California sheriff's department spends $300K on matching belt buckles

LOS ANGELES — One sheriff’s department may be taking the saying “If you look good, you feel good,” a little too literally.

The Los Angles County Sheriff's Department is spending $300,000 on changing the color of its belt buckles and other metal parts of uniforms in order to help them look more professional and perform better, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The department made the switch from silver buckles and hardware to gold in order to “finish off the uniform,” Sheriff Jim McDonnell told the Times.

The move has met backlash because people believe that the money could have been better spent.

“This is something that would be better suited to a department that’s running like a well-oiled machine, but not a department that’s in turmoil,” Ron Hernandez, president of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, told the Times.

McDonnell said he understands the challenges facing his budget, but “it’s professionalism, at the end of the day,” he said.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.