Peace Officers' Mourning Ribbon

Overview:

The looped blue over black mourning ribbon pinned at the center with a maple leaf badge is the national symbol for mourning peace officers who have died in the line of duty.

Constable Shawn Coady of the Vancouver Police Department developed the first mourning ribbon in 1994 as a way for peace officers to commemorate their counterparts killed in the line of duty.
Since then the Peace Officers’ mourning Ribbon has been endorsed nationally by the Canadian Police Association, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The ribbon can be worn by all RCMP employees (uniformed or civilian) to commemorate fallen peace officers during times of grief including, Peace Officer Memorial Parades, commemorative services or at Regimental or police funerals.

Regular members, at their discretion, may wear the Peace Officer Mourning Ribbon on their uniform on the left breast pocket flap, positioned closest to the heart. It can also be worn in a similar fashion on civilian attire.

Quick Facts:

• Components of the mourning ribbon: The black ribbon symbolizes the mourning of a loss, and the blue ribbon represents the ‘thin blue line.’ of police officers who have sworn to protect and serve the citizens of their communities.
• It can be worn by uniformed or civilian members of the RCMP whenever a peace officer dies in the line of duty.
• The peace officer mourning ribbon does not take the place of the poppy on Remembrance Day.