MOOSE JAW - Police officers are known for the uniforms they wear, which usually look the same and adhere to strict regulations, but those regulations are slowly loosening to allow members to display different clothing.
The Saskatchewan Police Commission (SPC) announced in late September that it was making amendments to the clothing requirements in The Municipal Police Clothing and Rank Regulations, 1991, based on direction from The Police Act, 1990.
The amendments occurred in response to requests from police services, to help resolve recurring requests that appear regularly before the SPC, and to address the modernization of police attire by updating terminology and requirements in the act.
Some changes to The Municipal Police Clothing and Rank Regulations, 1991, included defining when a “specialized uniform” can be worn, defining that a basic working uniform is worn during normal tours of duty, describing the items worn with a uniform, providing optional clothing options for on-duty members, outlining the colour of belts allowed, specifying the type of outer garments allowed and allowing different types of headwear to be worn.
Police Chief Rick Bourassa discussed some of these changes during the Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners’ October meeting, saying the SPC has been working with the province for several years to update regulations in The Police Act, particularly clothing.
The two big changes that Bourassa highlighted were that officers can now wear ball caps and modified shirts.
Members were only allowed to wear formal forage caps in the past, while they have been able to wear toques for several years. Now, the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) is looking to purchase branded ball caps.
Meanwhile, for years, officers have been wearing body armour over their shirts during operations, but the formal shirts have been uncomfortable to wear because of buttons and flaps. So, all police services have created special shirts that can be worn under the armour.
“Those are now formally approved … . We’ll make sure that our folks get those,” said Bourassa.
The chief noted that the police service allowed members with specialized units like the K-9 unit and tactical unit to wear ball caps but never authorized their use for front-line members.
Aside from MJPS-specific shoulder flashes, officers here wear the same uniform and insignia as those throughout Saskatchewan because provincial regulations restrict what is allowed, Bourassa said. However, all provincial agencies make bulk purchase orders individually since there are challenges with acquiring clothing in one massive order.
Also, everyone usually buys uniforms from different providers, although there are only a handful of companies that sell the required gear, so agencies usually shop from a business with the best price and right equipment, he added.
