article_snippet: Drug Enforcement Administration employees have a history of colorful arm patches, and some of the creations seem more likely to be found in a smoke shop than on the uniform of a federal agent.
article_snippet: Federal agencies began using arm patches to identify Federal agencies during cross-agency work in the 1970s, though the little bits of flair eventually spawned an entire catalog of agents' gear not officially sanctioned by the DEA.
article_snippet: Raymond Sherrard, a retired special agent from the IRS, wrote The Encyclopedia of Federal Law Enforcement Patches to keep track of all the creative images.
article_snippet: But the field of crime where the DEA agents worked, drugs, spawned some of the most interesting, including scores of swatches with dragons, grim reapers, a scorpion wearing a surveillance headset and slogans such as 'you make it, we'll take it.'
article_snippet: Employees of the Drug Enforcement Administration made unofficial patches with bizarre designs such as skeletons in tuxedos .
article_snippet: the DEA's patches became known for The DEA's patches particular style, which often incorporated pictures of drug paraphernalia such as syringes .
article_snippet: The use of federal patches first began in the 1970s, when different agencies began working together on the same projects .
article_snippet: The DEA's patches often included jokes about the substances that the DEA agents were tasked with helping control .
article_snippet: Patches from certain raids and missions were reportedly swapped around like business cards by employees .
article_snippet: The DEA's patches were generally made by employees rather than the DEA itself, which did not sanction the gear .
article_snippet: Different missions, such as the Unified Caribbean On-Line Regional Network, often sport different patches with relevant imagery .
article_snippet: Some of the patches, such as those with skulls, bear a resemblance to armed forces patches, which police chief Larry Kirk attributed to 'paramilitary ideas' among agents .
highlights_snippet: Federal agencies including the DEA began using patches in the 1970s .
  
highlights_snippet: Patches feature jokes about drugs and government surveillance .
  