The Dallas Police Department (DPD) is making a big deal about recruiting new officers by adding cowboy hats to their uniforms.
Hats off to those urban cops, but they are a little late to the party.
Last week, the Dallas Police Department announced that officers can now wear cowboy hats on duty, bringing “Texas style to Dallas skies.”
Texas is the latest state to capitalize on the potential of cowboy hats for law enforcement officers.
Deputies from the Boulder and Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Offices in Colorado received permission to wear cowboy hats on the job for the first time in decades in 2024, while the Ada County Sheriff’s Office in Idaho approved cowboy hats for its staff in 2023.
Cowboy hats as a “old-fashioned” recruitment tool is an intriguing idea. Colorado, Idaho, and Texas see it as a nostalgic throwback and a popular fashion statement for officers to proudly display their Old West heritage.
However, none of these departments came up with the idea on their own.
Cowboy hats were never out of style in Wyoming. In fact, they are an expected benefit of the job.
“When I interview new people, many of them say they enjoy the Western culture that we have here,” said Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak. “Wearing a cowboy hat or cowboy boots is part of that culture, and some people are attracted to that.”
Cowboy hats are almost as ingrained in Wyoming culture as underwear, and “going commando” can easily imply that you are not wearing your Western headgear.
Tip Of Your Hat
Kozak said recruitment hasn’t been an issue for the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office. He personally interviews every applicant, and there have been plenty of people interested in joining his team.
“It’s going well for us,” he explained. “We’ve had to expand our hiring unit to keep up with applications that we’re receiving in order to do the background investigations and get people hired in a timely manner.”
Cowboy hats were not part of the official uniform when Kozak was elected sheriff in 2022. After receiving several requests for permission, he approved a policy that allowed employees to wear cowboy hats on duty.
“The sheriff was generally the only person who wore a cowboy hat prior to me coming into office,” said the governor. “But we are a sheriff’s office in Cheyenne, Wyoming, so you should be able to wear a cowboy hat.”
Adding cowboy hats to the uniform has improved morale at the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, and Kozak has expanded on that. When someone new joins his team, he makes sure they start with a hat in hand.
“We give all new employees credit to go down to the local hat store and get a cowboy hat,” he told me. “We want them to see that we support them in doing their job, and cowboy hats are a part of that.”
No Hat Trick
Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken read about the DPD’s approval of cowboy hats while on duty. It gave him some interesting perspective on his office’s hat policy.
“We don’t give cowboy hats too much thought because it’s a cultural norm in Wyoming,” he told me. “I think a lot of us out here almost take it for granted.”
Cowboy hats have been a “perfectly acceptable” part of the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office uniform for many years. Bakken has never used cowboy hats as a recruiting tool because it is an inherent benefit of the job.
Bakken stated that he has never been directly asked about cowboy hats during interviews with applicants. He expects that most people who want to join his team are more excited about the job than the headwear they’ll be wearing if hired.
“At the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, you might be involved in a search and rescue one day and a snowmobile incident the other day, and you’ve got 8,000 square miles to do it all in,” he told me. “As a member of a city police department, you spend your entire day within city limits.
“Our department has much more freedom, so to speak. That is what stands out to our candidates.”
Under The Hat
The DPD might see cowboy hats as an exciting tool for recruitment, but that isn’t needed in Wyoming. Cowboy hats are cultural heritage, first and foremost.
Kozak said culture is what draws most of the applicants he interviews for the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office. They want to immerse themselves in Wyoming’s cowboy code while finding a healthy and supportive place to work.
“Applicants are looking for a healthy culture,” he said. “They’re looking to see that the employees working here are happy, and the agency supports them in doing their job. We encourage them to do their job, fight crime, and work with the community to get that done. And, if you do that the right way, we’ve got your back.”
Community engagement is one of Kozak’s priorities as sheriff.
That’s why he resurrected the mounted patrol for special events in Cheyenne and encourages his deputies and officers from the Cheyenne Police Department to participate in the training, allowing them to engage with the community and keep a watchful eye on the crowds from horseback.
“People like to see law enforcement on horseback, especially visitors during the summer,” he said. “It’s a great way for our deputies to meet the people coming to town and build a relationship with them. That’s our primary focus with the mounted patrol.”
Bakken said applicants for the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office are more interested in other aspects of Wyoming’s lifestyle. They regularly ask about “one of the state’s best-kept secrets.”
“A lot of people come to Wyoming specifically for the outdoor opportunities,” he said. “One of our most recent transfers from another state came because of the hunting, and he picked the right spot.”
For Bakken, cowboy hats aren’t needed to find motivated and enthusiastic deputies. Carbon County covers a lot of ground when it comes to recruitment, and hats are just a cherry on top.
“We get to see some cool country, and we can wear some cool hats while we do it,” he said. “Cowboy hats are just a perk on top of everything else.”
