Middlesex Township Police Department officers decided their badge could use a face-lift as the department rolls out other initiatives in an effort to build trust in the community.

The department deployed new badges June 1 featuring farmland and animals, a grist mill, a barn and Route 8 to represent the township’s identity.

“I know when I first got here and I saw the badge, I wasn’t too thrilled about it,” said Chief Justin Bouch, who took the position in August.

He explained the former, smaller badge was a fireman’s badge that didn’t match what other police departments wear. The small badge and uniform colors similar to state police made them blend in with other departments.

“Pretty much everyone agreed our current badge was just not with today’s standard,” said Officer Rob Okavitch, who helped design the badge.

So, Bouch and Okavitch sat down and came up with five or six rough drafts with input from the department’s other six officers.

It would be the first badge redesign the department had seen in at least 34 years, according to longtime Sergeant Randy Davison.

Bouch and Okavitch said they’re history buffs and wanted to incorporate local elements as they studied the township.

While including history, the badge still needed a modern element. Okavitch said he took inspiration from police departments in Los Angeles and New York City to come up with the badge’s oval shape.

“We bounced ideas back and forth off each other,” Bouch said.

The badge design settled on celebrates farmland — the origins of Middlesex Township — and the grist mill attached to a barn. Route 8, formerly Old Plank Road, runs through the center of the badge as it does the township. The seal of Pennsylvania acts as the sun in the scene depicted on the badge and the rays throughout the sky represent the township’s future, Bouch said.

The officers also wanted to include animals in the farmland. Previous drafts introduced deer and chickens to the design, but the officers felt it was most fitting to add cows.

“In law enforcement, not too often do you get called for cows in the middle of the roadway. We actually do here in Middlesex,” Okavitch said.

Those smaller design elements took the longest of the process, he said. They began designing the badges in December and ordered them Feb. 27.

Bouch said a township resident who wished to remain anonymous provided 95% of the cost of the badges. The other 5% was funded by scrap metal sold when the department renovated its precinct.

He added that despite being smaller, the old badges are double the cost of the new ones.

The badges were made by Ghostpatch, a first-responder-owned company based in Salem, Mass. The department would send the company elements it wanted on the badge and Ghostpatch would come back with a design.

“We were all very anxious to see how they would turn out,” Okavitch said. “It’s not just your average police badge.”

Each metal badge also came with a flex-shield badge, which is similar to a patch that attaches to the uniform with Velcro. Officers can choose which badge they wear.

The department also plans to introduce badges of different colors throughout the year that will symbolize support for causes such as pink for breast cancer awareness and blue for autism awareness and water safety.

The new badges can be seen during the first Ice Cream with the Cops event around the township from 4-6 p.m. June 27.

The police department partnered with Route 8 Auto to build relationships by handing out free ice cream. Officers will drive through the township with steady red and blue lights and the iconic ice cream truck song playing over their loudspeakers.

Route 8 Auto donated the ice cream, Bouch said.

The department also plans to work with 12 Months of April, an autism and special needs awareness project that donates sensory kits to first responders.

Okavitch explained he’s had “tremendous success” using these kits in the field to keep children at a scene occupied.

Members of the organization are scheduled to visit the precinct next week, he said.