This page was created using vintage patches from the private collection. Although not specific to Smithfield history, the information contained here is not readily available elsewhere. It is therefore hoped that collectors, historians, and researchers, will find it helpful.
This posting primarily shows obsolete/vintage patches worn by our nation’s state police, state patrol, and highway patrol agencies, and does not depict every style that each department has worn over the years.
Click on images to enlarge.
Worn 1963 to 1972.
Worn 1963 to 1972.
Worn 1937 to 1969.
Worn 1969 to 1998.
Current Issue with rounded “A”s.
Worn 1957 to 1976.
Worn 1946 to 1999.
Connecticut State Police
1930s
Grey felt – worn 1940s.
Black felt – worn 1940s to 1968.
Blue felt – worn 1960s.
Blue felt – updated state seal.
Shirt patch, last worn in 1968.
Coat patch, last worn in 1968.
Earlier ones were made of felt.
State Police Civil Defense
circa 1950s – 1960s.
State Police Civil Defense
Circa 1950s – 1960s.
State Police Auxiliary Patch.
Auxiliary State Police
State shaped version made of cloth.
Worn 1968 to 1983.
State shaped patch – worn 1968 to 1983.
This one is made of heavy felt.
A possible prototype of the current issue patch. This one has a fully embroidered background, the current issue has blue felt. There are also blue stripes on the Connecticut banner at the top which are not on the current issue.
Current issue patch worn since 1983.
Motor Cycle Unit Patch.
Worn briefly in 1984.
Due to its rarity, reproductions have been made.
Reverse side of original motorcycle unit patch.
Early version of the current patch worn by the department. First worn in 1955.
Current issue felt patch.
Early version of the current issue patch. First worn in 1946.
Worn 1944 to 1979.
Idaho State Police
Round style.
Worn from 1954 to 1967.
Worn from 1967 to 1970.
Worn from 1970 to 1985.
Worn 1985 to 1988.
Worn 1935 to 1973.
Current issue reads: “State Patrol”.
Current Issue
Worn 1937 to 1970.
Current issue has a blue border.
A variation in the state seal.
Worn 1950s to 1968.
Worn 1936 to 1949.
Blue border, worn from 1965 to 1974.
Gold Border
Current Issue
Worn since 1974.
Massachusetts State Police
Worn from 1934 to 1937.
Early version of current issue.
Prototype of current issue supervisors patch – 1980s.
Current issue supervisors patch.
Massachusetts Auxiliary State Police patch.
Highway Patrol patch worn from 1953 to 1974. The current issue reads: “State Patrol”.
Worn from 1935 to 1953.
Early version of patch currently worn by the department. First worn in 1956.
Current issue patch.
Safety Patrol patch, last worn in 1967. The current issue patch reads: “State Patrol”.
“State Patrol” patch, current issue.
Worn since 1967.
Worn from 1957 to 1972.
First worn in 1972.
Issued in 1999 to celebrate fifty years of service.
Worn from 1941 to 1962.
Felt version of current issue. Worn from 1962 to 1979.
Cloth version of current issue. Worn 1962 to 1979.
Current Issue
Issued in 1997 celebrating sixty years of service.
Patch made of felt.
This style has been worn by the NJSP since 1929.
Early version of the current issue patch worn by the department. First worn in 1954. Note the upturned “Excelsior” banner.
Current issue.
Issued in 2000.
Worn from 1929 to 1953.
Worn 1953 to 1970.
First issued in 1951.
Last worn in 1963.
Felt version of the current issue patch.
Felt version of keystone shape, worn from 1959 to 1988.
Unknown information.
Worn 1930s to 1966.
Grey version of current issue patch. Current issue has a much darker background. This style had been worn since 1966.
Current Issue.
Issued in 2000, and only worn for one year.
Grey version.
Believed to date from the 1950 to 1960s.
No information.
Worn from 1953 to 1979.
Worn after 1979.
Worn from 1941 to 1972.
Worn from 1972 to 1976.
Worn from 1976 to present.
First worn in 1958, still worn in the 1980s.
Felt version of the Utah Highway Patrol patch.
Felt version of current patch, worn from 1947 to 1975.
Felt variation, worn from 1947 to 1975.
Current issue – fully embroidered.
Worn 1975 to present.
Issued in 1997.
Issued in 1994.
Defunct State Highway Law Enforcement Agencies
Some states had other law enforcement agencies whose duties included (among other things.) patrolling state highways and enforcing motor vehicle traffic laws. One such agency is the now defunct Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Police.
Like the Massachusetts State Police, the registry police had statewide jurisdiction to enforce traffic laws, investigate traffic accidents, inspect commercial vehicles, and additionally oversee license testing. The agency was absorbed by the Massachusetts State Police in 1992, and no longer exists.
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicle Police
Early Issue Massachusetts Registry Police Patch.
Early Black Felt Version.
2nd Issue Blue Felt Version
2nd Issue, Black Felt Version.
Last Issue prior to merging with the state police.
New York State Parkway Commission Police
The New York State Parkway Police were established in 1946 as the Long Island State Park Police. Their primary function was to patrol Long Island’s state parks and parkways/highways. Duties included enforcing traffic laws, commercial vehicle inspection, and accident investigation. The agencies first patch was a black felt triangle. At some point between 1946 and 1950, the agency adopted a shield shaped patch with the word “commission” added. In 1950 the department changed its name to the New York State Parkway Police. The agency went defunct in 1980, and the New York State Police assumed their duties.
First Issue
Second Issue
Worn from 1950 to 1980.
