Deputies in Forsyth County will look a little different soon.
In an informative video posted to the department's Facebook page, Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman says he surveyed his employees and found that 80% of them wanted to change up the green and tan uniforms and be more comfortable.
Sheriff Freeman explained the importance of the new all-black look and said, "One of the biggest reasons that we changed this, again, is for the comfort of the deputies. That and the ability to add body cameras."
Forsyth Sheriff's Corporal Kevin Pittman field tested the new uniforms and said, "I really liked working with the new uniform. The outer vest is almost too comfortable. It's really relaxed. It's very comfortable for the deputy as well as it maintains a professional image."
Freeman says with 80 body cameras being added to the equipment being carried by deputies, the outer vest forms, "...a rock solid mounting location to put a body camera, kinda centered into that deputy's chest."
The Sheriff says the manufacturer plans to keep the new uniforms in stock which allows his department to shrink their inventory from $200,000 to probably about $5,000 to $10,000. He added, "A couple of all of the win-wins, with the body camera mounting, the comfort factor, the increased performance and things that happen with this. We're actually saving about 20% per uniform."
There was no specific date given for the changes to the department's uniforms. The department began wearing the current uniforms back in 1997.
