History Main / HollywoodCopUniform

* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' gives us "Sergeant Saskatchewan", the most intently overly patriotic Canadian superhero ever. As he's based on a Mountie you'd assume he'd wear the RCMP sergeant emblem (Three chevrons pointing down with a crown above them) or at the very least the Canadian Armed Forces sergeant emblem (Same deal, just a maple leaf instead of a crown). Instead he wears the American staff sergeant emblem (Three chevrons pointing up).

[[caption-width-right:350:Actually she's ''not'' the sheriff.[[note]]She's Marge Gunderson, Chief of Police of Brainerd, MN in Film/{{Fargo}}[[/note]]]]

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''Crash Road'', a 2007 Czech comedy, police officers are shown who ostensibly belong to the Czech state police and whose uniforms and badges seem on the whole similar to the latter, but whose caps have elements of those worn by some Czech municipal police forces (six-pointed crown, diced "Sillitoe tartan" band).[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* In the pilot episode of ''Series/DueSouth'', there are a number of inaccuracies in the RCMP uniforms worn, ranging from Bob Fraser's boots not being laced up the proper way to Benton wearing a cap badge (from a fire department) on his Stetson hat. Subsequent episodes would remedy these errors, but still have RCMP members wearing the red ceremonial uniform far more frequently than would be the norm in real life.
** Apparently when Creator/LeslieNielsen guest-starred, he took Paul Gross to one side and showed him how to correctly tie his boots (Nielsen's father had been a Mountie, so he knew the proper way to lace them up).

* Averted in both ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'' and ''Series/AdamTwelve'' - every uniformed officer that appears in either is dressed exactly the same as a ''real'' LAPD officer of the period, and the badges used by the main characters are authentic. Jack Webb was a notorious stickler for detail and had a [[BackedByThePentagon good relationship with the police department]].

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'': The Sheriff of Nottingham wears a star [[AnachronismStew like a modern American sheriff's badge.]]
[[/folder]]

* ''Literature/TheThreeInvestigators'': One story featured a ClassyCatBurglar using a henchman dressed as a cop. When arrested for (among others) impersonating a police officer, he pointed out that the henchman was wearing an NYPD uniform (the series is set in UsefulNotes/{{California}}) and thus that charge didn't apply to him.

* In ''Pinocchio's Promise'', a Walt Disney Beginning Reader from the 1980s, a policeman helps WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} get back a clock that J. Worthington Foulfellow (the fox) tricked him into handing over to him. His uniform is fantastical, having elements of an old American ''[[Creator/KeystoneStudios Keystone Kops]]''-type uniform (helmet, star) combined with "European", partly civilian elements (cape, knee breeches and hose, buckled shoes). Remember that "Pinocchio" is set in Italy and that in the original novel, the protagonist has encounters with actual ''Carabineri'', whose distinctive uniforms are well-rendered by various illustrators.

* ''Fatal Vows'': Varies, but law enforcement officers' uniforms are somewhat erratic. However, for example, a Montreal police officer's uniform with a believable shoulder flash appears in an episode set there.

* Carl Winslow is a Sergeant (and later a Lieutenant) with the Chicago Police Department on ''Series/FamilyMatters''. His uniform uses generic "Police Dept." shoulder patches and a generic oval badge rather than the CPD's distinct five-pointed star.

* In the episode "Ua Hopu" in ''Series/HawaiiFive0'', the uniforms of Japanese police officers have vest patches that say "Special police officer" in Japanese. Actual vest patches have writing which means "National Police Agency".

* In the episode "The Killing of a One-Eyed Bookie" in ''Series/UltimateForce'', Henno and Caroline run into what was suppose to be a Royal Ulster Constabulary checkpoint designated to surprise anyone who's suspected of being a paramilitary member of either pro-Republican or Loyalist groups. It was only until Henno steps out of an unmarked sedan to face the supposed [=RUC=] officer eventually led to a shootout. The [=SAS=] finds out that the gunmen were pro-Republican fighters and had acquired genuine RUC uniforms, but got details wrong such as having old cap badges in peaked caps and using dress uniforms while one of them had a green web belt and a green holster. The armored Land Rover SUV was also reported to be looted from a RUC station. Caroline says that they could've fooled anyone who doesn't pay attention. But not Henno.

* Uniformed officers of the SPVM protested to get an increase in wages by wearing camo pants in 2017 since they're not allowed to walk off the job and strike.

[[caption-width-right:350:Actually she's ''not'' the sheriff.[[note]]She's Marge Gunderson, Chief of Police of Brainerd, MN in Film/Fargo[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Actually she's ''not'' the sheriff.[[note]]She's Marge Gunderson, Chief of Police of Brainerd, MN in Film/Fargo[[/note]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Actually she's ''not'' the sheriff.[[She's Marge Gunderson, Chief of Police of Brainerd, MN in Film/Fargo]]

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Marge_Gunderson.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Actually she's ''not'' the sheriff.[[note]]She's Marge Gunderson, Chief of Police of Brainerd, MN in Film/{{Fargo}}[[/note]]]]

* In ''Series/Almost Paradise'', there is a fictional police force in Cebu known as the Mactan Police which has its own uniform.

* In the episode "The Killing of a One-Eyed Bookie" in ''Series/UltimateForce'', Henno and Caroline run into what was suppose to be a Royal Ulster Constabulary checkpoint designated to surprise anyone who's suspected of being a paramilitary member of either pro-Republican or Loyalist groups. It was only until Henno steps out of an unmarked sedan to face the supposed [=RUC=] officer led to a shootout. The [=SAS=] finds out that the gunmen were pro-Republican fighters and had acquired genuine RUC uniforms, but got details wrong such as having old cap badges in peaked caps and using dress uniforms while one of them had a green web belt and a green holster. The armored Land Rover SUV was also reported to be looted from a RUC station. Caroline says that they could've fooled anyone who doesn't pay attention. But not Henno.

* In ''Almost Paradise'', there is a fictional police force in Cebu which has its own uniform.

* Invoked in-universe in an episode of Series/{{Castle}} when Beckett notices that three uniformed officers in the front row of an arraignment have the clasps and buttons made of the wrong metal (tin instead of brass) and realizes TooLate that they're three accomplices in place to free the person being arraigned.

* ''Series/RookieBlue'': The cops in this series, inconspicuously set in Toronto, wear shoulder flashes with an emblem containing similar elements to the real-life emblem/cap badge and have rather generic-looking shield-shaped cap badges. Their uniforms are similarly generic, lacking the red pant stripe and cap band worn by Ontario municipal police forces.

* Zigzagged with ''Series/CriminalMindsBeyondBorders''. Some episodes taking place in Japan and Singapore show actual depictions of police uniforms that are researched, even if the show was filmed in the US. In an episode set in Cuba, not all uniformed officers wear berets and have shoulder patches. They also don't use Western-made pistols.

* In ''Series/KidouKeijiJiban'', Jiban's cyborg body has rank epaulettes permanently mounted on his body that shows the rank of Commissioner, his badge shows an American sheriff star.

* ''Series/UnsolvedMysteries'': Zig-zagged. Many episodes actually avert this trope, perhaps in part due to use of footage of actual law enforcement officers, but there are slip-ups. For example, one episode, set in part in Ireland, has two Gardai (Irish policemen) with American-style shield-shaped breast badges.

* Averted in the UK police drama ''Series/TheBill'' - they received special permission to use authentic UK police uniforms.

* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] with ''Series/TheBill'', as while they've generally ShownTheirWork, some eagle-eyed viewers notice the uniforms seem like a mishmash of several British forces uniforms (at one point, they had near-identical uniforms to the Royal Ulster Constabulary in a 1990s episode, which [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece ties it to the 1990s explicitly]].

* ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'': The Sheriff of Nottingham wears a star [[AnachronismStew like a modern American sheriff.]]

* In 2014, officers in Chateauguay, Quebec donned black cowboy hats and vests with sheriff's stars in order to protest a bill of the provincial legislature which was meant to reform their pension plans.

* ''Literature/TheThreeInvestigators'': One story featured a ClassyCatBurglar using a henchman dressed as a cop. When arrested for (among others) impersonating a police officer, he pointed out that the henchman was wearing an NYPD uniform (the series is set in California) and thus that charge didn't apply to him.

* In ''Pinocchio's Promise'', a Walt Disney Beginning Reader from the 1980s, a policeman helps Pinocchio get back a clock that Foulfellow (the fox) tricked him into handing over to him. His uniform is fantastical, having elements of an old American "Keystone Cops"-type uniform (helmet, star) combined with "European", partly civilian elements (cape, knee breeches and hose, buckled shoes). Remember that "Pinocchio" is set in Italy and that in the original novel, the protagonist has encounters with actual ''Carabineri'', whose distinctive uniforms are well-rendered by various illustrators.

* ''In Pursuit of Honor'': when the deserters cross the border into Canada with the horses they took from the US Cavalry, they are met by a patrol of Mounties, all on horseback and in full dress uniform complete with scarlet tunic, which in itself is inaccurate for the period (in the 1930s there was already a more practical "everyday" tunic). They wear shoulder flashes bearing the inscription "Royal Canadian Mounted Police" in gold lettering, which, while in themselves more or less authentic, do not belong on the full dress uniform. A more minor inaccuracy is the fact that the "Montana peak" on the Mounties' Stetsons is creased as on American campaign hats, with the four dents aligned two in back and two in front, whereas RCMP Stetsons and most other Canadian campaign-style hats have one dent in front, one in back, and one on each side.

* ''Film/GoodbyeLenin'': when Alex is arrested he's held in a jail manned by police officers wearing the standard green Volkspolizei uniform, while in reality prison guards in East Germany wore blue uniforms with gray piping and insignia.

** Apparently when UsefulNotes/LeslieNielsen guest-starred, he took Paul Gross to one side and showed him how to correctly tie his boots (Nielsen's father had been a Mountie, so he knew the proper way to lace them up).

* Averted with British {{Edutainment}} series ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'': the cop uniforms are '''real''', but the situations that presenter Alastair Stewart were involved in during the 1994-2002 series were {{Kayfabe}}. They actually are [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece period-appropriate uniforms]].

Notably, works set in New York City or other major American cities often avert this trope. This may have something to do with the appearance of the NYPD uniform being familiar to many, perhaps also with some shows and films set in places like NY or Boston having a good enough budget to faithfully replicate its look. On the other hand, works, especially American, depicting Canadian Mounties often inaccurately portray them as wearing their distinctive, historical red dress uniform on a normal workday, something no doubt often done deliberately in order to play into the stereotype.

* Earlier editions of ''[[Recap/TintinTheBlackIsland The Black Island]]'' had Scottish coppers wearing weapons. This was corrected in later editions.

* In ''Series/SledgeHammer'', the cop uniforms are deliberately left "generic", just as the city in which Sledge is a detective is never specified. given that Sledge is a maniac with borderline ''Film/DirtyHarry'' tendencies, this is probably wise.

** Apparently when Leslie Nielsen guest-starred, he took Paul Gross to one side and showed him how to correctly tie his boots (Nielsen's father had been a Mountie, so he knew the proper way to lace them up).

* WesternAnimation/RobinHood: The Sheriff of Nottingham wears a star [[AnachronismStew like a modern American sheriff.]]

[[/folder]]