You can usually tell which agency an officer works for from the patch on the sleeve. The smaller details, such as a seal or a date, are easier to miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research so far points to the NYPD as the first department to put an emblem on a sleeve. That was in 1904, and it sat halfway between the shoulder and the elbow. Law enforcement patches have changed a lot since then. This post covers where they came from, how to read one and where it goes on a uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police uniform patches are embroidered pieces of cloth that show which agency an officer works for. They are usually sewn on the sleeve and carry the agency name along with a seal, a star or another local detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The badge and the patch do different jobs. The badge identifies the officer, while the patch identifies the agency and can be read from a distance. Some departments also wear a cloth badge patch, which is a stitched copy of the badge. From here on the focus is the sleeve patch, the one that carries the agency name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police patches grew out of military insignia and reached police work in the early 1900s. The dates below show how that happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1862, Union General Philip Kearny had his officers wear a red cloth patch on their caps. Marking a unit with a small piece of cloth caught on across the army, and police departments borrowed the idea much later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Embroidered police patches were new at this point, and early ones often belonged to a single unit instead of a whole department. The Park Police had no patch for the whole force before 1940.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State police agencies leaned on official seals. Virginia State Police designed its patch in 1949 and adopted it in 1950, using the front of the Great Seal of Virginia. Des Moines drew its first patch from the city seal in 1952. Many police patch designs still follow this approach, so a seal is usually the first thing to look for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The history of police patches follows a clear order. Unit patches came first, department-wide patches came later, and seals sit behind many of the designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police patch symbols and meanings are mostly local. They tend to come from the city or state seal, the flag, or a landmark that people in that area would recognize. Each agency makes its own choices, so no symbol has one fixed meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Symbol<\/strong><\/td>| What it often stands for<\/strong><\/td> | Example<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> | Stars<\/td> | A local count<\/td> | NYC Department of Correction: five stars for the five boroughs<\/td><\/tr> | Seal<\/td> | The city or state itself<\/td> | Virginia State Police uses the front of the Great Seal of Virginia<\/td><\/tr> | Landmark<\/td> | A place people know<\/td> | Rhode Island State Police shows the State House<\/td><\/tr> | Eagle or scales<\/td> | Authority or fairness<\/td> | Depends on the agency<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n | How to Read One<\/h3>\n\n\n\nAn unfamiliar patch is easier to read once you know the agency name, because it tells you which city or state to look up. Many police patches carry that place’s seal or a landmark in the center, and a quick search of it usually explains the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Police Patch Colors and What They Mean<\/h2>\n\n\n\nColors on a police patch usually come from the city or state seal and flag, so each department has its own reasons. A few meanings do repeat from one patch to the next, and they make a useful starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n General Color Meanings<\/h3>\n\n\n\nSame Color and Different Reasons<\/h3>\n\n\n\nThese are general associations, so any list of police patches meaning is only a starting point. Fairfield reads navy blue as strength and reliability. Smithfield in Rhode Island pairs blue with black to match the mourning colors of the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n |