Color of the day (police)
The color of the day is a signal used by
plainclothes officers of some police departments in the United States.[1] It is used to assist in the identification of plainclothes police officers by those in uniform. It is used by the New York City Police Department and other law enforcement agencies.[2][3]
A plainclothes police officer will wear a headband, wristband or other piece of clothing in the color of the day,[3] and officers will be told of this color at the police station before they start work.[1][4] The system is for officer safety and first started during the violence of the 1970s and 1980s in New York City.[3]
Purpose
The color of the day system is about protecting undercover officers. With so many armed officers in New York City, undercover police officers need to have an easy-to-use system to provide for discreet identification of plainclothes officers by uniformed ones.[5]
History
The now-defunct
NYPD Street Crime Unit started in 1971. From the late 1970s through the early 1990s, crime in New York City was at record levels.[6] Undercover officers were asked to go into the New York City Subway and other high-risk areas in plain clothes, or dressed as a homeless person or as a decoy for those victimizing at-risk groups. Many of these officers feared that uniformed officers would mistake them for criminals in a use of force situation,[7] so the wearing of a headband or wristband colored with the color of the day system was developed to prevent friendly-fire incidents.[3]
In popular culture
 |
- Color of the day is mentioned in Shawn Ryan's The Shield, Roger Abell's The Black Shields,[7] Greg Faliis's Just the Facts Ma'am,[1] and Leslie Glass' novel, A Killing Gift.[8]
- In Bad Faith," Detective Lennie Briscoe identifies the color of the day as aquamarine when making an inquiry to the DMV.[9]
- Color of the day is mentioned in Manhattan Transfer".
- Color of the day is also mentioned in Season 10, Episode 19, "Family Affairs", when the same Reagan identifies the color of the day as green after noticing a green wristband worn by NYPD plainclothes officer Joe Hill.
- In NYPD Blue season 6 episode 8 "Raging Bulls" an undercover officer is shot by another police officer while not wearing the color of the day (red).
- In Shooter (TV series) Season 1, Episode 1, "Point of Impact", Bob Lee Swagger (played by Ryan Phillippe) recognizes a United States Secret Service agent (Isaac Johnson, played by Omar Epps) by their lapel pin which was the color of the day.[citation needed]
- In White Collar (TV series) Season 2, Episode 4, "By the Book", the color of the day is set to orange by FBI Agent Peter Burke in a preparation meeting to arrest a Colombian crime boss.
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 0-89879-823-X.
- ^ James, George (August 24, 1994). "Police Agencies Share Rules for Recognition". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Krauss, Clifford (August 24, 1994). "Subway Chaos: Officer Firing at Officer". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
- ^ Changes, Real and Imagined in the NYPD by Jim Fay ENN NYC-NJ Metro Correspondent
- ^ "NCJRS Abstract - National Criminal Justice Reference Service". www.ncjrs.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "New York Crime Rates 1960 - 2007". The Disaster Centre. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ ISBN 1-4208-4460-1.
- ISBN 0-451-41091-2.
- Bad Faith". Law & Order. Season 5. Episode 20. April 26, 1995. NBC.
- Birthright". Law & Order. Season 6. Episode 1. September 21, 2004. NBC.