Keeping in line with its tradition of recognizing best dressed public safety departments and their uniform suppliers that dates back to the 70s, the North American Association of Uniform Manufacturers & Distributors (NAUMD) revealed the names of 4 departments that made it to the list in 2021 at the recently concluded convention on 27th October 2021.
The Best Dressed Public Safety Award® is open to all public safety departments across North America. Participants nominate themselves by submitting a filled-in form along with pictures of their various uniforms used in the department, which is then reviewed by an independent panel of experts.
The winners are decided by the panel based on the following factors:
1. Professional appearance
2. Uniform specifications
3. Uniform appropriateness for the work being performed
After much consideration, four departments were declared as winners. Three of which are NAUMD suppliers. The winning departments & their respective suppliers are to receive plaques as an acknowledgment of this feat.
Let’s take a close look at each of these winning departments and their suppliers that bagged them this coveted award.
- BEST Crowd Management + Unitex Direct (Supplier): BEST Crowd Management is a contract staffing business that allows each stadium to choose from a diverse colour palette of 15. Besides the standard shades of black, blue & gray, BEST’s uniform programs are differentiated by unique colors like neon yellow, orange, gold, royal, red, Kelly Green, Columbia Blue, White, Hunter Green, Process Blue, Panther Blue, and stone.
The key uniform items include shirts, zippered hooded jackets, and cold weather parkas. They also have a multitude of job functions including security, event staff managers, fit team, guest services, security response, and ushers. - Montana Highway Patrol + Spiewak (Supplier): Montana’s weather conditions range from extreme winters to scorching summers and everything in between. It’s important that the uniforms used by the department are adaptable to harsh conditions while maintaining a professional appeal. The uniforms provided by Spiewak are classified into multiple subclasses.
For instance, Class A uniform is the foundation apparel, whereas Class B besides having all the elements of Class A, also includes additional features for great comfort and performance. Some examples of their feature-rich uniform are trousers with hidden cargo pockets, long sleeve shirt made of a lighter fabric, and a short sleeve version with mesh sides for greater comfort.
Montana Highway Patrol troopers do not have access to professional cleaning facilities either, so the uniform program also includes home laundry services that do not compromise on the quality. - Naugatuck Police Department + New England Uniform (Supplier): The Naugatuck Police Departments sports Blauer Street Gear for their street and patrol uniform. They use the ripstop fabric with all their badges, name tags, patches, and rank cards are sewn in. Ball caps hats, beanies (for winters), and various kinds of jackets are also part of this uniform. The officers can wear long/short-sleeved as dictated by the policies for the seasons.
The use of sewn-in badges is a major departure from the standard uniform. Any changes to public safety uniforms are carried out after carefully considering how it may affect the public’s ability to identify an officer. - Florida Highway Patrol + Spiewak (Supplier): Florida Highway Patrol is the main law enforcement agency with 1946 uniformed personnel providing public safety services all across Florida. The department is tasked with investigating traffic crashes and criminal activities along the highways of Florida.
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