Police Insignia Policies in Pennsylvania

• In Event: Police Training and Appearance Policies

Abstract

Police insignia are something that many people to use to identify police officers, officer rankings, and police departments. What many fail to realize is there are more insignia that police officers wear – either in uniform or out – that can define their ideological viewpoints and more. This project focused on (1) what insignia police departments allow in their appearance policies; and (2) whether policies clearly outline that police officers are allowed to wear outside insignias. Focusing on the police departments in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the project explored whether insignia is mentioned in police appearances, and if so, the guidelines. Preliminary results suggest that while some police departments have insignia policies, they do not specify whether non-law-enforcement insignia are approved and whether insignia are permitted in uniform and out of it. The lack of knowledge on this affects police appearance and potentially harms the relationship police have with the public.

Authors

• Victoria McQueen, Penn State Harrisburg

• Dessire Amaya, Penn State Harrisburg

• Angela Deras, Penn State Harrisburg

• Angela Patterson, Penn State Harrisburg

• Makayla Smith, Penn State Harrisburg

• Jennifer Gibbs, Penn State Harrisburg

• Siyu Liu, Penn State Harrisburg