BARNEGAT – The Barnegat Police Department is excited to unveil its new agency patch and logo. The previous patch has been a fixture since the department’s change from Union Township to Barnegat Township in 1976.
The design of the new patch began with a look into the history of Barnegat. As a bayside village whose inhabitants historically made their living and often survived off of the sea, it seemed appropriate to start there. When Henry Hudson first anchored off of Barnegat Inlet on Sept. 2, 1609, it was recorded in the ship’s log that this area was “a very good land to fall in with, and a pleasant land to see.”
Hudson’s visit led to a series of explorations by Dutch ships and explorers and led to the first European settlers here. It also resulted in the area being named Barendegat or Barndegat (depending on which sources you believe) which morphed into the present-day name of Barnegat.
Hudson’s ship during that first visit was the Halve Maen (Half Moon), a Dutch vlieboot (flyboat). It serves as the centerpiece of the new patch. Flying on the stern of the ship is the Prince’s Flag, which flew on Dutch ships of that period.
The Prince’s flag influenced several official flags in the area including the flags of New York City, Albany, Jersey City, Bronx, Albany, and Hofstra University, among others. In Barnegat’s case, its colors serve as the basis for the orange in the outside of the patch and the blue of the water.
Above “Police” on the patch sits our agency motto, “a regnati consensu,” which translates to “from the consent of the governed,” a line borrowed from the Declaration of Independence that states “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
The patch was designed free of charge by The Emblem Authority and was created with no setup fees. The new patches also cost 24 percent less than the old patch.
Residents will be seeing the new patch with increasing frequency as the police department transitions fully away from the old patch over the next couple of months.
