I am attempting to get the crime scene unit in my agency off the ground and am looking into a unit designation patch for our officers.  I have been searching with little luck, so my question is:

Does anyone have a shoulder rocker panel "Crime Scene" or "Forensics" patch they wouldn't mind posting a picture of? At this point I just need real world examples of departments who utilize patching like this so I can make a presentation to admin.

First , there is a huge difference between "crime scene" and "forensics."  Related and intertwined but two distinct animals in the law enforcement world.  And while you may not care, the first defense attorney you come across will!

Forget the patch or insignia......you are putting the cart in front of the horse and it should not be part of any presentation.  Its like an applicant asking "what brand of handcuffs do you use" or "what brand OC spray do you carry" at an interview.  Lost in the weeds crap.

If you don't have a unit, the focus and every penny spent should be on training, certifications and equipment, and how that will make you agency better and cases easier to prosecute and increase convictions. Patches, shirts, etc.... are all crap for discussion once the unit is trained, certified and operating.

I am asking for examples and in no way implying Forensics and Crime Scene are synonymous, excuse me for not being clear about that.

Our agency training budget and our equipment budget cannot intermingle funds, we have been operating for a few years now - I am simply making an attempt to get it organized and one step I want to make is get the officers a designation patch to recognize their contribution to the unit.

I highly encourage any examples anyone can provide us, sooner is better, thanks you!

What type of agency do you work for?

Small town municipal (Police)

(Not a cop)

Forget it.

Most small departments wouldn't give their officers 25 cents to see Jesus Christ walk across the local river.

This really hits home

<--- crine scene tech for 6 years, minus the time i spent deployed.

I looked at getting the guys a special unit patch (right shoulder, with standard agency patch on the left) but honestly the idea didn't excite me enough to really run with it too hard. Honestly, being the only ones other than K9 who were wearing blue TDU's was enough for me.

We don't require, but allow out Evidence Techs (who are all sworn officers too) the option of wearing a unit designation pin over their name tag. Ours is just a 1/2in (or maybe 3/4) "E.T." Same is allowed for accident investigation, FTO, SWAT and D.R.E.  Gives for quick ID on a scene when someone walks up to cross the line.

Cheaper and easier than doing patches that need to be switched with each new set of uniforms, there is no minimum patch order to deal with or custom artwork if you can't find exactly what you want and the pins are carried by just about every uniform shop/online shop I've seen. Plus you can wear it on class A's or Class B's (we wear BDU style uniforms on the road for the most part) and it looks fine either way. We have silver pins for Class A's and black subdued ones for Class B's.

Just a thought.


J-

CSI.

I mean, come on, they have several TV shows with that name!