Sillitoe tartan is a distinctive chequered pattern, usually black-and-white or blue-and-white, which was originally associated with the police in Scotland.[a] It later gained widespread use in the rest of the United Kingdom and overseas, notably in Australia and New Zealand, as well as Chicago and Pittsburgh in the United States. It is used occasionally elsewhere, including by some Spanish municipal police and in parts of Canada, where it is limited to auxiliary police services.
The Sillitoe pattern may be composed of several different colours and numbers of rows depending on local customs, but when incorporated into uniforms or vehicle livery, it serves to uniquely identify emergency services personnel to the public.
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