, black tie, shoulder boards and interestingly, body-armour with police-like radios, presenting a first impression they are the police.



The law says anyone wearing uniform closely resembling the police, commits an offence. The law defines "article of uniform" to be a distinctive badge or mark, document or anything having police-like appearance

Bailiffs have an official court-issued ID card, a laminated strip of paper, but they are unpopular with bailiffs because of their benign appearance.

In the case of R. v Michael Allen Northampton Magistrates Court, October 30 2014, the suspect was convicted of driving a car with police-like markings, but without sirens and blue lights, was convicted under Section 90 of the Police Act 2006 even though the car was a film prop being driven to location shooting. This demonstrates that wearing police-like apparel is an offence which a police constable has no discretion on whether or not the offence is committed.



One bailiff company Marston Group Limited substitute their bailiffs official ID with a police-like wallet containing a metallic star-shaped badge resembling a police warrant card. They are trained to only show them fleetingly before hiding them away. These have been used to gain entry to property after misleading the occupant the bailiff is a police officer.



You can see the original video and the screenshot was taken at 2:18 into the video demonstrating the manner the bailiff has been trained to "flash" the police-like badge before putting it away.

Genuine police warrant card with badge





Bailiffs fake ID resembling a police warrant card with badge



Gather your evidence, write everything down in chronological order using your own words, then the offences should be reported to police.

If the badge was issued by the bailiff company to its agents, then the company directors and all employees that know about the use of the badge and its deployment methods, also commit an offence.


The Law:

Section 90 of the Police Act 1996 states:

Impersonation, etc.

(1)Any person who with intent to deceive impersonates a member of a police force or special constable, or makes any statement or does any act calculated falsely to suggest that he is such a member or constable, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to both.

(2)Any person who, not being a constable, wears any article of police uniform in circumstances where it gives him an appearance so nearly resembling that of a member of a police force as to be calculated to deceive shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(3)Any person who, not being a member of a police force or special constable, has in his possession any article of police uniform shall, unless he proves that he obtained possession of that article lawfully and has possession of it for a lawful purpose, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

(4)In this section—

(a)"article of police uniform" means any article of uniform or any distinctive badge or mark or document of identification usually issued to members of police forces or special constables, or anything having the appearance of such an article, badge, mark or document,

(aa)"member of a police force" includes a member of the British Transport Police Force, and

(b)"special constable" means a special constable appointed for a police area.

Section 993 of the Companies Act 2006 states:

Offence of fraudulent trading

(1)If any business of a company is carried on with intent to defraud creditors of the company or creditors of any other person, or for any fraudulent purpose, every person who is knowingly a party to the carrying on of the business in that manner commits an offence.

(2)This applies whether or not the company has been, or is in the course of being, wound up.

(3)A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(4)In this section—

(a)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or a fine (or both);

(b)on summary conviction—

(i)in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both);

(ii)in Scotland or Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both).