The main design of the Rochester, Illinois, Police Department patch is the village of Rochester’s coat of arms.
A prominent feature of the coat of arms is a shield containing various images relating to the town’s history. The stone bridge symbolizes the Old English meaning of “Rochester.” Saint George’s Cross is colored red and gold, the village’s traditional colors. The green sugar maple leaf and shocks of harvested corn are symbolic of the rich farmland and enormous sugar maple groves of the Sangamon River, two reasons the region was settled around 1819.
Atop the shield sits a knight’s helmet and attached mantle, a cloth that served as protection during battle, lined in red and gold.
Located above the helmet is the village of Rochester’s crest, referred to as a “Sun in its Splendor.” It is used in heraldic designs to symbolize an ideal place to live, one of great energy and dynamic development. The two white stars and fleur-de-lis in the crest represent “State Sovereignty, National Union,” Illinois’ state motto. Also located within the sun are two crossed, white feathers, which symbolize the area’s Native American heritage.