My Law Enforcement Patch Collection...
My Computer...
Motor Vehicle Accident Reconstruction...
Lincoln Parish Fire Protection District...
One of my favorite pastimes is working on my collection
of law enforcement shoulder patches. This is a fairly common hobby of people employed in the law enforcement profession. The uniform shoulder patch serves as a means of identification for almost every law enforcement agency in the United States and in many foreign countries. Most law enforcement agencies have their own distinctive design on their patch. In many cases, the patch design is characteristic of the community that the law enforcement agency represents. For example, in my department's newest patch shown at the right, there are several distinctive features. The pine tree forest at the top represents the slogan "Piney Hills Country" used by much of North Louisiana. The blue symbol of the state with the red letter "T" is the logo of Louisiana Tech University located in Ruston. The peach on the right represents the Lincoln Parish peach industry. The building in the center is the Ruston City Hall. The brown Pelican above the City Hall is the Louisiana State Bird. And 1884 is the year that Ruston was founded.
The round patch on the left is an older patch that is now obsolete. This was the uniform patch from 1982 until 1994. It was designed by a former officer with the department, and includes the Ruston City Hall building, and the Louisiana State Bird in the design. Some of the design of this patch can also be seen in the newer, current patch of the department. A variaton of this patch has also been adopted by the City of Ruston as the city's official seal. And during it's tenure as the official uniform shoulder patch of the Ruston Police Department, this design was also the door emblem on the police department's patrol vehicles.
The patch on the right is an even older patch that was previously used by the Ruston Police. This patch was adopted in 1974 and was used until 1982. Although the patch was simple in design, it represented a major change in the uniform appearance and overall makeup of the Ruston Police Department.
I collected my first law enforcement shoulder patch in September of 1977 when I obtained a patch from the police department in Monroe, Louisiana. Since that time, I have accumulated more than 3500 law enforcement shoulder patches from throughout the United States and many foreign countries. My collection of more than 200 patches from agencies in the State of Louisiana is currently on display in the lobby of my department.
If you are a law enforcement patch collector who would be interested in trading patches with me, and you are interested in only adding one of my patches to your collection, please feel free to contact me, Jim Hilton. I'll trade for any municipal, county/parish, state or federal law enforcement patch, 1 for 1, new for new.
If you are interested in trading for a current issue Ruston PD patch, please understand that these patches are available to law enforcement officer's private collections only. PLEASE NOTE: if you are planning to sell my patch on eBay or similar internet auction site, or sell it at a trade show, or sell it anywhere for that matter, then please don't ask for a patch. eBay and similar web sales sites have almost complete put an end to the availability of Ruston PD patches.
I'm especially interested in trading for any authentic law enforcement patch with "HILTON" on it, for obvious reasons. I probably would even trade really good to get one. If you have such a patch that's available for trade, or know where you can get one, please let me know.
One place where I spend a great deal of time - my wife will probably tell you too much of my time - is right here in front of my computer.
Whether I'm surfing the Internet, sending or receiving E-mail, working on my home page, or carrying on a conversation with someone in a far away place using an IM program or the IRC, it is without a doubt one of my favorite places to be. Naturally, I have figured a way to use the computer for just about anything. It's the perfect tool for keeping up with my patch collection. It helps me remember what bills to pay, keeps track of my vehicle maintenance, and even remembers my wife's birthday for me. Now if I could just get it to wash the dog and mow the lawn.....
My area of expertise in law enforcement is in the field of motor vehicle accident reconstruction. 
Accident reconstruction goes beyond that of normal, everyday accident investigation in that it deals with the technical aspects of motor vehicle collisions. It involves the detailed analysis of damage and collision data from an accident. Much of the reconstruction of a motor vehicle collision involves extensive mathematics, as well as knowing, understanding and applying the laws of physics. In basic traffic accident investigation, you report what happened. In the reconstruction phase of a collision, you not only report what happened, but you find out why it happened. You find out what caused it, what could have prevented it, and what will prevent it from happening again. In many cases, you find that there are multiple causes that all worked together to cause that collision. It's like a giant puzzle, but it's real. Some puzzles are harder than others, some much harder. You have to try to find all of the pieces of the puzzle and put them together. 
Then once you have found the right pieces, the true cause of the collision can almost always be found.
I am a member of the Texas Association of Accident Reconstruction Specialists - TAARS, the Southeast Accident Reconstruction Society, Inc. - SARS, the Society of Accident Reconstructionists - SOAR, and the International Network of Collision Reconstructionists - INCR. All of these are professional organizations which promote testing and research, education, knowledge and safety in the field of traffic accident reconstruction. These organizations have a broad range of members from many different fields, including law enforcement, private investigators, attorneys and engineers.
Deb and I are both volunteer members of the Lincoln Parish Fire Protection District. I have been a volunteer of this organization since 2002 and have thoroughly enjoyed being involved with them. In addition to serving as a volunteer firefighter, I am also a commissioner on the Lincoln Parish Fire Protection District No. 1 Board of Commissioners and a commissioner on the Lincoln Parish Fire Training Center Board of Commissioners.
The Lincoln Parish Fire Protection District is governed by a Board of Commissioners appointed by the Lincoln Parish Police Jury and the Town Councils of the invorporated areas within the district. The daily operation of the department is the responsibility of the Director of Fire Services and his assistant. In addition, there are four paid members who help to oversee the operation of the department and to supervise and assist the volunteers whenever and wherever necessary. The remaining members of the LPFD are made up of a diverse group of hard working, dedicated volunteers from all walks of life here in Lincoln Parish. And a person doesn't actually have to fight the fires to be a member. "There's a place for everyone within this organization." There are many support jobs and tasks that must be performed to assist those actually fighting the fires.
If you think you might be interested in becoming a volunteer with the Lincoln Parish Fire Protection District, contact them for more information. If you'd like, you can download an application here in Adobe PDF format, fill it out and drop it off or mail it to the address at the bottom of the application. Or visit our web page to find out more about the department and what they do.
for free!
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