The navy blue uniform of Dallas police officers may now be accessorized with a staple of Western wear. <\/p>\n
Officers are allowed to wear cowboy hats while on duty, the agency announced on its social media last week. <\/p>\n
Some force members posed in the hats in front of a blue-orange sunset in a photograph posted on the police department\u2019s Instagram. <\/p>\n
\u201cFitted for duty and ready to ride. Officers across our department are wearing our new cowboy hats with pride\u2014where style meets service!\u201d the department captioned a later video post in which officers rode horses, conducted arrests and patrolled the city. <\/p>\n
News Roundups<\/p>\n
The video began with some conspicuous product placement. An officer strolled through Cavender\u2019s<\/a>, a Texas retail store famous for its cowboy boots and hats. <\/p>\n A Dallas Police Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question Monday about whether there is a formal partnership with the Western wear brand. <\/p>\n The announcement around the hats also plugged the DPD\u2019s recruitment team. The department faces the task of having at least 4,000 officers by 2029, the minimum amount mandated by Proposition U<\/a>, a city charter amendment passed last year. As of June, 3,215 officers were employed, The Dallas Morning News reported<\/a>. <\/p>\n Retention<\/a> has been an issue for the force, although its recruiting class recently jumped<\/a> from an average size of 10-20 officers up to about 50, according to The News. <\/p>\n In June, to boost the prospective officer pool, the Dallas City Council approved <\/a>a change to the police\u2019s hiring standards to allow applicants without a college degree. <\/p>\n Dallas police have also cast their gaze on Fort Worth, reportedly placing \u201cWe Are Hiring\u201d billboards<\/a> in that city. When Fort Worth police spotted the signs in March, they remixed Kendrick Lamar\u2019s chart-topping 2024 diss track \u201cNot Like Us\u201d to poke fun at their Dallas counterparts. The song did not ignite a rap battle, as some social media users had hoped. <\/p>\n