Humble Police Department: Department Challange Coin

Policy Statement/purpose
The purpose of the Challenge Coin is to instill camaraderie, pride, and a sense of unity, and a connection to the department. The coin reminds us that we are not alone in this endeavor to enforce the law. It also serves as a reminder to each member of the department that other members are supporting each one of us, both on duty and off-duty, through the good times, difficulties and sometimes tragedy that we all face in our lives and in our chosen profession. We hope to create a tradition to show our respect for our profession and for all of those who have served the City of Humble Police Department before us. Therefore the holder should keep the coin with respect and honor by continuing to upholding the values of commitment to our community, courage to face dangerous situations and with compassion to those in need.

History of the Challenge Coin
During World War I, American volunteers from all parts of the country filled the newly formed flying squadrons. Some were wealthy scions attending colleges such as Yale and Harvard who quit in mid-term to join the war effort. In one squadron, a wealthy lieutenant ordered medallions struck in solid bronze and presented them to his unit. One young pilot placed the medallion in a small leather pouch that he wore around his neck. In a battle which took place several weeks later this same young pilot’s plane was severely damaged by German ground fire and he was forced to land behind enemy lines and was quickly captured. Shortly after his capture the young pilot was able to make good his escape and was forced to change into civilian clothes to avoid recapture. When he finally made it French lines he was spotted and arrested as a spy because he had no uniform or personal identification.

The French were about to execute him as a spy when he remembered his coin in the pouch around his neck. He produced the coin and his French captures then took the time to investigate his story and found it to be true and returned the young pilot to his Squadron. Back at his squadron it became tradition that all members carried their coins at all times. This was accomplished through a challenge in the following manner-a challenger would ask to see the medallion. If the challenged could not produce a medallion, they were required to buy a drink of choice for the member who challenged them. If the challenged member produced a medallion, then the challenging member was required to pay for the drink. This tradition continued on throughout the Great War and for many years after the war while surviving members of the squadron were still alive. This was how the “Challenge Coins” that we know of today came into existence.

Our Challenge Coin
Our Department challenge coin will contain the outline of the State of Texas colored in red, white, and blue. Over which the Humble Police Department patch including the City Seal will rest. This will be surrounded by a band that is black in color, which will include the words Humble Police Department and a total of six stars that are gold in color. The bottom center of the front of the coin will have both the United States Flag and the Texas Flag. The back of the coin has the Humble Police Department Badge set upon a blue field and surrounded by a band that is black in color, inscribed with “In God We Trust” at the top of the coin and “All Others We Search” at the bottom of the coin. The inscriptions will be gold in color.

What it means:
The front of the Challenge Coin: The gold lettering of the words “Humble Police Department” states boldly and proudly who we are. The six gold stars represent the six flags that have flown over Texas they are Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States of America, and the United States of America. Texas became an Independent Republic in 1835, and then in 1845 Texans voted to become the 28th State, and the proudest member of the “United States of America”. The outline of the State of Texas colored in red, white, and blue announces to all that we are patriotic Texans. The Department Patch with the City Seal displays proudly the Cities history through the City Seal contained within the patch. And finally at the bottom the coin is the United States Flag and The State of Texas Flag, this is to remind us that we serve the citizens of the State of Texas and the United States of America, as we enforce both state and federal laws.

The back of the Challenge Coin: The coin has the Badge of the Humble Police Department set within a blue field, the badge identifies us as “Police Officers”, and the blue colored field represents the “Thin Blue Line” of Law Enforcement. The badge is surrounded by a black colored band with the words “In God We Trust” “All Others We Search”. This little phrase has a humorous sound to it. But its meaning is anything but humorous. The statement “In God WE Trust” is found on all coins issued by the United States Mint.

Our forefathers wished to remind each of us that our foundation and prosperity as a Nation and as individuals should be based upon our trust, belief and faith in God. The other portion of this statement is “All Others We Search” is to remind each of us that we can never take our safety for granted, we must assume that many of the people that we come into contact with may be armed or that they intend to do us harm. This belief is based on the following facts that were provided by the FBI. In 2005 a total of fifty-five (55) officers across the nation were killed, and another 57,546 were assaulted while performing their law enforcement duties.

Let these sobering statistics act as a warning to every officer. And let our “Challenge Coin” act as a reminder. Dealing with criminal suspects is the most dangerous activity that we as officers will ever do in our law enforcement career. As a regular part of our job we stop, detain, conduct field interviews, arrest, search, and transport criminal suspects. Due to these encounters it will often be necessary to “pat suspects down for your safety and the safety of others” and to thoroughly search all prisoners before transporting or locking them down. Never forget that your life and the lives of others depend on it.