Rhode Island State Police - Uniforms

Uniforms

The uniform of the Rhode Island State Police is unique and popular among the law enforcement community. The uniform has also won best dressed in the country in previous years and in 2005, The National Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors (NAUMD) presented the Rhode Island State Police with a 80th Anniversary Commemorative Uniform Award. Unlike most police departments, Rhode Island State Troopers do not wear a traditional badge. Instead, they wear a set of numbers stamped in brass, placed onto a piece of black fabric, with red piping on the edges, over the left breast on the uniform shirt. The RISP does, however, issue a wallet badge for off-duty use/identification. The badge is gold colored for all ranks.

Unlike most other police agencies around the country that utilize black leather duty gear and footwear, the RISP wears leather duty gear and footwear (High Boots or Shoes Depending On The Uniform Season) that is a deep chestnut brown color. This creates for a very distinctive look. RISP high boots, shoes and most of the leather duty gear is produced by the historic Dehner Boot Company of Omaha Nebraska. The RISP also has the distinction of being one of the few if not the only agency to have three seasonal uniform changes as opposed to the standard two season (Summer & Winter) uniform change that most agencies utilize. The three consist of the Winter Uniform (High Boots, Breeches, Long Sleeve Shirt, W/ Sam Browne Strap), Spring/Fall Uniform (Shoes, Regular Uniform Pants, Long Sleeve Shirt, W/ Sam Browne Strap) and Summer Uniform (Shoes, Regular Uniform Pants, Short Sleeve Shirt, W/O Sam Browne Strap).

The primary colors on the State Police uniform are Black and Red. The epaulets worn on uniform shirts and dress blouses are black and piped in red. The stripe on the spring/fall and summer uniform pants is a wide black stripe while the striping on the winter/dress uniform breeches is a wide black stripe that is piped with a thinner red stripe. The spring/fall and summer uniform pants and shirts are a lighter charcoal gray while the winter and dress pants and shirts are a darker charcoal gray. A black tie is worn with the winter, spring/fall and dress uniforms and is tucked into the uniform shirt after the first button.

The uniform hat of the RISP is a gray straw campaign style hat for the summer and spring/fall uniforms while the winter and dress uniform hat is a tan felt campaign style hat. Both hats feature a brown leather band at the base of the hat and a gold colored hat badge mounted on a brown leather backing.

Specialized units (K-9, Tactical Unit, etc.) are authorized to wear BDU style utility uniforms and black nylon web duty gear.