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Here are some oldies -
The patches that are teardrop shaped or pie piece shaped were used from approximately 1957
until November 1981. The old style patches had a district number or specialty section letter(s) in the center.
There were 41 districts before Superintendent O.W. Wilson reorganized the department after he took the helm in 1960.
There is a map on Page 2 showing the District boundaries for all but 3 of these 41 police Districts. This map also
shows the boundaries for the 6 Area Headquarters - now, there are only 5 of these.
Patches for Patrol officers used the blue letters, blue border, as shown above and at the top of
the next page.
Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captains used the blue letters, yellow border (see next page).
Above that - the exempt ranks - used yellow letters and yellow border (see next page).
These color schemes continue today with the current 8-sided patches.
All old and new styles in all ranks had cloth patches for shirts, leather patches for leather jackets
and felt patches for the wool coats ("reefer coats"). In the pictures, where you see the same district number more than
once, that means there is the cloth version shown first, plus the leather or felt variations shown after that.
For some reason, some of the felt patches I have are noticeably darker than the cloth or leather patches.
In late 1981, the 8-sided patches were adopted and are still in use.
The 10 inch blue and red star stickers shown at the top were used on the old 3-wheelers, and the
red one is the older version. Note these are peel-off stickers rather than water-based decals.
My Chicago Police Department insignia collection won the Best Patch Display awards at three
police insignia shows in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Be sure to scroll back up and click on the "PAGE 2" link at the very top of this page, above
the Blue star sticker! On Page 2, there are more than 280 photos of patches, hats and other CPD items
there, with more information at the bottom of the page. Because there are so many photos on Page 2, it may
take a full minute to load.
Also - to contact me, either by e-mail or regular mail, scroll to the top of this page and click
on "Contact me."
| This is a 4 inch sticker |
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| Similar versions say Retired, Active and Family |
| Award plaque from the 2004 Tucson, Arizona show |
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| Tucson hosts an annual police insignia show |
| Car decals displayed |
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