Rumors abound on SCC about what changes we will see, i.e., the elimination of both black vest covers and cargo pants. I have an opinion about the uniform as I'm sure most of you do.
Let us start from the top to the bottom. Keep in mind that I am some what of a traditionalist but also believe in officer comfort.
Well I think it goes without saying that the hat on the right looks like one worn by a professional and the one on the left by a security guard. The one on the left is comfortable but looks terrible.
Tradition wins out on this one.
Blacks vest versus a light blue/white vest.
The proper wearing of the vest is under your shirt but in the high humidity of summer it becomes almost unbearable. Since it becomes impractical to conceal your vest, the vest cover becomes the only option. The light colored (light blue/ white) vest becomes filthy within a couple of days of wear. Therefor the black vest cover is my choice.
Comforts wins here.
Shirts
Is there an issue?
NYPD
LAPD
Not very long ago our brothers of the NYPD wore light blue shirts and now they have switched to the navy blue shirt like our brothers of the LAPD.
The color of our shirts is of no real importance one way or the other. However, if we prefer the dark vest then it would stand to reason that we wear a dark shirt.
The pants have caused a lot of discussion. I for one was very happy when the cargo pants became an optional uniform choice. However, I find myself never using the additional pockets but I prefer the material of the pants (cotton like) over the shinny 80/20's that we were previously required to wear. I'm all for the material but indifferent to the pockets.
Comfort wins again.
Does your appearance command respect? Your appearance does not make you a good policeman but perception in the public’s eye is reality. Do we have an appearance problem? We definitely could use some sprucing up. As a department I think uniformity can be accomplished with office comfort being the number one priority.
23 comments:
CPD should be worrying more about other things than uniforms.New uniforms cant turn a sows ear into a silk purse.
"Does your appearance command respect?"
NO!Ray ray dont care about your gig line.
would prefer a German ww11 type uniform similar to that of the much vaunted SS with skull crossbones lighting bolts etc, would make little gang bangers sit up and take notice im assured just a thought
I perfer the baseball cap, but like everything else the dept's design sucks. The baseball cap is lighter on your head and if lost is replaceable without loss of sheild. I kept my old CPD hat and sheild in the trunk of my squad. I like the E.T's baseball cap for it's simple design. The CPD design with it's checkerboard looks like an Italian racing bike hat. Allow each district to come up with their own design on a dark blue baseball cap. Get rid of the checkerboard except for the formal CPD hat. Obviously, the design should be in good taste and hat's should be replaced when worn or dirty.
The winter rocky hat has never kept my head warm. I think the rocky hat looks fine as long as the flaps stay up. I wear mine when the temp's are in the 30th's. I dont own the wool ski cap with the checker board. Let the Nordic ski team have that hat. I wear a dark blue watch cap with CPD on the edge when it's really cold. Comfort wins here. Again, allow each district design their own watch cap.
Navy blue shirts for everyone (ok, maybe exempts can keep their white shirts). White shirts for everyone while wearing dress blues.
With navy shirts, a black/navy vest cover would blend in much better. If you look at some of the suburbs, Evergreen Park, Tinley Park, Willow Springs, etc, they all wear navy shirts with outside covers. They look a whole lot more professional than we do.
Cargo pants are not my favorite, but they wouldn't look bad with the navy shirt. The baseball cap has got to go! So does the knit cap. The crown hat and the winter fur lined cap should be all we wear...if we wear a hat at all! Hats should be for roll call, dress blues and inclement weather. Other than that, you don't need one.
The biggest problem is first issue. Contractual obligations require any change in uniform to be paid for by the city. Until that changes, don't expect any more uniformity. Everything will be "optional" thus allowing the city to get around first issue problems.
Maybe Mr. Weis can come up with a solution?
You are right, the department has bigger problems to deal with and No! ray ray doesn't care about your gig line.
But is a gig line all we're talking about here? No it is our overall appearance to the general public.
The LAPD is probably the sharpest looking of the big city police. In their case appearance couldn't keep them out of federal receivership.
I don't think looking good is going to solve our real problems but it is a hot topic lately.
Mr. SouthSide says---
Is there any way we can take a better look at the shirt worn by the woman between the two NYPD police officers??
It's rare I see a woman with that many teeth.
who remembers the cop who was detailed down by board of trade options center , the guys down there used to call him and his super obese partner offs, dunkin and donuts . if these guys are still around it is a miracle both combined must have weighted 550 lbs. saw one of them get out off a squad once getting dropped off and i swear car went up a foot, jodie is right these guys of this ilk are walking heart attacks not to mention a laughing stock to citizens
Anonymous said...
would prefer a German ww11 type uniform similar to that of the much vaunted SS with skull crossbones lighting bolts etc, would make little gang bangers sit up and take notice im assured just a thought
Sun Mar 30, 02:29:00 PM
Im a 44 dot pattern man myself.The totenkof and SS runes do look sharp.
The Chicago Police uniform is a classic! I for one, like the light blue shirt. Give us a dark blue shirt and we will look like any other law enforcement agency. Our uniform sets us apart.
The baseball hat:
Here is an idea on the hat. How about we go back to the hat that a lot of the guys wore (when illegal to do so) that was comfortable and looked better then this Tight Security knock off hat. Pat used to sell them at the old PDT printing in 008.
An all black, professional fitted (not adjustable - just like MLB)baseball hat with "CPD" in white letters on the front.
Nuff said.
It looked good, it was very comfortable, and it made sense for field duty. We can keep the "dress" hat for those type of occasiosn, details, parades, ceromonies, etc.
Same thing for the skull cap/hat too....go back to the basic looking balck hat with the "CPD" stitched on it. This new hats with the star, the band, they look like second rate security company uniforms.
Just my $.02
The ball cap is retarded. I like the old traditional barracks cover.
The traditional hat seperates you from everyone else. No hat or baseball cap make you look like the general public. As stated in a previous comment "Does your appearance command respect".
The baseball hat has to go, terrible idea and a real shame FOP ever took the issue up, what a waste. Many officers wear it backwards, crooked, etc. Very unprofessional. However, let's not go backwards and start requiring guys to wear the old hat on every call, that's just dumb. Traffic control, high profile stuff, fine, but to gig a guy for no hat is just dumb. As for the cargo pants, very functional. I use the additional pockets for my small extra flash light, my cell phone, etc. Either that or let us add more pockets to our vest covers. Black vest covers make sense so I'm sure they'll do away with those first.
Let's remember, the lighter the color the cooler you will be. You broil in the summer heat with a black vest cover, so I don't think moving to a darker blue shirt will be better for comfort.
Dont we have better things to worry about besides the uniform & our weight? Before J-Fed got here, this was something the media never said jack about, now that he's brought it up everyone is jumping on the band wagon. We have been working without a contract since 30JUNE (10 months) and I think there are 3 proposals on the FlOP's web site. We got a long way to go.
then again i think a straw bonnet type hat would be nice ala Eleanor Roosevelt circa 1939 complete with black lace veil a very nice touch that would be a huge hit i bet when worn to 26th and california on court apperances
Love having the option of the baseball hat on a cool or rainy day, but the design is horrible. They really overdid it with the checkerboard. Best thing about wearing it is that I don't have to look at it.
If you could purchase a baseball hat that was fitted, maybe they wouldn't look so ridiculous. That said, the traditional crown hat with checkerboard is a classic hat. I know they are a pain in the ass when answering in-progress calls, etc., but for details, traffic duty, formal occasions, they look sharp and they do command respect. As for the pants, the cargos are practical, more comfortable and look better than the "shiny" 80/20s. Despite all of this, we need to realize that the supe and his new media buddies are bringing all of this stuff up now to add shit in the game with contract negotiations. We should be ignoring all of this and our bargaining units should be floating real police issues in the media like pay, pension, benefits (my dentist told me, "your compdent benefits suck")better equipment, namely cars and computers, and the ability to perform our job without looking over our shoulder constantly. WE OUGHT TO SEND WORD TO THE MAYOR AND HIS MINIONS THAT WE WILL NOT GET ON BOARD WITH HIS OLYMPICS PURSUIT UNLESS HE ADDRESSES OUR CONCERNS. This is what we should be talking about. Not the naive crap coming from the current fool in charge.
I have the hat solution.
http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/page/H/PROD/theatrical-hats/147
http://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/30516/sound-effects
DEFINETLY A GERMAN WW11 HELMET WITH A FEATHER COCKADE ADDED TO IT FOR CERIMONIAL APPERANCES ONE OF A KIND
If we changed to dark blue the uniform shops would charge $80 for a new shirt . Think about it.
"DEFINETLY A GERMAN WW11 HELMET WITH A FEATHER COCKADE ADDED TO IT FOR CERIMONIAL APPERANCES ONE OF A KIND"
World War Eleven? You must be merit...
LA uniforms look better because they have fitness standards.
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