Texas Uses Cowboy Hats To Recruit Cops — In Wyoming It's The Culture, Not A Perk

The Dallas Police Department (DPD) is making a big deal in its efforts to recruit new officers by adding cowboy hats to its uniform.

Hats off to those urban cops, but they’re a little late to the party.

​The DPD announced last week that officers are now approved to wear cowboy hats while on duty, saying they’re bringing “Texas style to Dallas skies.”

Texas is the latest state to tap into the potential of cowboy hats for law enforcement officers.

Deputies with the Boulder and Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Offices in Colorado got permission to wear cowboy hats on the job for the first time in decades in 2024, and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office in Idaho OK'd cowboy hats for its staff in 2023.

Cowboy hats as an “old-fashioned” recruitment tool is an interesting concept. Colorado, Idaho and Texas see it as a nostalgic throwback and a popular fashion statement for officers to enjoy flaunting their connection to the Old West.

However, it’s not an idea any of these departments pulled out of a hat.

Cowboy hats never went out of style in Wyoming. In fact, they’re an expected perk of the job.

“When I interview new people, a lot of them say they like the Western culture that we have here,” said Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak. “Wearing a cowboy hat or cowboy boots is part of that culture, and some people are attracted to that.”

In Wyoming, cowboy hats are almost as ingrained in the culture and as automatic as underwear, where “going commando” could easily mean you’re not wearing your Western headgear.

Tip Of Your Hat

Kozak said recruitment hasn’t been an issue for the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office. He personally interviews every applicant, and there have been plenty of people interested in joining his team.

“It's going good for us,” he said. “We've had to expand our hiring unit to keep up with applications that we're receiving in order to do the background investigations and get people hired in a timely manner.”

Cowboy hats weren’t part of the department’s official uniform when Kozak was elected sheriff in 2022. He authorized a policy allowing employees to wear cowboy hats on duty after several requests for permission to do so.

“The sheriff was generally the only person who wore a cowboy hat prior to me coming into office,” he said. “But we are a sheriff's office in Cheyenne, Wyoming, so you should be able to wear a cowboy hat.”

Adding cowboy hats to the uniform has helped boost morale at the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, and Kozak has built on that. When someone new joins his team, he ensures they start with a hat in hand.

“We give all new employees credit to go down to the local hat store and get a cowboy hat,” he said. “We want them to see that we support them in doing their job, and cowboy hats are a part of that.”

No Hat Trick

Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken read about the DPD’s approval of cowboy hats while on duty. It gave him some interesting perspective on his office’s hat policy.

“We don't give cowboy hats too much thought because it’s a cultural norm in Wyoming,” he said. “I think a lot of us out here almost take it for granted.”

Cowboy hats have been a “perfectly acceptable” part of the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office uniform for years. Bakken has never used cowboy hats as a recruitment tool because it’s an ingrained perk of the job.

Bakken said he has never been directly asked about cowboy hats during interviews with applicants. He expects most people who want to join his team are more excited about the job than the headwear they’ll be wearing if they get it.

“At the Carbon County Sheriff's Office, you might be involved in a search and rescue one day and a snowmobile incident the other day, and you've got 8,000 square miles to do it all in,” he said. “With a city police department, you’re cooped up in city limits all day long.

"There’s a lot more freedom, so to speak, in our department. That’s what stands out to our applicants.”

Under The Hat

The DPD might see cowboy hats as an exciting tool for recruitment, but that isn’t needed in Wyoming. Cowboy hats are cultural heritage, first and foremost.

Kozak said culture is what draws most of the applicants he interviews for the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office. They want to immerse themselves in Wyoming’s cowboy code while finding a healthy and supportive place to work.

“Applicants are looking for a healthy culture,” he said. “They’re looking to see that the employees working here are happy, and the agency supports them in doing their job. We encourage them to do their job, fight crime, and work with the community to get that done. And, if you do that the right way, we’ve got your back.”

Community engagement is one of Kozak’s priorities as sheriff.

That’s why he resurrected the mounted patrol for special events in Cheyenne and encourages his deputies and officers from the Cheyenne Police Department to participate in the training, allowing them to engage with the community and keep a watchful eye on the crowds from horseback.

“People like to see law enforcement on horseback, especially visitors during the summer,” he said. “It's a great way for our deputies to meet the people coming to town and build a relationship with them. That’s our primary focus with the mounted patrol.”

Bakken said applicants for the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office are more interested in other aspects of Wyoming’s lifestyle. They regularly ask about “one of the state’s best-kept secrets.”

“A lot of people come to Wyoming specifically for the outdoor opportunities,” he said. “One of our most recent transfers from another state came because of the hunting, and he picked the right spot.”

For Bakken, cowboy hats aren’t needed to find motivated and enthusiastic deputies. Carbon County covers a lot of ground when it comes to recruitment, and hats are just a cherry on top.

“We get to see some cool country, and we can wear some cool hats while we do it,” he said. “Cowboy hats are just a perk on top of everything else.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.