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Police insignia from CHICAGO

PAGE 2 B . . .MORE VINTAGE PATCHES

MORE OLD STYLE PATCHES

Below -- I've heard two stories about the Special Police. I heard that off duty officers with side jobs would pin this patch over their regular CPD patches since they were not supposed to wear the regular uniform performing side jobs. Additionally, some security guards were actually given some limited police authority, licensed by the Police Department via city ordinance, and were issued these patches as well as a shield-shaped badge that said Special Police. One of these badges is pictured way below. These Special Police officers had police authority on the premises where they worked I also have pictured,below a bit, an old style pie piece shaped patch that has CSP as its center insert. That MIGHT mean Chicago Special Police, before the patches saying Special Police were put into use.

Two variations of the Special Police patches

All have cloth backings; recently made replicas have plastic backings

The Explorer patch was for teenagers who participated in that program. Note that the Explorers patch is slightly smaller than the regular officers' shoulder patch.

BELOW - commemmorative patch made in 1996

Medal for the '96 DNC - Joint Operations Command

One of the nicer tokens given out by the Secret Service for helping them out

The back of the medal

These medals have a control number on the outside edge of one side

Can anyone say what these star inserts meant?

The star inserts are not the 20 year service award star patches

CPD uniforms had no shoulder patch for many years except for the patch pictured just below that says "Chicago Police Traffic" on it. The pie piece or teardrop shape patch was put into use around early 1957. Some other Chicago area police departments including the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Police, and the Illinois Institute of Technology Police Department, and some private security guard services used the same size, shape and colors of the old style CPD patches.

The old Traffic patch pre-dates the old style patches with "TD" and later, "T" as the center insert. The Traffic Division used TD as its first center insert based on a photo I have from 1958; by 1962, it used the T center insert. Note that traffic officers wore white hats for better visibility. The oldie Traffic patch has the "green cross of safety" logo that was borrowed from the Los Angeles Police Dept. traffic patches. I believe this particular Traffic patch to be the oldest CPD patch pictured on this web site. I've seen a photo from 1955 showing a Traffic officer wearing this patch, with a smaller separate patch below it. That other patch was a small rectangle with a wheel in the center with a thick arrow going through the wheel (wish I had one to show you!). I have another photo showing this pictured Traffic patch being worn in 1949, so I am still wondering when this patch was first worn. I still need the supervisors' patch of this one.

Closeup of the old Traffic patch

The green cross of safety is sewn right into the patch. Still need the supervisor's version of this

Very old traffic patch

Known to be used in 1950

For the traffic wheel patch pictured above -

I have a copy of a photo from June 29, 1950. It shows Officers Roy E. Scanlon and James O'Sullivan. On the left sleeves of their uniform shirts, both officers are wearing the pie piece-shaped Chicago Police Traffic patch pictured above, with the green cross of safety in the center.

Below the shoulder patch, each officer is wearing a traffic wheel patch. One officer has a small circle with the traffic wheel. The other officer has the small blue square-shaped patch with the wheel in the center.

Can anyone say exactly what the small wheel patch is for?

Still need this Traffic patch

Old traffic-related patch

I still need the above patch

Two more motorcycle-related patches

ABOVE - I have a copy of a photo from October 5, 1948 in which Commissioner Prendergast and Mayor Kennely are awarding the Lambert Tree/Carter Harrison awards to Officers Anthony Comisky and Stephen Barrett.

One of these officers is wearing, on his left coat sleeve, the patch pictured above where the arrow is pointing left. There is no other patch worn.

FOR THE OLD STYLE SPECIALTY SECTION PATCHES PICTURED BELOW WITH LETTERS IN THE CENTER INSERTS -

I've heard explanations for most of these. Sometimes I got 2 different explanations, so both will be noted. Feel free to contact me to let me know your thoughts on these, and perhaps you can tell me what some of the inserts mean because I have no info on them. You can contact me by scrolling up to the top of this page, where there is a link to click on for "contact me." Also let me know if there are other letter inserts not even mentioned here.

AS Administrative Services

CD Criminalistics Division

CP Crime Prevention (there was a Crime Prevention Division in 1959)

CS Community Services

CSP - ?? maybe Chicago Special Police ??

F Field Services

H Headquarters

HQ Headquarters

HDQ Headquarters (used early on such as in 1958)

I Inspection

IS Investigative Services/Inspectional Services

OS Operational Services

PTD - Police Training Division

S Special Services

SC Senior Citizens??? There was a Senior and Disabled Citizens Unit

SO Special Operations

T Traffic (used this one-letter insert by 1962)

TD Traffic Division (used early on such as in 1958)

TF Task Force

TS Technical Services

WD Women's Division - it existed in 1958

Y Youth Division

LOOKS like an S surrounded by a large C- Chicago Seaport

I have 23 different "lettered" inserts. Am I missing any? Are there inserts with special logos on them? I have one pictured below for the old Aviation Unit, but that patch is a novelty item - are there other logos for center inserts, whether official or novelty?

I have only 3 inserts which have 3 letters on each - are there more?

For all of these specialty section patches pictured below -

I placed patches with the same center insert, together in the same picture.

The patches in each picture that are on the left have a cloth background; if 2 are pictured in the same photo then I spaced them out so that the cloth one is on the left, the next one is leather, and if there is a third one, the one on the right is felt. Sometimes I have the cloth and felt patches but I'm missing the matching leather one - so you'll see a space between 2 patches to illustrate the missing leather one.

I still need definite info on what the CSP and SC center inserts mean. Thanks for contacting me to fill in any needed info.

BELOW - Supervisory patches (blue letters with yellow border) and Exempt rank patches - Commander and above (yellow letters with yellow border). Left to right - cloth for the shirts; leather for the leather coats and felt for the wool "reefer" coats. Sometimes I have all 3 styles with the same insert.

Administrative Services

Criminalistics Division

Crime Prevention Division

Unusual 3-letter insert

Headquarters; I have a pic of this being worn in 1958

Investigative Services/Inspectional Services

Operational Services

Unusual 3-letter insert

Believed to be for the PoliceTraining Division

More on this patch, below after Patrol patches

Chicago Seaport

Remember - when you see more than one of the same center insert, it means the left one is cloth for the shirts; the middle one is leather for the leather coats; then, if I have it, on the far right is felt for the wool "reefer" coats. Sometimes I have all 3 for the same insert - sometimes not.

Administrative Services

Criminalistics Division

Crime Prevention Division

Unusual 3-letter insert, and this patch is leather

Unsure what CSP means-- this may be the first Chicago Special Police patch

Investigative Services/Inspectional Services

Operational Services

Pls tell me what SC means -maybe Senior Citizens; there was a Senior & Disabled Citizens Unit

This insert later dropped the D

Traffic Division - I have a photo from 1958 of a TD officer wearing this

The Detached Service unit called the Chicago Police Seaport Security Force was established around 1970 for cargo protection and port security. Pictured is the supervisors' patch. Civilians assigned to this force were Chicago Seaport Security Officers and wore similar patches with the same center insert, except the patches said "Chicago Seaport Police." This special force of CPD officers and security officers worked at Navy Pier, the Calumet River and Lake Calumet Harbor.

Unofficial patch for the CPD Aviation Unit

I've also seen a similar version with the center insert having yellow wings and white rotor blade

This unit existed from 1968 to 1979. There were two Bell 47 helicopters with four sergeants and two patrolmen. In 1971, after a crash, it operated on a stand by basis for surveillances, search flights, photo missions and nighttime illumination of scenes. It was disbanded in 1979. After that, the CPD used helicopters from the Chicago Fire Department or the State Police.

On January 1, 2006, the CPD put a helicopter into use again. This one was purchased from the Fire Department and will be operated jointly with the Cook County Sheriff's Department. The helicopter operation is based at Iroquois Landing at 95th St. and Lake Michigan.

Note that the pictured patch was a novelty item and not a uniform item.

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