Originally Posted by
TGS
Interesting......where I grew up, every small municipality had its own PD with its own uniform. You generally had some trends, where most of the state followed something akin to the State Troopers and NYC metro area dressed akin to NYPD, but there were still some wild cards thrown in there as well as everyone having something different about their uniforms regardless. The municipalities in NJ tend to be very small compared to the newer parts of the country, some as small as 9 sq miles. The Northeast is very different compared to the rest of the US, so it's kind of hard to describe how all of these "small" towns are small, but in a densely populated area that in the rest of the country would be viewed as being one big town/city. Imagine a city in most of the US, but instead of having neighborhoods within a city, all those major neighborhoods are their own city/town. As an example of the size difference, some of the counties out west would span half the state of NJ, and the towns/cities can be about as large as the counties in NJ.
So, lots and lots of various uniforms on virtually any trip when you leave the house....even the State Troopers had a couple different variations based on their assignment. Never was concerned about it. Even as a teenager it was very easy to tell the difference between police and security guards....general fit/finish of the uniform, confidence and the way they carried themselves.