United States law enforcement decorations

Since the United States has a decentralized police force, with separate independent departments existing on the state and local level, there are thousands of law enforcement decorations in existence.

Typically, law enforcement decorations are bestowed by a particular police department and may only be worn and displayed while a police officer is serving as a member of that particular law enforcement activity.

Federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, DEA, and the Department of Homeland Security issue medals under the authority of the United States government which are considered separate civilian government awards.

Law enforcement awards are often independently designed by the city, town, or county, where they are issued and many have a unique appearance to separate them from U.S. military awards (which are themselves often authorized for wear on police uniforms by military veterans).

During the trial of George Zimmerman, the Sanford Police Department came under heavy criticism when it was revealed on national television that their officers were wearing U.S. military awards, including such decorations as the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, with simply different names as police awards.