Detective Uniform

[Chipster]

Once again the Chief is trying to determine my wear for work and I'm trying to give him ideas before he makes one so I'll have some input. I am a small town detective (20 full time officers) and work everything from vandalism to murders, although we haven't had one since 1996. Most of my cases involve interrogations and forensic interviews with victims. I rarely work the road as my car is unmarked and I don't wear a full uniform.

Here's my predicament. The Chief wants a professional look. I want to increase my safety by not advertising I am an officer until it's to my advantage. This happens when approaching possible suspects in other jurisdictions as well as those who don't know me. I believe not displaying a badge and weapon out in the open gives me more options as I am not encouraged to carry other non-lethal equipment or wear a vest all the time. I've tried the cargo pants and untucked shirts with the merrel shoes and gotten the raised eyebrow look from the administration. I've tried the comp-tac in a tucked in shirt and didn't care for it. I don't work enough white collar crimes to justify the suit/blazer.

What am I overlooking for other options?

[Dr. No]

polo / button up shirt and slacks/khakis (Vertx might be too tactical?)

Untucked when you're out running around and want to be incognito, tuck it in when you're in the office and want to look professional for the boss.

I'd probably choose an OWB holster with some sort of retention (belt slide Safariland ALS)

[Lon]

I want to increase my safety by not advertising I am an officer until it's to my advantage.


I gotta admit, I'm having a hard time tracking you with this one. When I get out and do follow ups and approach bad guys, I want them to instantly recognize I'm a Detective. Personally, I think my safety is in that recognition. Bad guys, at least in my AO, are less likely to do something stupid or try to do something stupid if I'm instantly recognizable vs. some dude coming up on them. Now, if I'm doing surveillance or working in some undercover capacity then yes, dress down and carry concealed. I definitely did when I worked narcotics.

The other thing to consider is that if you are not instantly recognizable as a detective/LEO and something kicks off and you pull a gun without getting a badge out as well, bad things can happen quick. Especially in someone else's jurisdiction.

We don't have to wear a coat and tie unless we are going to court. Otherwise, it's a shirt and tie or nice tucked in polo and non blue jean pants (khakis, docker style pants, etc.). We all wear badges on chains around our necks for the most part. We are not required to carry a less lethal option, although our Domestic Violence Detective carries a Taser with her since she often times encounters the suspect in DV cases when she goes back to do follow up work. My Taser stays on my raid vest in my car.

If I was admin, I'd have a hard time letting my general case Detectives wear what you are asking unless they were on some special detail.

[ST911]

General crim detective, not doing anything special (dope, UC, white collar, vice, etc):

Functional, non-"tactical", discreet khakis with a casual shoe. Merrell makes some casuals that are very comfortable and professional enough for what you're doing without being dressy (Realm Lace and Moab Rover). Also: Doc Martens. Button-down shirt in plain, simple prints and neutral colors, tucked in. Non-logo'ed polos tucked in. Keep casual sport coats around. There are styles and cuts that have a casual look and aren't white-collar. Keep a fleece vest around for comfort/ease as well. Sweater, as weather allows.

Look around at what your local pastors, funeral directors, insurance agents, college profs or private school admins are wearing.

Behavior, mannerisms, and verbals can also speak louder than your dress. Watch those if you're trying to be discreet. It's the total presentation. You can up-cop in a heartbeat if you need to, but if all you're cop is showing when you start there's nowhere to go.

[MD7305]

If your agency permits I'd go with the khakis(less pockets, maybe Dockers vs. 5.11), casual shoes, and a polo. Get a Safariland ALS with a paddle and a cuff/mag carrier also with a paddle so you can remove as necessary. You can always add a sport coat to dress it up/hide weapons or untuck the polo to dress it down depending on your needs.

Our guys (26 sworn with 5 investigators) do the following:
-LT. (Lead Investigator) almost always wears a suit, tie, etc.
-Drug guy, wears whatever he wants. Commonly jeans, T-shirt and athletic shoes.
-Code Enforcment Investigator - 5.11 khaki pants, polo with embroidered name and badge
-General Investigators (2x) - On day assignement (08:00-16:00) wear suit, tie, jacket, etc. When on-call (12:00-20:00) or called out, wear khakis, Merrells, and polos.

[Chuck Haggard]

Our detectives wear the suit and tie for fancy work like going to court, but otherwise wear a polo and khakis, badge clipped to the gun side of the belt. They are required to have a reload and cuffs on them. Issued holster is the ALS
They are also required to have a less-lethal option when out in the filed, most choose a small OC spray or one of the kubotans that have an OC sprayer built in. All of them are issued an external vest carrier so that they can throw on their armor if needed.

[Alpha Sierra]

Not a cop, but if you shop at some of the larger chain stores like Mens Wearhouse you can find some very lightweight blazers/sportcoats that will allow you to look professional and conceal very well without overheating unless it is extremely humid out, particularly if worn over a short sleeve button down or polo.

[41magfan]

The segment of society that would fall for any sort of clothing disguise were not worthy of my concern. The ones that had the potential to pose a threat to my well-being could spot a COP in a Ronald McDonald suit from a 100 yards away.

Kids from the hood - sometimes as young as 6 or 7 - used to routinely approach me in places like Wal-Mart (while wearing totally casual civvies) and pose the question, "You da Police ain't ya."

To the discerning eye, it ain't got nothing to do with the clothes.

[KenW.]

We have to wear shirt and tie, and have a jacket handy for everyday stuff. I like the Duluth Trading jackets with all the hidden pockets for my gear.

[Plan]

My agency issues 5.11 khakis and polos embroidered with agency logo for callback use, but has the expectation that detectives (non-UC) wear a shirt and tie for day-to-day operations (sport coat/blazer to court). The reality is a little bit different, as many just wear the 5.11's all the time unless their immediate COC have an issue with the 5.11s.

I can see it both ways, I prefer the professional appearance of the shirt/tie but think it's unrealistic to be searching a dope house, combing a wood line in the rain looking for a tossed gun, or crawling under a car to find a concealed VIN with a tie getting in the way. As others have said, best bet seems to be to go with twill/cotton khaki pants, properly fitted dress shirt, and dress shoes with good soles that are a little more durable than the typical leather-sole variety. Ditch the tie when practical or dress it up with a jacket.

I don't get the concept of trying to be low-profile for a non-UC role. I'll be damned if I give someone an out for stabbing/shooting/beating my ass on the grounds that they didn't know I was police.

[Sir Guy]

In the summertime I'll usually wear khakis and a polo. In cooler weather the polo changes to a button-down (long-sleeve). I only do the suit and tie thing if I have court that day.

Duty gun in an ALS with WML, spare magazine, and cuffs always. I put on the radio when going out of the office. Badges have to be easily visible (on belt, or around neck is arguably better).

I agree; I want it fairly obvious I'm a cop if I'm out and about. My job is plain clothes but it isn't UC.

Andy

[FNFAN]

You can beat the cost of khaki's/dockers playing the sales at, for one Dillards and they have a very decent assortment of comfortable slacks. Looks more professional and you really, really don't get that much more service out of khakis. Same with their Gold Label shirts. Easy to care for, well made shirts. Realistically if you end up trashing your clothes in a line of duty incident most agencies will reimburse.

Never hurts to look better than average.

[czech6]

I think the low profile thing is a really bad idea. There's a pretty extensive history of blue on blue incidents, where guys out of uniform have unfortunately become victims due to not being recognized as police by officers in uniform. On a good day it's handcuffs and hurt feelings, and it goes down hill from there. I think there's some wisdom to a plain clothes "uniform", i.e. Department polo, khakis and raid/police jacket, in that it's easier in a high stress incident to start the process of discerning "friend from foe" from big picture to small details.

My department did test a couple years ago, where they were having officers in uniform were being pitted against plain clothes officers, only using a badge for ID, doing building searches. A lot of guys in plain clothes got shot with sim rounds. It was pretty clear that when faced with an armed subject that officers weren't scanning their suspects head to toe for a badge, and that a badge is just a chunk of metal that's hard to see. It was also pretty clear that guys out of uniform had a difficult time remembering that they knew they were one of the good guys, but no one else had a reasonable expectation to know that. Out of that we got issued raid jackets and some revisions on how plain clothes officers operate in the field.

[ST911]

If you want to be recognizable as a cop or anticipate getting involved in stuff, wear a uniform, a bat-belt, and armor.

If you want or need to be discreet, distinguished from unis as you go about your work, you're a citizen CCWing or an off-duty cop. Don't count on a badge on your belt or around your neck, or an embroidered unit polo to ID you. Oh yeah, and conceal your gear. If you need to participate in something, jock up loud and proud in a raid jacket and armor. Otherwise, you're out of it.

A lot of this is folks wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and there's a lot of talking out of both sides of our mouths. We bang on open carry, yet entire back office staffs will do it relying on some absolution provided by a badge or a polo shirt. We'd bang on a uni that won't wear armor as being a tactifool, yet Obvious B. PoloCop from upstairs isn't armored.

Traditions, badges of office, and sacred cows...but are we being honest with ourselves?

[Sir Guy]

A lot of this is folks wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and there's a lot of talking out of both sides of our mouths. We bang on open carry, yet entire back office staffs will do it relying on some absolution provided by a badge or a polo shirt. We'd bang on a uni that won't wear armor as being a tactifool, yet Obvious B. PoloCop from upstairs isn't armored.

Traditions, badges of office, and sacred cows...but are we being honest with ourselves?
Excellent point and well said.

[Chipster]

Sorry it has taken me awhile to check back on this thread. We have a neighboring county that requires that Detectives wear a full uniform. My Chief of Police has thought about that option as in his mind the officer safety issue of non-lethal and blue on blue shooting would no longer exist for the most part. I do not agree that carrying a gun exposed along with a badge lessen my chance of an assault by an offender and in my experience (6 years undercover, 9 years patrol, and 2 years general investigations) in this area, that is not the case. I have had very good success with having more cooperation from people by not exposing my weapon and identity by my manner of dress but by stating who I am and identifying myself by my credential and then putting them away. People seem to be less embarrassed by me being there and usually invite me in when otherwise I would not have been.

Saying all that I did have a suspect draw a "airsoft" gun on me in another jurisdiction for "looking at his car". That situation ended badly for him but never the less I see the argument. I blame my momentary lack of awareness as I was more focused on photographing the car and less focused on who was coming at me from behind. I do not believe having an exposed gun or badge would have prevented him doing what he did as I was facing away from him and he came at from behind.

In reference to the blue-on-blue possibility. I carry a neck badge, and a bright neon green vest marked police as well as everything else that has "POLICE" on it in my car. Having worked undercover for 6 years I am well aware of what I need to do to protect myself from getting shot by my own team and I act accordingly. The first rule is to not place yourself in that situation without positively identifying myself by a piece of uniform that clearly states what team I am on.

I guess the general point of asking is to see if anyone had a "business casual" outfit that they'd recommend specifically for a subdued profile while working. The tucked in polo does not lend itself to that role and the untucked shirt sometimes looks rather "frumpy". A jacket is typically to hot and a sweater vest does not work in the summer. I was just looking for other options if someone had any.

I certainly respect everyone's opinions on the matter I am just comfortable with my actions and mannerisms enough that I feel confident that the subdued business casual would work for me. Your experience may be different and I respect that.