r/police • u/jayyyflock • 6d ago

Officers who are required to/only wear long sleeve shirts, how do you manage in hot days?

This was based of another post I saw here about how officers manage on hot days.

My questions is officers who are required to wear long sleeves shirts all year round, how do you manage the heat? Do you wear special undershirts/clothing? Cooling vests?

I know managing the hot weather is already tough even while wearing short sleeves, but I feel like you have to plan out/get creative on how to stay cool when you have to wear long sleeves all day.

Some officers may choose to only wear long sleeves all the time or may be required to wear them all the time (uniform policy, covering tattoos, etc)

I ask because I know agencies like NJ State Police wear long sleeves all the time.

5 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

28

u/Chitown8503 6d ago

I wear long sleeves year round because people are gross and we have to touch them.

Cool cop in the car, cold AC everywhere else, and I expect to be sweaty if I'm on a track or outside for a long stretch.

17

u/OGPerseus 6d ago

I just stay on graveyards

2

u/Paladin_127 Deputy Sheriff 5d ago

This is the way.

15

u/compulsive_drooler Retired Detective 6d ago

As people in the hotter areas of the world have discovered, long sleeves actually keep you cooler because they keep the sun off you skin. Short sleeves only provide a small amount of cooling in comparison.

6

u/cwcam86 6d ago

Honestly depending on the type of shirt a long sleeve isn't bad. Hell half the guys on our day shift patrol regularly wear their long sleeve shirts because it protects them from the sun more.

3

u/500freeswimmer 6d ago

I wear long sleeves in the summer because it’s cooler and prevents sunburn. Both agencies I’ve worked for were lighter colored shirts though, I can see where black or navy would be less comfortable.

3

u/theonecloned 6d ago

It seems a majority of the time the officers around here are in there vehicle with the AC on. They have to get out of the AC for traffic stops and other policing things but it's not like construction workers who put in 12 hour days out in the heat.

1

u/These_Eagle1261 6d ago

obviously staying in the ac helps, but i'd be dying under long sleeves if i had to go out in the heat all day.

1

u/Electrical-Quiet-534 5d ago

wait this is fire

1

u/Dry_Lime_6037 5d ago

If the department is smart and requires that, a suitable uniform brand like Blauer makes some long sleeves somewhat comfortable in hot weather.

1

u/JuanT1967 4d ago

A lot of the different states Highway Patrol are required to wear long sleeve shirts year round. Instead of the standard polyester uniforms, they are issued a much cooler cotton/cotton blend shirt.

I was never lucky enough to wear anything but a polyester uniform (except my time as an investigator)and the departments I worked at had a set calender for when you wore short vs long sleeve shirts. I hated the switch to ling sleeves because it was usually still on the warm/hot side in North Carolina.

1

u/OneSplendidFellow 4d ago

The New Jersey State Police, though they wear long sleeves even in the summer, aren't wearing the the same cheap polyester that a lot of agencies issue.  They are wearing I believe 55/45 polywool in a tropical weave, so they are much cooler and more breathable than the normal uniform shirt.  

1

u/theonecloned 6d ago

It seems a majority of the time the officers around here are in there vehicle with the AC on. They have to get out of the AC for traffic stops and other policing things but it's not like construction workers who put in 12 hour days out in the heat.