# Do cops have one single badge for their entire career? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058 "2009-07-14T23:39:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/41 "2010-07-22T03:15:38Z")
Oh, yeah: Officers keep the same badge forever, unless they get promoted. Then they get a new badge to reflect their rank. If a badge gets lost or stolen a new one (with the same number) is issued, but the expense usually comes out of the officers annual uniform allowance. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/42 "2010-07-22T03:25:15Z")
Around here the department ID takes precedence over the badge. Someone in plainclothes can bypass courthouse security with their ID in their wallet badge, but if they only have their badge they’d have to stow their weapon in their vehicle and go through security like everyone else (albeit with a sincere apology). ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/43 "2010-07-22T03:29:10Z")
How timely. I was wondering this myself after [this bit](http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/98656074.html) came up in the Inquirer this week. In summary, three cops were accused of planning a heroin theft to sell the drugs. Anyway, the last part of the article said: “When authorities searched Williams’ house during his arrest, they found two police badges, Stark said in court on Friday. On one of the badges, the numbers were punched out. Though Stark said she did not know why Williams had two badges, she said he might have worn the second badge while stealing the heroin.” So when I read this, I wondered if Philly cops really only received one badge and would it be considered that unusual to have a second. ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/44 "2010-07-22T04:30:13Z")
> [@Boilermaker2014](#): > > What is the rule on badges come retirement? Does the retireing officer have to turn in his badge? Or do they get to keep it as a keepsake? Is it different depending on the department? When my dad retired, he turned in his badge and received another one that said “retired.” ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/45 "2010-07-22T04:55:00Z")
> [@Boilermaker2014](#): > > What is the rule on badges come retirement? Does the retireing officer have to turn in his badge? Or do they get to keep it as a keepsake? Is it different depending on the department? I got to keep my badge and received an identification card that says “retired” on it. I hate the card though. The word retired is just above my forehead on the photograph and in red. It almost looks like it could say “REJECT”. ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/46 "2010-07-22T06:52:38Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > The department I retired from issued 2 identical badges. One for the uniform, and a “24 hour” badge for an ID wallet (never carry your badge in your regular wallet). Most normal badges I’ve looked at closely or worn (I was a sheriff’s explorer) seem like they’d be too thick/curved/bulky to comfortably fit in a wallet. I thought most people who carried a badge in their wallet would use a flat “wallet” badge (like [this](http://www.badgehistory.com/images/1commander_set_lrg.jpg)). Were the badges you carried naturally pretty flat, or did you just have to deal with a Costanza wallet? ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/47 "2010-07-22T11:54:50Z")
Dear old dad was a cop for nearly 30 years. In his wallet he carried only a photo ID from the department (Upstate New York), and had a few badges (some of which I now have). Upon retirement, he was given a new retirement ID (updated picture and the previously-mentioned “RETIRED” stamp). Oddly, he generally doesn’t carry the thing and isn’t one to immediately reveal his former occupation if he gets pulled over; he usually waits to see how respectful the officer is and, if they’re unpleasant, asks for a supervisor’s name and lets them know that he’s a ranking retiree. Good clean fun to witness. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/48 "2010-07-22T14:10:27Z")
> [@Nunavut\_Boy](#): > > Jesus, they make grunts pay for UNIFORMS in the US army? Yay capitalism! When I was in the Canadian army, any time anything broke or because unusable, I’d take it to the Quartermaster and say “new one”. My god I envy you. In the British Army we usually had to beat the storeman at Indian Arm Wrestling nineteen times out of twenty before they’d even consider replacing something. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/49 "2010-07-22T20:18:04Z")
> [@sharding](#): > > Most normal badges I’ve looked at closely or worn (I was a sheriff’s explorer) seem like they’d be too thick/curved/bulky to comfortably fit in a wallet. I thought most people who carried a badge in their wallet would use a flat “wallet” badge (like [this](http://www.badgehistory.com/images/1commander_set_lrg.jpg)). Were the badges you carried naturally pretty flat, or did you just have to deal with a Costanza wallet? Re-read my post, please: > [@pkbites](#): > > One for the uniform, and a “24 hour” badge for an _ **ID wallet** _ (_ **never carry your badge in your regular wallet** _). Both badges had the same number on them. This is a specific wallet with an indented location for the badge. Some departments hand out smaller replica badges for a regular wallet, but it’s not wise to carry it there. One reason is, off duty you may find yourself in a robbery situation where the perp panics because he sees the badge in the wallet he just took off of you. Also, if you’re buying liquor off duty it may make some people wonder when they see a badge in the wallet of the guy that just bought a liter of Jack Daniels. Carry a separate badge/ID wallet, and carry it in a different location from your personal wallet. ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/50 "2010-07-22T20:44:16Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Re-read my post, please: I’m familiar with badge wallets. It’s just that the ones I’ve seen (including the one in the picture I linked to) wouldn’t comfortably accommodate a normal size/shape badge. I’m not doubting you (and I don’t need to be chastised – I don’t even have a badge to carry); I was just genuinely curious… ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/51 "2010-07-23T04:22:24Z")
> [@sharding](#): > > I’m familiar with badge wallets. It’s just that the ones I’ve seen (including the one in the picture I linked to) wouldn’t comfortably accommodate a normal size/shape badge. What? That wallet looked perfect. It had an indentation cut out for a star shaped badge. For a shield style badge a different wallet is used. The badges fit flush into the indentation. The wallet closes completely due to the cut out indentation. ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/52 "2010-07-23T04:31:25Z")
Maybe it’s just an optical illusion, but the badge in the wallet in that picture looks perfectly flat, while the badge on the right (presumably a standard badge) looks like it has significant curvature to it. If that’s the case, the badge on the right wouldn’t fit properly in the wallet because it would be substantially deeper than the cutout (not even counting the shirt pin on the standard badge). That fits with the badge wallets I’ve seen up close (admittedly only from a couple of agencies) – they did have a cutout, but not deep enough to accommodate the pin and curvature of a standard badge and still allow the wallet to close. All I can speak to is my experience, which is obviously inferior to yours. This has gone totally off topic here anyway… ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/53 "2010-07-23T04:37:28Z")
Here is a NYT Magazine article on fake badges and how they are used by some NYC police: [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/nyregion/01badge.html?\_r=1&scp=1&sq=police%20badges&st=cse](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/nyregion/01badge.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=police%20badges&st=cse) > [@](#): > > Called “dupes,” these phony badges are often just a trifle smaller than real ones but otherwise completely authentic. Officers use them because losing a real badge can mean paperwork and a heavy penalty, as much as 10 days’ pay. > > Though fake badges violate department policy, they are a quirk deeply embedded in the culture and history of the New York Police Department. Estimates of how many of the city’s 35,000 officers use fake badges vary from several thousand to several hundred — roughly 25 officers are disciplined each year for using them — but the practice has become more sensitive since 9/11 and the heightened concern about police impersonation. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/54 "2010-07-23T05:17:40Z")
> [@sharding](#): > > Maybe it’s just an optical illusion, but the badge in the wallet in that picture looks perfectly flat, while the badge on the right (presumably a standard badge) looks like it has significant curvature to it. It’s the same badge. The reason the one on the right looks curved is because it’s on a flat surface and the pin on the back is giving it that illusion. The indentation of the wallet badge takes care of the pin so it doesn’t look that way. ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/55 "2010-07-23T06:09:02Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > It’s the same badge. The reason the one on the right looks curved is because it’s on a flat surface and the pin on the back is giving it that illusion. The indentation of the wallet badge takes care of the pin so it doesn’t look that way. I was going to let this go, but you had me thinking I must be crazy and imagining that I’d seen flat wallet badges, so I had to do more digging. I’m not imagining things. My original image came from [http://www.badgehistory.com/Modern1.html](http://www.badgehistory.com/Modern1.html). The caption below it says “Matching badge set with rank of “Commander”. A flat wallet badge and domed breast badge.” More cites for the existence of flat badges for wallets: [http://www.smithwarren.com/OF\_Retail\_new\_stars\_011405.pdf](http://www.smithwarren.com/OF_Retail_new_stars_011405.pdf) offers “flat” and “curved” for shape, as well as “wallet clip” as an attachment. [http://www.epolicebadge.com/help.htm](http://www.epolicebadge.com/help.htm) says “FLAT BADGE/WALLET CLIP is recommend if it will be used in a wallet exclusively and you are buying a wallet clip. SLIGHTLY CURVED BADGE/PIN & SAFETY CLIP is recommended if you are wearing your badge on your shirt or hat.” [http://forums.officer.com/forums/showthread.php?62695-do-you-wear-belt-badge-when-carrying-off-duty](http://forums.officer.com/forums/showthread.php?62695-do-you-wear-belt-badge-when-carrying-off-duty) says “You can find a list of companies that make badges and badge wallets here. Get one that has a cutout for your badge, and if possible, order a “flat badge” that has no curve to it, as many conventional (“bubble”) badges do.” ETA: Also, there’s no possible way those would both be the same badge in that image – the “Commander” title isn’t even in the same place on them. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/56 "2010-07-23T07:32:50Z")
The dome has to do with the insignia in the middle. Some are flat, some are enraised. The badge I have now is domed. It fits fine in a badge wallet. One just buys the appropriate wallet for a specific badge. There are about 20 different badge wallets available. ---
**Author:** ![MADMAX34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed655f/32.png) [@MADMAX34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MADMAX34)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/57 "2014-10-09T01:17:09Z")
**25 years on the job in the NYPD…was only issued 1 shield. Also had a dupe which I used off duty while my real shield stayed pinned on my uniform shirt. Promotions to boss or detective you had to turn in your shield for the one denoting your new rank. Btw…was always told it was bad luck to polish your shield…only rookies who didn’t know better polished their shields…Perps also could tell rookie cops by how shiny their shields were. Traditions change though I guess.** ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/58 "2014-10-09T03:42:08Z")
As an enlisted man, I never had to pay for my initial issue of uniforms. And I got a couple of bucks every month for upkeep. Jungle boots were issued in theatre. Flak jackets too, but I had to turn that in when I left. I had to dig into my own pockets for tiger stripe that I bought on the enonomy, but that’s what that upkeep allowance was for. When I went in the CG, the issue work uniform was “utilities”. They were crappy and as soon as you graduated from boot camp, you went to the BX and bought “dungarees” (bell bottom indigo denim pants with 4 patch pockets and a long or short sleeved light blue chambray shirt) and that’s what you wore unless you had a really dirty job to do and then you dug out your utilities from your sea bag. After I was in for a while, they phased out the utilities and introduced the “working blue” uniform and we were given a one time allowance to buy 2 sets. You could buy more, but you had to pay for them yourself. The cool thing was they had the same slacks you wore for your undress blue uniforms. Eventually, they forbade the utilities and sometime after that, and to the disgust of all enlisted Coasties, they banned the dungarees. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058/59 "2014-10-09T05:14:27Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > I was just bought a pair of steel-toed boots because I didn’t have any and would need them for some training they have me lined up for) I’m trying to remember off hand if the steel toe boots are Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment (OCIE aka TA50 even though that’s a 70s term) or Personal Protective Equipment. Either way, I’m pretty sure they don’t fall under the Personal Clothing bag required to be maintained by all with the clothing allowance. The unit is supposed to provide those to those that require them for safety. > [@](#): > > And yeah, as others have said, enlisted men (except, evidently, for National Guard) It also applies to the other reserve component, the Army Reserve. Actually that means the majority of the total Army enlisted are on the issue/direct exchange system. That changes when mobilized though and they can’t do direct exchange. On the other hand they get a clothing allowance - just a different one. They also get the extra issues available for deployment if heading overseas instead of mobilizing CONUS. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-have-one-single-badge-for-their-entire-career/503058.md?page=2)