Gifts for a New Police Officer: Academy Graduation Ideas

Someone you love just made it through the academy. You want to mark it with something better than a card, but most police gear comes with rules you can't see from the outside. Here's what makes a good police academy graduation gift, what to ask about before you buy, and a few ideas for the shift a new officer is likely to work first.

What's an appropriate gift for a police academy graduation?

Something personal, and something they can use off duty. Departments either issue duty equipment or give new officers a list of what's approved, often down to the model of holster, flashlight and boots. A surprise piece of duty gear that isn't on that list usually ends up in a closet.

• Safe to buy: clothes for off duty, an insulated travel mug, a framed photo from graduation day, a handwritten note about why you're proud of them.
• Ask first: holsters, duty belts, weapon lights, knives, boots, and anything that clips to the uniform or the vest.

Gifts for the shift they'll actually work

In many departments shift bids go by seniority, so new officers often start on nights. That first stretch means late starts, sleeping through the day, and a lot of hours in a car that never quite warms up. The most useful gifts make those nights easier:

• Something to stay awake: a travel mug or thermos that keeps coffee hot until the end of the shift.
• Something to sleep through the day: blackout curtains or a good sleep mask.
• Something to eat: a lunch cooler and meal-prep containers, because at 0300 the only thing open is the corner store.
• Something warm for the drive home: a hoodie to pull on when the shift ends. That's the part we make.

Hoodies for the end of the night shift

Every Nightshift Goons design is about the overnight: the graveyard shift, the cemetery patrol, and the fictional Zynville PD. Each hoodie has the design on the front and a logo at the top of the left sleeve.

• Ghosty Graveyard Shift Cop Hoodie: Ghosty is our mascot, a blue ghost in a sideways cap with a badge on it. It's the easiest pick for anyone starting on midnights. Black or Navy Blazer, plus a light version in Carbon Grey or White.
• The Goon Tarot Card Cop Hoodie: Ghosty keeping watch in a graveyard under a crescent moon, with the city lit up behind him. Also comes in sepia.
• Graveyard Goon Moon Night Shift Cop Hoodie: a cruiser parked between the headstones under a huge moon. The quietest design we make, in Black or Navy Blazer.
• Graveyard Energy Tin Night Shift Cop Hoodie: the Graveyard Energy tin with "Own the Graveyard Grind" underneath, for the officer running on caffeine and nicotine.
• Zynville Police Patch Cop Hoodie: the patch of a department that doesn't exist, with Zynville Police on the sleeve so it reads like issued gear.

Sizing: the hoodies are Cotton Heritage M2580, unisex, S–3XL. They run small, so order one size up.

Funny gifts for the new officer's shift

Inside jokes go over best with people who work the same shift. If the gift is from a field training officer or the rest of the squad, these land:

• I Say the Q Word (tee or hoodie): for the one who says "quiet" out loud at 0200 and gets blamed when the calls stack up.
• Zynville PD: the proudly Aggressively Average department, with its shield, patch, Crown Vic and the Stop n Rob on every call sheet.
• Goon Energy: Ghosty on an energy-drink can, for the officer with a cooler full of them.

Gift ideas by who's giving

• For your son or daughter: keep it personal. A framed photo from graduation and something comfortable for days off says more than gear does.
• For a husband, wife or partner: plan around the schedule. Blackout curtains and a hoodie for the drive home help more on night one than anything for the duty belt.
• For shiftmates and coworkers: keep it funny and inexpensive. A squad that shows up to breakfast in matching Zynville PD hoodies will be remembered.

Can police officers accept gifts?

Department gift rules are mostly about gifts from the public connected to the job. A graduation gift from family or friends is a personal gift. If you work with them and the gift is expensive, they may need to check their department's policy, which is another good reason to keep coworker gifts small.

Shopping for the holidays? See Christmas gifts for cops and night shift workers.

Shop all cop hoodies or night shift hoodies.