A photo of three people wearing police uniforms.
VCU Police Officers Nick Champigny, Christopher Clark and Jaelyn LaLonde in VCU Police’s new uniforms at the Compass on the Monroe Park Campus. (Jake Burns, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Jan. 24, 2025

VCU Police to sport new uniforms with an eye toward health and safety – for the community and themselves

Visual continuity and better weight distribution are factors in the change, which begins Jan. 27 on both campuses.

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By Corey Byers Standlick and Jake Burns

As the spring semester begins in earnest, community members may notice VCU Police officers in new threads. The department is rolling out a new line of uniforms, with a focus on a consistent, familiar look and on officer health.

Starting Jan. 27, officers will wear new uniforms daily on both the Monroe Park and MCV campuses.

Traditionally, officers wore two types of uniforms: a Class A uniform (a gray shirt with navy blue pants) and a less formal Class B uniform (a white and black shirt with black pants).

John Venuti, VCU’s associate vice president for public safety and chief of police, said the department is doing away with the white and black Class B attire, and it will stick to gray uniforms – with the addition of an outer vest carrier.

The vest complements a traditional duty belt, providing additional storage and functionality for carrying equipment while improving overall comfort for officers.

“After speaking with my officers, many of them were in favor of new uniform vests for reasons related to their physical health,” Venuti said. “We’ve had the existing uniforms for more than 10 years, and it was time for a change.”

A photo of a person's right shoulder and another person's left shoulder. The right shoulder has a shirt, vest, and police patch. The left shoulder shows a short sleeve shirt and a police patch.
A closer look at the new VCU Police uniforms. (Jake Burns, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Patrol officer Christopher Clark was tasked with researching new uniform options. He said studies show that outer vest carriers distribute the weight of equipment more evenly, which reduces strain on an officer’s hips – thus reducing the risk of lower-back and hip pain.

“A lot of officers were experiencing lower-back issues from wearing the duty belt,” Clark said.

“There was also confusion when officers arrived at a call wearing different uniforms – some in the white and black Class B uniform and others in the gray Class A uniform,” he added. “Some community members thought we were from different police agencies. We wanted something more professional, comfortable and consistent.”

Sourcing the previous white and black uniform shirts was becoming more difficult, too. The old uniforms were only available in men’s sizes and cuts, but the new uniforms are sized for men and women.

Additionally, the new vests can easily be removed so an officer can cool off and put it back on quickly – a useful feature, since temperatures routinely approach triple digits in Richmond during summer months.

“The goal is to minimize injuries at work and promote a healthy lifestyle for officers while on duty at VCU and at home,” Clark said.

A photo of a man from the knees up. He is wearing a police uniform and standing on a sidewalk.
VCU Police Officer Christopher Clark was tasked with researching new uniform options, which led to this new design. (Jake Burns, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Both the city of Richmond and Henrico County police departments have the same optional vests available for officers.

VCU Police officers are fully certified by Virginia’s Department of Criminal Justice Services and have the same patrol, investigation and arrest authority as the Richmond Police Department within VCU Police jurisdiction. Their main focus is providing proactive and responsive policing services to the Monroe Park and MCV campuses.