View our photos of the highlights of a collection of patches from sheriffs' departments across the country that was on display at the National Sheriffs' Association Conference in June. Orange County (Calif.) Sheriff Department's Deputy Sgt. Yvonne Shull spent 13 years collecting a patch from each of the nation's more than 3,200 sheriffs' agencies. Alaska is the only state not represented, because there are no sheriffs' agencies there. Shull's parents helped assemble sewn panels of rows of patches that covered the front and back of a 185-foot display. Click "View the Gallery" to see the individual patches.
National Sheriffs' Patch Collection
The Denton County (Texas) Sheriff's Office incorporates the POW-MIA icon into its patch. This was the most expensive patch for Shull to acquire, costing $25.
The Loup County (Neb.) Sheriff's Department has perhaps the most nondescript patch in the collection.
Connecticut no longer has sheriff's departments because voters chose to eliminate them in 2000 as a budget-saving initiative. Their duties were passed along to the Connecticut State Police.
Many sheriff's agencies in Georgia opt for the uniformity of a round patch with a star and lettering color referencing the state's unique reddish earth.
Several county agencies such as the Donley County (Texas) Sheriff's Department don't use patches. Texas has the most patches in the collection (254), because the state has the most counties in the U.S.
These panels show sheriffs' patches from Montana and Nebraska.
Most patches worn by Kansas deputies incorporate the star badge yet vary wildly in color, shape and iconography.
The Hayes County (Neb.) Sheriff Department patrols the jurisdiction where the "last buffalo hunt" took place.
Sheriffs' departments in Kentucky mostly follow a uniform pattern of the five-point star badge. The reference to Colonial times is seen with the "Comm. (Commonwealth) of Kentucky" reference.
The Duchesne County (Utah) Sheriff's Department uses a double-geographic reference of a state-shaped patch with a county-shaped image in red.
The Iowa sheriff agency patches are the epitome of uniformity. The only difference is the county name.
The Jackson County (Colo.) Sheriff's Office patch shows the natural sites of the state's third-least populated of the state's 64 counties, where elk and deer are plentiful.
The Coffey County (Kan.) Sheriff's Office pays homage to the bald eagle and the Wolf Creek Generating Station, the only nuclear reactor in the state.
Deputy Sgt. Yvonne Shull collected one patch from each sheriff's agency in the county with the help of parents Ernie and Alice (pictured left) Shull. The Orange County Sheriffs' Department picked Sgt. Shull it's distinguished deputy in 2010 for her 24-year career, which includes supervising 200 hundred homicide cases. Photo by Jerry Manson/OCSD.
Not suprisingly, Sgt. Shull's first patch in the collection was from her own agency in California.
Sheriff's departments in New York mostly follow the uniformity principle with their patches.
The Mountrail County (N.D.) Sheriffs' Department was the last patch added to the collection. After being denied by the current sheriff, Sgt. Shull met the retired sheriff at a campground in a nearby county. He cut this patch from his uniform, after hearing about the collection.
Indiana sheriffs' departments offer slight modifications on the five-point star badge motif.
The Howell County (Mo.) Sheriff's Office incorporated mascots—bear, lightning bolt and bald eagle—from the three high school football teams in his jurisdiction on his patch.
This panel shows the colorful patches of the state of Washington's sheriffs agencies.
Several agencies such as Love County (Okla.) Sheriff Department use a patch with a shape resembling the geographic area of the state or county.
The Virginia sheriffs' patches caused an engineering challenge for the Shulls becuase they are much larger than other states (5 1/4 inches tall) and didn't conform to the rows.
Sheriffs' patches in Louisiana, Maine and Maryland are shown on this panel.
The Montgomery County (Kan.) Sheriff's patch includes local references to the setting in "Little House on the Prairie," as well as an 1892 bank robbery attempted by the notorious Dalton Gang. Four members of the gang that once rode with Jesse James were killed in a shootout with law enforcement officers.
The Crawford County (Wis.) Sheriff's Department uses a geographic patch shaped like the county with a reference to the Kickapoo River, which is known as the "the crookedest river in Wisconsin."
The South Dakota Sheriff's Association patch pays homage to the state's most famous national landmark, Mount Rushmore.
In states such as Colorado, sheriff's departments don't follow uniformity of design. Badge and star imagery are common, and smaller agencies such as the Saguache and Elbert county sheriffs reference their natural settings.
The Frederick County (Md.) Sheriff's Office incorporates images from the state flag in the upper left and lower right quarter panels, such as the arms of the Calvert and Crossland families.