Why have LEO's stopped wearing hats?

Doug.38PR · September 5, 2005, 08:45 PM

Why have LEO's stopped wearing policeman's hats. Maybe once in a blue moon I will see a policeman (at least here in Houston and the rest of the Southern region) wearing a hat like at a special function or something.
What ever happen to those policeman hats?
The only other time I ever see one wearing a lot is when it is a baseball cap..... :barf: and it doesn't look very professional to me (Houston Police don't wear them but I've seen other departments around the state and region). Baseball caps make the policeman look more like a truck driver or exterminator or meter reader.

Of course the DPS (state troopers of Texas) wear cowboy hats and other states wear those smokey the bear hats which look kinda nice.

CraZkid · September 5, 2005, 08:53 PM

They are outside alot where it is hot. Hats keep body heat in. The easiest way to cool of is to not where a hat.

gulogulo1970 · September 5, 2005, 09:02 PM

They still were them up north don't they?

Eightball · September 5, 2005, 09:05 PM

Quote:

exterminator

Well......they "exterminate" crime, right?

That, and I would assume logistics would be a nightmare. Replacing lost hats, custom fitting each one (no baseball-hat style adjustment straps on those things, remember), enforcing the whole "wear your hat!!!" thing.....it's more efficient without them (at least IMO).

Doug.38PR · September 5, 2005, 09:07 PM

Well, the seem to on TV and in the movies (Law and Order and such) that are in Chicago and NY.

ISP2605 · September 5, 2005, 09:19 PM

The Smokey Hat is the coolest part of the uniform. If we're outside we're covered. It sets the image.
BTW, anyone recognize the guy in the black suit?

sendec · September 5, 2005, 09:35 PM

Hats are fine for "dress" occassions, but I dont like the restriction in vision. Watch a trooper or cop writing in a car and you'll see that the brim cuts down a lot of frontal vision. Wearing the hats also stops us from looking up as much as we should.

I personally dislike the ball caps and think they cheapen the image.

Capt. Charlie · September 5, 2005, 10:22 PM

We "wear" (now & then, mostly then

) the 8-point "taxi driver" hat. You loose 'em in fights, you loose 'em in foot pursuits, you loose 'em in high winds, and when the brass used to suspend us for not wearing 'em, you worried more about your *#Q@ hat than you did your six. Guys got hurt, and except for parades, funerals, etc., the hats went bye bye.

MD_Willington · September 5, 2005, 10:26 PM

Idaho SP & Washington SP wear hats, I see ISP when I head down to Lewiston, & WSP on my way to work.

The RCMP wear hats and Turbans (Sikhs) back home in BC Canada.

MD

Steve in PA · September 6, 2005, 12:15 AM

Because they are a pain when you are constantly getting in and out of your vehicle. The only time I wear mine is during bad weather (rain, snow, etc).

Eisande · September 6, 2005, 01:38 AM

Hats would be a major hassle. Getting in and out of the car, FAST, would not go so well. They are expensive too. I don't know of any agency in my state (Calif) that wears them on duty routinely anymore, except for some baseball caps.

mete · September 6, 2005, 04:27 AM

Many times I saw troopers step out of their cruiser, put on their hat [must present a good appearence !!! ] then approach a car .The potential problems of the stopped car are more important than the appearence !.

Blue Heeler · September 6, 2005, 04:38 AM

I understand the guys who don't bother with a hat. Getting in and out of the car is a real pain with a hat (any sort).On the other hand, if it's a disturbance or a domestic, it's better to wear the hat. Just gives a bit more authority - I thnk so anyway.

Waffen · September 6, 2005, 04:51 AM

I don't know if it's standard issue or not, but I hardly see a Texas DPS officer without a cowboy hat on. I seriously think it is standard issue.

AMT8951 · September 6, 2005, 07:53 AM

The department I work for allows us to wear ball caps, eight points, or watch caps (Winter only). Most of us choose the ball caps for every day used. They are light and comfortable, and you can stick them in your pocket if you need to. We all have eight-points as well, but they are used mostly for parades, funerals, and other special occasions.

Steve499 · September 6, 2005, 09:24 AM

I don't believe LEOs have stopped wearing hats. If a supervisor is around,they'll all have them on! Sendec nailed the reason. Look down, as if reading something or writing something, while wearing a campaign hat (smokey the bear hat). Your vision is restricted to a very short distance to the front. If you tip it's brim back so you can see, the thing is perched so pecariously on the back of your head that you'll have it blown from your head by the first passing 18 wheeler and crushed by the second one.
Steve

Ramcharger · September 6, 2005, 04:41 PM

When the Cop that pulled you over puts on his smokey the bear hat and then checks his reflection on his window before he approaches you = Your gonna have a bad day.

K80Geoff · September 6, 2005, 04:49 PM

Real Exterminators wear hard hats.

Doncha watch the Orkin commercials?

Mannlicher · September 6, 2005, 05:35 PM

'cause the chief would not let them wear their ball caps with the bills reversed and pointing in the wrong direction?

pax · September 7, 2005, 09:42 AM

I see them on WSP troopers, but confess I haven't noticed whether they all wear them, nor even if anyone wears them when it's not raining. Since it's nearly always raining up here, that last is kind of a moot point anyway.

pax

9mm1033 · September 7, 2005, 08:18 PM

My answer is: the chief demands you wear the official hat at ALL TIMES. He's an ex-marine and likes all uniform officers to be uniform. Don't get caught with your hat off at a crime scene if the media is present or a photo is printed in the morning paper. You will be reprimanded. No lie! I've been there and been reprimanded. Had a lieutenant tell me to put on my hat when I was at the city gas pumps (outside downtown) putting gas into my cruiser, around 10:30 p.m. No one could see me. The area is deserted at night. You can carry a badge, carry a gun, and you damn well better not be caught without a hat. Of course, my department has no supervisors with brass-balls to defend the working street officer from the desk brass (Lt. rank up), including the chief.

CDignition · September 7, 2005, 08:32 PM

I think FHP wears theirs all the time (Florida Highway Patrol) they wear those Drill Instructor hats..they look cool..

Capt. Charlie · September 7, 2005, 11:38 PM

Here's why I was sarcastic about the hats: I and two other officers responded to a stabbing in progress. When we arrived, it was still in progress; his wife was stabbed 36 times. We tackled the guy, with everybody falling over a sofa into a pool of blood. The guy was big and high, and it was one hellofa fight, even with three of us. We finally got him cuffed, paramedics arrived on scene (believe it or not, she lived!), and we led him out to a cruiser, fighting all the way (this was before Tasers) and covered in blood. Who comes driving by? The (then) &$%# chief! Does he stop to help? Hell, no. Does he say, good job guys? Hell no. What did he say? "Where's your &%# hats, people?" We all got written reprimands

. I don't push hats or spit-shined shoes today. I'm more worried about street survival skills, legal knowledge, and people skills, and my present chief backs me up on that.

Morgan · September 8, 2005, 12:24 AM

A better question might be "Why have men stopped wearing hats?".

Look at any shot from the twenties or thirties (or even forties or fifties). The men wear hats. Now most don't. Why? And why should cops be different?

ISP2605 · September 8, 2005, 07:16 AM

The beef people have with hats always boils down to officer safety and some administrator in their dept who forces the issue.
If you're letting your hat interfer with your officer safety then you need more officer safety training. You're letting your hat dictate your actions. Hats do not impact officer safety - the fixation on a hat does. When it gets time to get with it - forget the hat for Pete's sake! We require our Troops to be covered when they're outside, unless it's an officer safety concern. 25 yrs ago I was FTOing a boot Troop. We backed up another Troop who had made a traffic stop, got a hit on a violent subject, and when we arrived there were 14 people on scene. I jumped out with the shotgun, sans hat, and when I checked my rookie he was screwing his hat on. He had just come out of the Marines and hadn't gotten it figured out about officer safety v hat. That night woke him up.
If you have administrators who can't distinguish between officer safety and the time to wear a hat then it's not a hat issue, it's an administrator issue. You have a lot more problems in your dept than hats.

September 5, 2005, 08:45 PM	#1
Doug.38PR Junior member Join Date: January 18, 2005 Posts: 3,298	Why have LEO's stopped wearing hats? Why have LEO's stopped wearing policeman's hats. Maybe once in a blue moon I will see a policeman (at least here in Houston and the rest of the Southern region) wearing a hat like at a special function or something. What ever happen to those policeman hats? The only other time I ever see one wearing a lot is when it is a baseball cap..... :barf: and it doesn't look very professional to me (Houston Police don't wear them but I've seen other departments around the state and region). Baseball caps make the policeman look more like a truck driver or exterminator or meter reader. Of course the DPS (state troopers of Texas) wear cowboy hats and other states wear those smokey the bear hats which look kinda nice.

September 5, 2005, 10:22 PM	#8
Capt. Charlie Moderator Emeritus Join Date: March 24, 2005 Location: Steubenville, OH Posts: 4,446	We "wear" (now & then, mostly then ) the 8-point "taxi driver" hat. You loose 'em in fights, you loose 'em in foot pursuits, you loose 'em in high winds, and when the brass used to suspend us for not wearing 'em, you worried more about your #Q@ hat than you did your six. Guys got hurt, and except for parades, funerals, etc., the hats went bye bye. __________________ TFL Members are ambassadors to the world for firearm owners. What kind of ambassador does your* post make *you?* I train in earnest, to do the things that I pray in earnest, I'll never have to do. --Capt. Charlie

September 5, 2005, 10:26 PM	#9
MD_Willington Senior Member Join Date: August 17, 2005 Location: SE WA State. Posts: 563	Idaho SP & Washington SP wear hats, I see ISP when I head down to Lewiston, & WSP on my way to work. The RCMP wear hats and Turbans (Sikhs) back home in BC Canada. MD Last edited by MD_Willington; September 6, 2005 at 10:44 AM.

September 6, 2005, 12:15 AM	#10
Steve in PA Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 1999 Location: Northeastern PA Posts: 756	Because they are a pain when you are constantly getting in and out of your vehicle. The only time I wear mine is during bad weather (rain, snow, etc). __________________ Steve

September 6, 2005, 04:49 PM	#18
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	Real Exterminators wear hard hats. Doncha watch the Orkin commercials? __________________ I am no longer a member of this forum. Bye!

September 5, 2005, 08:53 PM	#2
CraZkid Junior member Join Date: December 5, 2004 Posts: 435	They are outside alot where it is hot. Hats keep body heat in. The easiest way to cool of is to not where a hat.

September 5, 2005, 09:02 PM	#3
gulogulo1970 Member Join Date: May 18, 2004 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 26	They still were them up north don't they?

September 5, 2005, 09:07 PM	#5
Doug.38PR Junior member Join Date: January 18, 2005 Posts: 3,298	Well, the seem to on TV and in the movies (Law and Order and such) that are in Chicago and NY.

September 5, 2005, 09:35 PM	#7
sendec Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2005 Posts: 517	Hats are fine for "dress" occassions, but I dont like the restriction in vision. Watch a trooper or cop writing in a car and you'll see that the brim cuts down a lot of frontal vision. Wearing the hats also stops us from looking up as much as we should. I personally dislike the ball caps and think they cheapen the image.

September 6, 2005, 01:38 AM	#11
Eisande Member Join Date: June 15, 2005 Location: Lomita, CA Posts: 24	Hats would be a major hassle. Getting in and out of the car, FAST, would not go so well. They are expensive too. I don't know of any agency in my state (Calif) that wears them on duty routinely anymore, except for some baseball caps.

September 6, 2005, 04:27 AM	#12
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	Many times I saw troopers step out of their cruiser, put on their hat [must present a good appearence !!! ] then approach a car .The potential problems of the stopped car are more important than the appearence !.

September 6, 2005, 04:38 AM	#13
Blue Heeler Junior member Join Date: October 4, 1999 Location: Queensland Posts: 1,043	I understand the guys who don't bother with a hat. Getting in and out of the car is a real pain with a hat (any sort).On the other hand, if it's a disturbance or a domestic, it's better to wear the hat. Just gives a bit more authority - I thnk so anyway.

September 6, 2005, 04:51 AM	#14
Waffen Member Join Date: February 3, 2002 Location: Austin Posts: 85	I don't know if it's standard issue or not, but I hardly see a Texas DPS officer without a cowboy hat on. I seriously think it is standard issue.

September 6, 2005, 07:53 AM	#15
AMT8951 Senior Member Join Date: June 7, 2005 Location: Central NY Posts: 492	The department I work for allows us to wear ball caps, eight points, or watch caps (Winter only). Most of us choose the ball caps for every day used. They are light and comfortable, and you can stick them in your pocket if you need to. We all have eight-points as well, but they are used mostly for parades, funerals, and other special occasions.

September 6, 2005, 09:24 AM	#16
Steve499 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Central Missouri Posts: 533	I don't believe LEOs have stopped wearing hats. If a supervisor is around,they'll all have them on! Sendec nailed the reason. Look down, as if reading something or writing something, while wearing a campaign hat (smokey the bear hat). Your vision is restricted to a very short distance to the front. If you tip it's brim back so you can see, the thing is perched so pecariously on the back of your head that you'll have it blown from your head by the first passing 18 wheeler and crushed by the second one. Steve

September 6, 2005, 04:41 PM	#17
Ramcharger Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Posts: 371	When the Cop that pulled you over puts on his smokey the bear hat and then checks his reflection on his window before he approaches you = Your gonna have a bad day.

September 6, 2005, 05:35 PM	#19
Mannlicher Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2001 Location: North Central Florida & Miami Posts: 3,209	'cause the chief would not let them wear their ball caps with the bills reversed and pointing in the wrong direction? __________________ Nemo Me Impune Lacesset "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.".........Ronald Reagan

September 7, 2005, 09:42 AM	#20
pax Senior Member Join Date: May 16, 2000 Location: In a state of flux Posts: 7,520	I see them on WSP troopers, but confess I haven't noticed whether they all wear them, nor even if anyone wears them when it's not raining. Since it's nearly always raining up here, that last is kind of a moot point anyway. pax __________________ Kathy Jackson My personal website: Cornered Cat

September 7, 2005, 08:18 PM	#21
9mm1033 Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2005 Location: A big city with far too many cars and people. Posts: 932	My answer is: the chief demands you wear the official hat at ALL TIMES. He's an ex-marine and likes all uniform officers to be uniform. Don't get caught with your hat off at a crime scene if the media is present or a photo is printed in the morning paper. You will be reprimanded. No lie! I've been there and been reprimanded. Had a lieutenant tell me to put on my hat when I was at the city gas pumps (outside downtown) putting gas into my cruiser, around 10:30 p.m. No one could see me. The area is deserted at night. You can carry a badge, carry a gun, and you damn well better not be caught without a hat. Of course, my department has no supervisors with brass-balls to defend the working street officer from the desk brass (Lt. rank up), including the chief. __________________ No one reads or cares what is written in ones signature box. So I'm not writing anything worth reading or remembering.

September 7, 2005, 08:32 PM	#22
CDignition Member Join Date: July 4, 2005 Posts: 94	I think FHP wears theirs all the time (Florida Highway Patrol) they wear those Drill Instructor hats..they look cool..

September 7, 2005, 11:38 PM	#23
Capt. Charlie Moderator Emeritus Join Date: March 24, 2005 Location: Steubenville, OH Posts: 4,446	Here's why I was sarcastic about the hats: I and two other officers responded to a stabbing in progress. When we arrived, it was still in progress; his wife was stabbed 36 times. We tackled the guy, with everybody falling over a sofa into a pool of blood. The guy was big and high, and it was one hellofa fight, even with three of us. We finally got him cuffed, paramedics arrived on scene (believe it or not, she lived!), and we led him out to a cruiser, fighting all the way (this was before Tasers) and covered in blood. Who comes driving by? The (then) &$%# chief! Does he stop to help? Hell, no. Does he say, good job guys? Hell no. What did he say? "Where's your &%# hats, people?" We all got written reprimands . I don't push hats or spit-shined shoes today. I'm more worried about street survival skills, legal knowledge, and people skills, and my present chief backs me up on that. __________________ TFL Members are ambassadors to the world for firearm owners. What kind of ambassador does *your* post make *you?* I train in earnest, to do the things that I pray in earnest, I'll never have to do. --Capt. Charlie

September 8, 2005, 12:24 AM	#24
Morgan Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 1998 Posts: 945	A better question might be "Why have men stopped wearing hats?". Look at any shot from the twenties or thirties (or even forties or fifties). The men wear hats. Now most don't. Why? And why should cops be different?

September 8, 2005, 07:16 AM	#25
ISP2605 Junior member Join Date: November 25, 2002 Posts: 954	The beef people have with hats always boils down to officer safety and some administrator in their dept who forces the issue. If you're letting your hat interfer with your officer safety then you need more officer safety training. You're letting your hat dictate your actions. Hats do not impact officer safety - the fixation on a hat does. When it gets time to get with it - forget the hat for Pete's sake! We require our Troops to be covered when they're outside, unless it's an officer safety concern. 25 yrs ago I was FTOing a boot Troop. We backed up another Troop who had made a traffic stop, got a hit on a violent subject, and when we arrived there were 14 people on scene. I jumped out with the shotgun, sans hat, and when I checked my rookie he was screwing his hat on. He had just come out of the Marines and hadn't gotten it figured out about officer safety v hat. That night woke him up. If you have administrators who can't distinguish between officer safety and the time to wear a hat then it's not a hat issue, it's an administrator issue. You have a lot more problems in your dept than hats.