Retro fashion is the new style at Vicksburg Police Department.

The department debuted new dark blue uniforms for RiverFest, dropping the light blue shirts used in recent years.

The navy uniforms selected by officers are a return to the city’s classic uniforms of the past, said Chief Walter Armstrong.

“I wanted to bring back a uniform that I felt was a tradition of this city, particularly the patch,” Armstrong said.

Other uniforms in consideration were light blue and black, Armstrong said.

The uniforms cost about $20,000 from a $40,000 uniform budget, Armstrong said. The cost was offset by cutbacks in uniform spending in the past year, he said.

“Knowing that we were going to make a change in uniform, we slowed down on the purchase of any uniforms,” Armstrong said.

The patch — a black shield outlined in gold and prominently featuring an eagle — displays the slogan “Red Carpet City of the South.”

“I think it’s unique to Vicksburg,” Armstrong said. “That’s been the logo of this city for a number of years.”

The logo also is featured on the doors of police headquarters on Veto Street.

The previous patch — a rectangular shield with a rounded top — featured a magnolia, a steamboat, a Civil War soldier and the Corps of Engineers symbol under the scales of justice.

The officer’s rank also is displayed on his or her uniform pants. Patrolmen have red stripes and higher ranks have gold stripes.

The stripes on the new uniform better complement the patrol cars than before, Armstrong said.

“Right now we’ve got no intention of redesigning patrol cars,” he said.

The crop of new uniforms leaves plenty of room for the department to grow. Last week, the department added two full-time officers to bring the number to 75, Armstrong said. However, the city paid for 81 new uniforms in anticipation of growth.

“We’re looking forward to having 81, but there’s no real rush to do it right now,” he said.

To fill those extra six positions, the department is looking to hire full-time certified peace officers, Armstrong said.

“That saves us about $4,000 to not have to send them to the academy,” he said.

In Mississippi, officers may be certified as full or parttime depending on the number of training hours they receive. Part-time certified officers are allowed to work only a certain number of hours per month. Currently, Vicksburg PD only has full-time certified officers, Armstrong said.