Naples Police Department is getting new uniforms. Here’s a look

The Naples Police Department is getting new and improved uniforms that are designed to help them move around easier.

They did not make the change for fashion’s sake. Instead, the new uniforms offer officers more mobility and hopefully lessen wear and tear on the body, which is a good thing for police officers, who need to be at their best at all times.

Naples Police officers said they feel good in their new uniforms, which will be unveiled to the public sometime in June.

“It gives me a lot more, I’d say, flexibility, to do with my job,” Police Sgt. Matthew Doyle said.

Doyle said that’s critical.

Also, their duty belts sit higher now, which will reduce wear and tear on an officer’s body.

It used to be that everyone wore their 30 pounds of required gear on a belt on their waist, but not anymore.

“We started rolling out an external carrier option for our officers to help distribute some of the weight from their duty belts off up … onto the upper torso area,” said Police Lt. Bryan McGinn.

McGinn said this change will reduce stress on every officer’s hips and back.

Not only does the new uniform redistribute the gear, it is also better in the Naples heat.

When officers are in their cruiser or have some down time, they can use a side strap or zipper to open the vest up.

“It’s going to help officers deal with this kind of heat and releasing all that pressure from inside here, the sweat, things like that,” Doyle said.

While the new uniform is innovative, it is not required.

“It’s an option,” McGinn said. “Most people have opted to wear it, obviously, because it’s been something that has been asked before by officers.”

The vest is also easier to get in and out of, which can come in handy during an emergency.

“You can put it on in a matter of seconds, and you have all your equipment and everything, you’re protected as well,” McGinn said, “so it’s really a large amount of benefits.”

Naples Police said, so far, all feedback from the department has been positive.