Macon police leave baseball caps behind

<p>Baseball caps have become yesterday's fashion for Macon police officers.</p><p>Macon police Chief Mike Burns decided his officers would return to wearing campaign hats, the wide, circular-brimmed style commonly worn by state troopers.</p><p>"We're not a baseball team," Burns said. "We want to look more professional."</p><p>The hat switch is part of Burns' new plan to change the image of his department.</p><p>Donna Pierson, director of marketing and communications for the National Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors, said it is not uncommon for new police chiefs to require uniform changes.</p><p>A good uniform _ the first thing that a criminal sees _ can be intimidating, she said.</p><p>"A uniform is really an officer's first line of defense," she said. "I've never seen a state patrol officer who doesn't look like they mean business."</p><p>Baseball hats typically are used by specialized squads such as bike patrol or K-9 units, she said.</p><p>Yet the style of hats worn by police vary from area to area. Campaign hats are common for state patrol and some Northern departments, she said. Stetsons, which Bibb County sheriff's deputies wear, are more common in the West, and five-pointed hats, which the New York City Police Department wears, are more common in the Southeast, she said.</p><p>Macon police Maj. Tonnie Williams, who wore the campaign hat in the 1990s before it was discontinued, said officers he has spoken with approve of Burns' decision.</p><p>"We're a professional organization. We need to look the part," Williams said. "That first appearance says a lot."</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cdbe28)</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/4/125991