With then Assistant Chief and now Chief of Police Tracey Howard in the background, HPD Chief Lloyd Slater presents a look at the new badges for the Hinesville Police Department in one of his last acts as chief before his retirement. 

Chief Slater said this badge was created to symbolize HPD’s quality-oriented culture and commitment to excellence. The motto inscribed on the badge is intended to serve as a constant reminder to every officer who wears it to always go above and beyond. 

The new HPD badges consist of an eagle top shield with two reverse enamel arching panels, a modified rendition of Hinesville City Hall depicting the state seal, the year 1837 at the base of the plinth (center column) and inscribed at the foot of city hall is the HPD motto: “Nothing Less Than Exceptional.”

In the photo below, Chief Slater presented a challenge coin to Officer Lisa Joseph, who helped prepare the Hinesville Police Department’s documentation to become a state certified agency from the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police. 

Three different assessors from three different jurisdictions spend two days going through every file and every policy. Chief Slater said the department has been working on this for three years. Departments are certified for three years and have to restart the process for certification when the three years elapses. 

Officer Joseph is the department’s certification officer. “She has done a good job,” Chief Slater. “She has indeed met the challenge.” Officer Joseph also is going to school to become a grant writer, giving the HPD its own in-house grant writer.

Photos by Pat Donahue