3-122 - Pins and Award Bars

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines for the authorized wearing and placement of pins and award bars to ensure uniformity and professional appearance.

Requirements for Pins and Award Bars

1. Wearing of pins and award bars is optional.

2. The member must be authorized to wear the pins or award bars.

Pins

Pin authorization

1. Only the pins authorized in this policy shall be worn with the uniform.
2. New pins shall be approved by the Uniform Committee, who shall then bring them to MPD Administration for final approval.
3. Unless otherwise stated, the additional pins described below may be worn in addition to the unit and team pin and in addition to each other.

Unit and team pins

1. Current members only

Unit and Team pins are authorized for current members only.

2. Number of unit and team pins

Only one unit and team pin shall be worn.

3. Authorized unit and team pins

1. Bomb pin
2. Canine pin
3. Honor Guard pin
4. Mounted Patrol Crossed Sabers pin
5. Negotiator pin
6. Peer Support Team pin
7. SWAT pin

4. Placement of unit and team pins

1. The pin shall be displayed on the outermost garment (jacket, shirt or external vest carrier).
2. The pin shall be centered on the right-hand breast pocket, between the lower edge of the pocket flap and above the bottom pocket seam.
3. When wearing an MPD authorized sweater, the pin shall be centered approximately 1 ½ inches below the name tag.

4. Plainclothes members may wear the pin as a lapel pin or tie tack.

American Flag pin

1. The American Flag pin shall be ¾” in size. It shall be centered one-half inch above the name plate or award ribbons, whichever is higher.

2. The American Flag pin may be worn on the uniform shirt, jacket or sweater.
3. The American Flag Pin may be worn in addition to the unit and team pin.

Issued Officer Memorial pin

1. Officer Memorial pins include 9/11, Katrina, and the 35W Bridge Collapse.

2. Officer Memorial pins are only authorized for members who were a Police Department member at the time of the event.
3. Only one Officer Memorial pin may be worn at a time. It may be worn in addition to the unit and team pin.

4. Memorial pins shall be worn in the lowest order of precedence on the award ribbon rack.

Serving Since pin (with the appropriate year)

1. The Serving Since pin shall be placed under the member’s name tag.

2. The Serving Since pin may be worn in addition to the unit and team pin.

FTO pin

1. The FTO pin shall be placed on the right pocket flap.
2. The FTO pin may be worn in addition to the unit and team pin.
3. The FTO pin shall only be worn by current Field Training Officers (FTOs).

ABLE pin

1. The pin shall be centered on the left-hand breast pocket, between the lower edge of the pocket flap and above the bottom pocket seam.
2. The ABLE pin may be worn in addition to the unit and team pin.

3. The ABLE pin shall only be worn by members who have completed the ABLE training.

Award Bars

Placement of Commendations/Award Bars:

1. Bars shall be centered and placed one-half inch above the uniform name plate.

2. If more than one bar is worn, additional bars shall be placed on the uniform shirt in a horizontal row, with no more than two bars in a row.
3. The highest Department award earned shall always be worn closest to the center of the uniform.
4. In descending precedence, awards shall be worn highest to lowest and center to outward.
5. If three or five bars are worn, the highest award earned shall be worn centered over the top row.
6. If multiple uniform bars are attached to a holder, the holder must not be visible on the exterior of the uniform shirt.
7. Members receiving more than one award in any category shall affix a small number in the center of the bar, indicating the number of awards received in that category.

Definitions

Refer to the Commonly Used Terms page for general definitions.