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CURRENT ITEMS & SWAT
| Below - STILL NEED - current in late 2009 |
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| Worn only on navy blue flight suits |
| American Legion Post 207 Drum and Bugle Corps |
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| I still need the above patch |
| American Legion Post 207 star |
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| This measures 1 7/8 inches; center seal is "turned" a bit |
| Novelty item from Post 207 |
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| I still need the above hat shield |
| Current style + Field Training Officer patches |
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| Each rank has cloth, leather & felt patches. This pic shows one of my display cases. |
This picture shows the current style, all ranks. Top row 8-sided - patrol officers;
middle row - sergeants, lieutenants and captains; bottom row - commander and above. Note the Field Training Officer
patches - the blue one is the shirt patch and the black one is the jacket patch - the position existed for many years and
the CPD even issued a large pin with "Patrol Specialist" on it (pictured on another page) to recognize these officers,
and the FTO position was finally created formally in early 1999, including the extra pay. The sergeant stripes also
came in blue for the shirts and black for the jackets.
The city flag patch is worn in this color scheme, used by all ranks, and has been in
use since May 1, 1971, when sergeants started wearing white shirts rather than blue shirts. The flag patch on the left
is leather; the other is cloth. The 4 stars on the flag denote important city events - the Fort Dearborn massacre in
1812; the 1871 Great Chicago Fire; and two World's Fairs - the World Columbian Exposition in 1893 and the Century of Progress
Exposition in 1933. The top blue stripe in the flag represents Lake Michigan and the North branch of the Chicago River.
The bottom blue stripe represents the South branch of the Chicago River and the "Great Canal."
| Left - white portions are leather; Right - cloth |
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| The size of the 4 stars on different patches varies with the manufacturer |
| closeup - coat patches |
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The sergeant's coat patch on the left is from the 1970s. Its stripes are twice as thick (from
front to back) as the stripes on the patch on the right, which is from 2004. These older style patches are on
the nylon jacket, the leather jacket and the wool coat pictured below. Note that the sergeant's patch on the
right and the Field Training Officer patch use the identical colors.
| closeup - shirt patches |
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| Left FTO - "real" patch; Right FTO - error - wrong border color |
The Field Training Officer patch on the left is actually used. The FTO patch on the right is
an error patch - it has the wrong color for the outside border.
| Used by sergeants, lieutenants & captains |
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The above style has been current since November 1981. The symbolic meaning of the city seal
is as follows:
The American shield represents the national spirit of Chicago. The Indian represents the discoverer
of the site of Chicago. The ship in full sail is emblematic of the approach of civilization and commerce. The
sheaf of wheat is typical of activity and plenty, holding the same meaning as cornucopia. The nude babe in the shell
is the ancient and classical symbolism of the pearl, and Chicago, situated at the neck of the lake, signifies that it shall
be "The Gem of the Lakes." The motto, "Urbs in Horto," means "City in a Garden." The City of Chicago was incorporated
on March 4, 1837.
The above information is contained in a small folder from the CPD which encloses a patrol officer's
patch (for people crazy enough to collect these things). A supervisor's patch is pictured above - used by sergeants,
lieutenants and captains.
This pictured patch is also the patch worn by members of the Pipes and Drums of the Chicago Police
Department. This group was founded in 1999 and serves to "Honor Our Fallen" comrades, their families and friends in
their time of need. Some photos of their distinctive epaulets are pictured elsewhere.
The city motto appeared at the bottom of the stars that were used from 1955 until 2003.
On the 2003 style stars, the motto is at the bottom of the center city seal. These new style stars are copyrighted
by the CPD.
| Left- the 5, 10 & 15 year service bars |
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| Right - the 20 year service star for left coat sleeve |
| Old style 15-year service bars |
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| Worn on the left coat sleeve as shown below |
| old nylon jacket |
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| Has old style stripes and old style 15-year service bars |
| Another old nylon jacket |
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| The buttons attach via velcro |
| Old leather jacket with leather flag patch |
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| Has the old style leather shoulder patch for Traffic & old style sergeant stripes |
Leather jackets were first authorized in August 1965 to replace the fur collar jackets. Officers had a full year
to implement this change. Leather jackets became regulation attire in August 1966.
| Current style with Sgt stripes - still need this |
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| I would love to buy one of these for my collection |
| Patrol Officer's leather jacket - still need this |
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| Both patches are leather |
| old Sgt's dress blouse - still need this |
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| Old wool dress blouse from 1973 |
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| old wool "reefer" coat - very heavy weight |
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| has the 20 year service star on left sleeve |
| New wool coats for Lieutenant & above - still need |
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| Note the scroll design on the left sleeve for exempt ranks |
| Patrol Officer's shirt |
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| Has the Field Training Officer patches |
| Sergeant's shirt - white shirts since May 1, 1971 |
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Above, is the
white shirt worn by sergeants since May 1, 1971. The shirt pictured above has the style of
shoulder patch used since 1981 - the 8-sided patch.
Below, is an old style
sergeant's shirt. For one thing, it's blue rather than white. Also, it has the old style pie piece or teardrop
style of shoulder patch, with a center insert for District 19. Additionally, it doesn't have a city flag patch, since
the flag patches were not worn on uniforms until May 1, 1971
- the same day sergeants started wearing the white shirts.
| Here's something you haven't seen since 1971 |
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| old Patrol shirt with District 14 patch |
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| from 1973 |
| Old shirt for Lieutenants and Captains |
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| old Cadet shirt - still need; no District insert |
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| From the late 1960s; the Cadet program was revived in 2005 after it was dormant for over 30 years |
| Old long sleeved shirt with #2 insert |
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| This long sleeve version is in my collection |
Above -- see the #2 insert? That did not designate the district.
As of April 1, 1967, Cadets were required to wear inserts numbered 1, 2 or 3 to designate their seniority.
| From the 1960s - breast badge - still need this |
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| Bottom - the nameplate was inserted here - see the holes; This style is still used by Cadets |
| Hat shield from the 1960s |
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| I still need this item |
| The Cadet cap replaced the foldable cap in 1966 |
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| I still need this item |
| Nameplate & Unit Identifier from Off. Tom Marquez |
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| Unit Identifiers became popular after CPD stopped using patches with the District numbers in 1981 |
Nameplates became regulation equipment in August 1965.
| Plastic Unit Identifiers from the 1980s |
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| The nameplate attached to the top part; I obviously don't have all of these |
| Coat buttons - current city seal on the Left |
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| Older city seal on the Right - used before 1907 |
| Odd colored flag patch |
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The above patch shows
what happened after one manufacturer failed to use color-fast threads on all of the colors. This occurred from approximately
1995 - 2000.
| Hostage/Barricaded/Terrorist Unit |
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| The HBT was formed in 1979 |
Only the subdued HBT patch was actually worn; the colored one pictured above is a novelty.
In late 2005 or early 2006, the term SWAT came into use.
The blue colored SWAT patch is a novelty item and the subdued gray one was actually worn.
The colored version is the logo used on SWAT vehicles. It's very hard to see, even on the items themselves, but
on the SWAT patches, at the bottom of the center seal, where the words, Urbs in Horto would be, the letters "HBT" are
sewn in.
As of 2007, the SWAT team uses an olive drab uniform.
| Below - these were actually worn |
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| The "HBT" patch is velcro |
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| Can anyone say whether these were actually used? |
| I think the top row patches are actually used |
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| I think the bottom row patches are novelty items |
| Note the "reverse" color scheme on these flags |
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Regarding the subdued
flag patches above -
The small flag in the
center is hat size.
I have a photo of a
SWAT team member from 2001, wearing the patch at the top left with dark stripes and dark stars.
I have a photo of Election
Night 2008, where the officers are wearing the patch at top right with gray stripes and gray stars.
Obviously, both subdued flag patches were used -- the story
I heard is that the manufacturer of the patches made a run of patches in the reverse color scheme when patches were re-ordered,
and nobody seemed to care.
Since
the SWAT team now wears green fatigues, the top left gray and black flag patch is likely obsolete.
Black
and gray shoulder patches and flag patches are worn on the BDUs when needed by district Tact teams, area gang teams and the
Mobile Strike Force.
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| All of the above are believed to be novelty patches |
| The below camo flag patch is a novelty item |
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| I still need the above patch |
| The SWAT team has olive drab uniforms as of 2007 |
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| Above item is a novelty patch |
| Below, top - current since 2007 - still need |
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| Bottom - the shoulder patch is used but the flag patch is a novelty item |
Regarding the green
SWAT patches just above -
The top shoulder patch and top
flag patch are used.
While the bottom shoulder patch
was thought to be a novelty, I heard that some team members wear this patch, because they were on the team when it was called
HBT.
Since this patch has the letters
HBT in the lower part of the center seal, they wear this patch. The flag patch on the bottom is just a novelty item.
| novelty item - still need |
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| Desert camo patches + flag patches |
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| All of the above are believed to be novelty patches |
| Another version of the desert camo flag patch |
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| I still need the above patch |
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| Above - a tan novelty patch |
| Narcotics & Gang Intel Section |
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| OCD - Organized Crime Division |
| Novelty TRU patch |
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The Targeted Response
Unit is deployed to "hot spots" to combat gangs, guns, drugs and homicides.
The officers wear uniforms and patrol in marked cars. One
of their strategies is to conduct stops for traffic offenses and use those stops to look for other violations, such as gun
possession.
The Targeted Response Unit is assigned to the Grand Crossing, Calumet
and Gresham
districts on the South Side and the Harrison district on the West Side.
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