United States law enforcement decorations are awarded by the police forces of the United States of America. Since the United States has a decentralized police force, with separate independent departments existing on the state and local level, there are thousands of law enforcement decorations in existence.

Usage and history

Law enforcement medals and badges first appeared in the late 19th century, as used by some of the (then) largest police departments in the country, such as the New York City Police Department and Chicago Police Department. Early law enforcement awards were often pins and badges awarded on a case-by-case basis. Standardized law enforcement awards began to appear once police departments began issuing more codified and structured uniform regulations. Originally, law enforcement awards were rarely awarded, and then only for acts of heroism or bravery. The oldest police awards thus have such names as "Medal of Valor" and "Medal of Honor". Later in the 20th century, police departments began issuing medal ribbons for such routine tasks as years of service, completion of training, or simply general membership in the police. Law enforcement awards, historically the domain of larger city departments, became more common with smaller local and town offices, as well as Sheriff's departments, towards the end of the 20th century. Typically, law enforcement decorations are bestowed by a particular police department and may only be worn and displayed while a police officer is serving as a member of that particular law enforcement activity. Most such awards are provided by city, county and state officials. Federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, DEA, and the Department of Homeland Security issue medals under the authority of the United States government which are considered separate civilian government awards. Law enforcement awards are often independently designed by the city, town, or county, where they are issued and many have a unique appearance to separate them from U.S. military awards (which are themselves often authorized for wear on police uniforms by military veterans). During the trial of George Zimmerman, the Sanford Police Department came under heavy criticism when it was revealed on national television that their officers were wearing U.S. military awards, including such decorations as the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, with simply different names as police awards. After numerous complaints to both the Sanford police and the Fraternal Order of Police, the department discontinued this practice of wearing U.S. military awards in lieu of unique police decorations.

Index of law enforcement awards

The following sections list various police decorations by awarding agency

Columbia Police Department

Denver Police Department

Elyria Police Department

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department

Los Angeles Police Department

Minneapolis Police Department

Minnesota State Patrol

Montgomery County Police Department

New York City Police Department

Oklahoma City Police Department

Philadelphia Police Department

Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department

Sanford Police Department

Prior to the controversy surrounding the display of obvious U.S. military award ribbons as police decorations, the Sanford police issued these ribbons (in order of precedence shown below) before discontinuing the practice.

St. Louis County Police Department