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Here are some patches from the Pima County, Arizona Sheriff’s Department.
This pic shows what I have in my collection (one is borrowed for the pic), but this is not a complete set. I am missing the first 4 shoulder patches used by the department. One of them is from the 1940s and most collectors are unaware of this one. But it's pictured in the 2015 publication made for the 150th anniversary of the department. And a 5-point star shaped shoulder patch is from the early 50s, a small tan patch with a green cactus is from the late 50s, and a county-shaped blue and white patch is from the 60s. STILL NEED these 4 old patches.
I also need the subdued round badge patch of the current 7-point star. I have seen pictures of this but don't have it in my collection.
But I thought you might like to see many different PCSD patches in one photo, whether it's a complete set or not.
Much of the text below is copied and pasted from descriptions I have here on Flickr for other PCSD photos of patches. It's copied here to have as much info about all of the 20 patches pictured above, in one photo/description. In this long description, I have also updated some of the text due to new information.
Number 1 -- Some PCSD shoulder patches are under glass on display near the main lobby of the department. According to the description with those patches, patch Number 1 was used during the early 1970s. The display does not have the subdued patch Number 2 pictured, nor any other subdued patch.
Number 2 -- This subdued patch Number 2 is very well worn and is clearly a uniform take-off. It is the oldest subdued PCSD patch I have ever seen.
That being said, I am hesitant to call it a SWAT patch because I am unsure whether the department had a SWAT patch back then, even though the PCSD SWAT team was formed in 1971.
Note that the star in the center of these patches is 6 points. The department switched to 7 point ball tipped stars in the late 1970s.
If you have any information on the use of the pictured subdued patch Number 2, I would love to hear from you; you can make a comment below or send me a message through this Flickr web site if you are a Flickr member.
Number 3 -- This badge patch is believed to be a novelty item and not something issued by the department. In spite of that, it’s a nice patch. It also has an accurate depiction of the design used on the department’s vehicles, most often car doors. The only difference between its design and the design used on the vehicle decals/stickers, is that the decals/stickers have the word, Arizona, in tiny letters at center bottom. This word does not appear on the patch – possibly because the area on the patch is too small.
This patch even has a feature that the vehicle decals have - no period after the abbreviation, Dept -- the metal badges have a period after this abbreviation, but not the vehicle decals.
This patch also uses the same design as the elected sheriff’s metal badge. The sheriff's badge is the only one that has the Sheriff rank panel on the top.
This patch measures 5 inches across, making it wider than many standard patches. From top to bottom, it is the same size as the current shoulder patch.
The county seal in the center depicts the Mission San Xavier del Bac which is located approximately 10 miles south of Tucson. Because this patch is so large, the center seal can be seen with lots of detail – much more detail than on other badge designs.
Numbers 4 and 5 -- these are from the 70s to 80s.
Number 6 -- is from the 90s.
Number 7 -- The tan colored shoulder patch is believed to be from the now-defunct Border Crimes Unit. The BCU was created in late 2007. It lasted approximately six years. They had a tan back patch that said SHERIFF - STILL NEED that tan back patch.
Number 8 -- The large rectangle shaped patch (STILL NEED) is approximately 6 inches by 11 inches, which is almost the size of standard vehicle license plates/tags. There is another back patch that says SHERIFF and below that, CORRECTIONS. I still need that one and also a similar one that says, FORENSICS. The letters are almost 3 inches high. This patch is worn on the back of the general duty/utility uniform shirt worn by all deputy ranks. This uniform shirt has a 7 point star badge embroidered directly into the front left breast area. This large back patch, unlike many other back patches used by other departments, is fully embroidered - the green color you see is stitching, not merely a green cloth background.
This uniform shirt, known as Class C, came about in September 2012, and deputies had a year to switch their uniforms to this new one. It was with this new shirt that this large back patch was first worn, and with it, the need to wear the metal badge on routine duty was eliminated due to the embroidered badge.
As such, neither the round badge patch pictured here (Number 9), nor a metal breast badge, are generally worn. Instead, the metal badge is worn with a different class of uniform shirt (A or B) on special (infrequent) occasions.
The general duty uniform shirt is not pictured. The last name of the deputy is embroidered into the shirt above the deputy's right front pocket, eliminating the need for a metal nameplate. Additionally, use of metal rank insignia with this uniform was abolished - metal rank insignia such as lieutenant bars, stars for Bureau Chief etc., are now embroidered into the uniform.
The current commissioned ranks (sworn personnel) include Reserve Deputy (which uses two rank panels – one on top and one on the bottom), Deputy, Detective, Sergeant, Detective Sergeant (using just one top rank panel), Lieutenant, Captain, Bureau Chief (using one top rank panel), Chief Deputy using one top rank panel, and Sheriff.
For the badges worn by Corrections Officers, the ranks include Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain, with those words on the top rank panel and all badges have a bottom rank panel that says Corrections. The badges of the Corrections officers are otherwise identical to the deputy badges.
Number 9 -- The small round patch is used as a breast badge patch on the front of subdued fatigues such as worn by K-9 deputies and pilots, and on some vests. When wearing fatigues, the K-9 deputies also wear a subdued shoulder patch (Number 15). It is believed that Number 9 came into use at the same time that Number 13 came into use, which was 2000 to 2003.
Numbers 10 and 11 were the breast badge patches worn prior to Number 9.
Numbers 12 and 13 -- These patches are identical except in color. They came out in 2003. The tan one was used by Corrections Officers until September 2018, at which time all C/Os started to use Number 13. Up until then, the deputies used Number 13 as did other personnel such as civilian Forensics techs.
Pima County was one of the four original counties created in Arizona with land acquired through the Gadsen Purchase from Mexico in 1853. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department was formed in 1865, and this year is noted on the bottom of the current shoulder patches.
Numbers 14 and 15 -- Number 14 is the one with no year on it. It was first used by SWAT team members (Special Weapons and Tactics). It is now obsolete since it was replaced around 2000 to 2003 with Number 15 - the version that has the year 1865 on the bottom. Number 15 was worn by K-9 unit members until they got a new K-9 patch in 2022 or so. That new patch is pictured in another one of my Flickr pics.
Number 16 -- The Pima Regional Bomb Squad patch depicts the universally recognized logo for explosives ordnance disposal (EOD) or bomb squads. Within the very center of the logo is the outline of the state of Arizona, and Pima County is depicted in red color at its relative location within the state. The Bomb Squad includes three elements; Technician Element, Investigative Element and Explosives Detection Canine Element.
Number 17 -- is the shoulder patch worn by members of the Pima Regional SWAT team. The team includes deputies and police officers from a few other agencies located within Pima County. The agencies participating as of October 2017 include the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Marana Police Department, Oro Valley Police Department, Pascua Yaqui Police Department, Sahuarita Police Department, South Tucson Police Department and the Tucson Airport Authority Police Department.
The team became the Pima Regional SWAT Team in late 2004. The team has four tactical squads, two negotiations squads, the Pima Regional Bomb Squad, the Sheriff’s Department Canine Unit and one squad of Tactical Emergency Medical Support medics.
At one time, team members wore a subdued version of their standard departmental shoulder patch on one shoulder, and the Pima Regional SWAT patch on the other shoulder. Currently, team members wear the Pima Regional SWAT Team patch on both shoulders of the subdued SWAT fatigues, but they can wear a badge patch from their own agency on the front.
As with the Bomb Squad patch, Number 17 has the outline of the state of Arizona in the center with a red lightning bolt going through the northeast corner of the state outline, down to where the shape of Pima County is depicted in red, which is the relative location of the county within the state. Pima County shares approximately 125 miles with Mexico to the south.
Number 18 -- with the large letters spelling SWAT is a novelty item. That being said, it uses one of the same logos that are used on the SWAT vehicles and is embroidered into the front of some SWAT baseball caps. If you look closely, you may be able to see that this patch has the outline of the state of Arizona in the bottom center and again, red color is used to note the general location and outline of Pima County.
Numbers 19 and 20 -- these patches are used by the Sheriff's Auxiliary Volunteers (SAV), also known as the Sheriff's Assist Team. These are unpaid, civilian, non-sworn volunteers who help deputies when requested with traffic control at various functions including accident scenes and other major events.
Number 19 is the breast badge patch and Number 20 is the shoulder patch. The metal SAV badge is worn with the Class A and B shirts, but not with the Class C shirts. The badge is only worn by those who have completed one year of volunteer service and have maintained the minimum number of required hours of service every month. Volunteers who do not meet these requirements wear Number 19 on their Class A and B shirts. The Class C shirt has the badge embroidered directly into the shirt, just like the Class C shirts worn by deputies and Corrections Officers.
The shoulder patches are used on the Class A shirts (long sleeve dress uniform shirts worn with a tie), the Class B shirts (long or short sleeve dress uniform shirts worn without the tie) and the Class C shirts (utility shirts used for SAV Field Operations and Patrol).
I have PCSD insignia pictured elsewhere here on this Flickr site. Just check out my other photos to see all of them. On this page, you might find the link to my Pima County Sheriff album where all my other PCSD photos are pictured.
The Mission Statement of the Sheriff’s Department is: As a leader in public safety, we are committed to serving with Honor, Courage and Integrity in the fight against crime, and to work relentlessly toward making our community safe for the people of Pima County.
I collect all types of insignia from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
STILL NEED some of the older PCSD patches mentioned here, and STILL NEED all three of the back patches described here as well as the obsolete tan back patch used by BCU years ago. ALSO NEED old PCSD polo shirts and other PCSD items including challenge coins. ALSO LOOKING FOR more shoulder patches, old or current style, new condition or used, to use as traders - thx.
