The color of the day is a signal used by plainclothes

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of some

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

departments in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is used to assist in the identification of plainclothes police officers by those in uniform. It is used by the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

and other law enforcement agencies. A plainclothes police officer will wear a

headband A headband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. T ...

wristband Wristbands are encircling strips worn on the wrist or lower forearm. The term can be used to refer to a bracelet-like band, similar to that of a wristwatch, to the cuff or other part of a sleeve that covers the wrist, or decorative or function ...

or other piece of clothing in the color of the day, and officers will be told of this color at the

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

before they start work. The system is for officer safety and first started during the violence of the 1970s and 1980s in New York City.

Purpose

The color of the day system is about protecting undercover officers. With so many armed officers in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, undercover police officers need to have an easy-to-use system to provide for discreet identification of plainclothes officers by uniformed ones.

History

The now-defunct NYPD Street Crime Unit started in 1971. From the late 1970s through the early 1990s, crime in New York City was at record levels. Undercover officers were asked to go into the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

and other high-risk areas in plain clothes, or dressed as a

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

person or as a decoy for those victimizing at-risk groups. Many of these officers feared that uniformed officers would mistake them for criminals in a

use of force The use of force, in the context of law enforcement, may be defined as the "amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject". Use of force doctrines can be employed by law enforcement officers and military perso ...

situation, so the wearing of a headband or wristband colored with the color of the day system was developed to prevent friendly-fire incidents.

In popular culture

* Color of the day is mentioned in Shawn Ryan's ''

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'', Roger Abell's ''The Black Shields'', Greg Faliis's ''Just the Facts Ma'am'', and Leslie Glass' novel, ''A Killing Gift''. * In ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' Season 5, Episode 20, "

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," Detective

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identifies the color of the day as aquamarine when making an inquiry to the DMV. *Color of the day is mentioned in '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' episodes "

Birthright Birthright is the concept of things being due to a person upon or by fact of their birth, or due to the order of their birth. These may include rights of citizenship based on the place where the person was born or the citizenship of their paren ...

", "

Perverted Perversion is a form of human behavior which deviates from what is considered to be orthodox or normal. Although the term ''perversion'' can refer to a variety of forms of deviation, it is most often used to describe sexual behaviors that are co ...

", "Gambler's Fallacy", and " Manhattan Transfer". *Color of the day is also mentioned in Blue Bloods,

Season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

, Episode 19, "Loss of Faith", when

Frank Reagan Francis Xavier Reagan (July 28, 1919 – November 20, 1972) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played professionally for the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles during a seven-season National ...

says that every plainclothes officer will have the color of the day in full display,

Season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In tempera ...

, Episode 9, "Pain Killers", when Frank Reagan asks if an NYPD plain clothes officer who was shot at by a

New York State Police The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the state of New York in the United States. It is part of the New York State Executive Department, and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 civilian members. History The State ...

officer was wearing the color of the day, and in Season 10, Episode 19, "Family Affairs", when the same Reagan identifies the color of the day as green after noticing a green wristband worn by NYPD plainclothes officer Joe Hill. *In

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

season 6 episode 8 "Raging Bulls" an undercover officer is shot by another police officer while not wearing the color of the day (red). *In

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Season 1, Episode 1, "Point of Impact", Bob Lee Swagger (played by

Ryan Phillippe Matthew Ryan Phillippe (; born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing as Billy Douglas on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'', he came to fame in the late 1990s with starring roles in films including ''I Know What You Did Las ...

) recognizes a

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

agent (Isaac Johnson, played by

Omar Epps Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film role ...

) by their lapel pin which was the color of the day. *In

White Collar (TV series) ''White Collar'' was an American police procedural drama television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Tim DeKay as FBI Special Agent Peter Burke and Matt Bomer as Neal Caffrey, a highly intelligent and multi-talented con artist working as ...

Season 2, Episode 4, "By the Book", the color of the day is set to orange by FBI Agent Peter Burke in a preparation meeting to arrest a Colombian crime boss.

References

{{Reflist Law enforcement in the United States Law enforcement in New York City Law enforcement techniques

Purpose

History

In popular culture

See also

References