Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"LETHBRIDGE POLICE SERVICE" TAILORED MATERNITY UNIFORM

Date

2002

Materials

POLYESTER, COTTON

No. Pieces

1

Length

74.8

Width

44.0

Description

NAVY-BLUE LONG-SLEEVED PATROL SHIRT WITH TWO POCKETS ON CHEST, AND EMBROIDERED BADGES OF LETHBRIDGE CITY POLICE CREST READING “LETHBRIDGE POLICE,” ON TOP OF LEFT AND RIGHT SHOULDER. METAL NAME TAG ABOVE RIGHT CHEST POCKET READS, “M. SANDBACK.” TWO TAGS ON INSIDE OF SHIRT, FIRST WHITE TAG ON INSIDE OF SHIRT READS, “ANNA’S CAREER APPAREL INC CA 29392.” SECOND PAPER TAG ON INSIDE OF SHIRT READS, “…CONCEPT…220L…LARGE…65% POLYESTER 35% COTTON…29392…7073…” LOOSE THREAD ON BUTTONS, AND BUTTONHOLES, TAGS ARE CRUMBLED, SHIRT IS WRINKLED THROUGHOUT. OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

SAFETY SERVICES

PERSONAL CARE

History

ON JULY 19, 2023, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED MANDY SANDBACH ABOUT HER DONATION OF A LETHBRIDGE POLICE SERVICE PATROL SHIRT, WHICH SANDBACH HAD ALTERED DURING HER PREGANCY. SANDBACH WAS HIRED JANUARY 1, 2001, BEFORE TERMINATING HER EMPLOYMENT IN DECEMBER 2008. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM SANDBACH’S 2023 INTERVIEW. ON WHY THE LETHBRIDGE POLICE SERVICE (LPS) SHIRT WAS ALTERED BY SANDBACH, SHE EXPLAINED: “…WHEN I GOT PREGNANT (2002), IT WAS UNEXPECTED FIRST OF ALL, AND [LPS] HAD A REALLY OLD POINT-OF-REFERENCE IN TERMS OF WHAT THE FEMALE OFFICERS COULD, AND SHOULD WEAR DURING THEIR PREGNANCIES, WHILE THEY WERE STILL WORKING. THERE HAD BEEN ONLY TWO OTHER WOMEN, (TO MY UNDERSTANDING), THAT HAD BEEN THROUGH PREGNANCIES WHILE ACTIVE IN THE SERVICE, AND THE LAST ONE HAD BEEN QUITE A NUMBER OF YEARS BEFORE [ME]… I THINK IT WAS TIFFANY (CARRIERE). AND [LPS] DIDN’T REALLY HAVE A POLICY ABOUT WHAT WOMEN SHOULD BE WEARING [DURING SERVICE]. [TIFFANY CARRIERE] HAD KIND OF MADE UP HER OWN JUMPSUIT TO WEAR DURING HER PREGNANCY, AND THEN I CAME ALONG, AND [LPS] HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH ME, AND HOW TO DRESS ME… TIFFANY HAD SHOWED ME A PICTURE OF WHAT SHE HAD WORN, WHICH I WAS REALLY OPPOSED TO. IT WAS A REALLY TIGHT, KIND OF AN OVERALL JUMPSUIT THAT LOOKED RIDICULOUS, IN MY MIND, AND IT DIDN’T FEEL LIKE IT HAD A LOT OF DIGNITY TO IT, SO I TOOK THAT [EXAMPLE] TO MY SUPERVISOR AT THE TIME, AND [LETHBRIDGE POLICE] HUMAN RESOURCES (HR), AND [HR] JUST BASICALLY SAID, ‘THEN PICK YOUR UNIFORM, AND HAVE IT CREATED IN WHATEVER WAY WORKS FOR YOUR BODY, AND YOUR SHAPE.’ SO, I TOOK MY REGULAR PATROL PANTS, AND MY REGULAR PATROL SHIRT TO OUR SEAMSTRESS (KAREN, WHO WORKED FOR ‘SILVER THREADS’) AND JUST SAID, ‘WHAT CAN WE DO WITH THIS?’ AND SO, SHE TALKED ABOUT CREATING THE SHIRT WITH SOME PLEATING, AS WELL AS THE PANTS… JUST BASICALLY CUT UP THE SHIRT, AND PUT PLEATS IN IT TO ALLOW IT TO MAINTAIN ITS FORM LIKE A UNIFORM SHIRT, AND STILL COVER OVER THE PANTS IN AN APPROPRIATE WAY, TO MAINTAIN SOME PROFESSIONALISM…” ON HOW KAREN MADE THE SHIRT, SANDBACH COMMENTED: “…I THINK [KAREN] USED THE ORIGINAL FABRIC [OF THE SHIRT] AND THEN JUST REINFORCED IT FROM THE BACK SO THAT THE FRONT OF IT WASN’T SUCH A BIG TENT. THAT [THE SHIRT] WAS SOMEWHAT FORM-FITTED, BUT AS YOUR BELLY GROWS, YOUR SHIRT KIND OF LIFTS UP, SO THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF LENGTH ON [THE SHIRT] AS WELL, THAT ALLOWED THE BOTTOM OF MY BELLY TO BE COVERED UP. BETWEEN THAT AND THE SPANDEX OF MY PANTS, YOU DIDN’T SEE ANY OF THOSE SEAMS…” ON WHY SHE WANTED THE SHIRT DESIGNED THIS WAY, SANDBACH ELABORATED: “…IF I’M STILL IN A POSITION OF AUTHORITY, AT THE FRONT DESK TALKING TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I HAD SOMETHING THAT HAD CLEAN LINES, AND LOOKED PROPER, LIKE A UNIFORM. SO, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WHEN I WAS WITH KAREN, AND WE WERE DECIDING THAT, I HAD TALKED ABOUT WANTING MY BELLY TO BE COVERED UP; WANTING TO BE COMFORTABLE; NOT WANTING TO HAVE MULTIPLE OUTFITS DURING MY PREGNANCY, BUT ALSO NOT THAT ‘BUNCHY’ KID-LIKE SUSPENDER KIND OF WAY, AND THAT IS WHAT [KAREN] CAME UP WITH. SO, IT WASN’T SO MUCH THAT I HAD A SPECIFIC MODEL IN MIND, IT WAS MORE WHAT I DIDN’T WANT AND HAVING SEEN WHAT THE OTHER [FEMALE] OFFICER HAD WORN. AND THERE WAS NO PARAMETERS AROUND [THE DESIGN]. [LPS], BECAUSE IT WAS JUST A BUNCH OF THE MEN, THEY HAD NO IDEA AND WERE OBVIOUSLY NOT INFORMED ABOUT WHAT PREGNANT BODIES NEED. SO, IT WAS OPEN, AND I COULD DO WHAT FELT RIGHT TO ME. THERE WAS NO PROTOTYPE FOR [THE SHIRT] OTHER THAN WHAT I DIDN’T WANT.” SANDBACH REITERATED THE USE OF THE PLEATING ON THE BACK OF THE SHIRT: “…BECAUSE [THE SHIRT] WAS PLEATED, WHEN I DIDN’T HAVE MUCH OF A BELLY, IT COULD GROW WITH ME, AND I DIDN’T NEED TO HAVE DIFFERENT OUTFITS DURING THE COURSE OF MY PREGNANCY…” ABOUT DESIGNING HER OWN MATERNITY SHIRT, SANDBACH REFLECTED: “…I WAS REALLY GRATEFUL. IT WAS SUCH A RARE THING TO HAVE A PREGNANT WOMAN IN UNIFORM. WHICH WAS QUESTIONABLE AT THE TIME, AND STILL IS QUESTIONABLE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD, OR SHOULD NOT BE WEARING A UNIFORM, IDENTIFIED AS A POLICE OFFICER, WHEN YOU ARE GROWING A BABY. AND, AT THE TIME, I WANTED TO HAVE SOME DIGNITY ABOUT THE SITUATION. IT WAS SUCH A RARITY… BUT IT STANDS OUT, WHEN YOU’RE WITH THE PUBLIC, AND EVEN YOUR FELLOW OFFICERS, IT’S VERY CLEAR THAT YOU’RE PREGNANT. THE DIGNITY PIECE WAS REALLY BIG FOR ME. I DIDN’T WANT TO BE LAUGHED AT ANYMORE BECAUSE I HAD A GOOFY OUTFIT ON, THEN THE STRANGENESS OF IT ALREADY IN THAT ENVIRONMENT. IT’S NOT LIKE THAT WAS UPHELD. THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT WAS ALREADY SUCH THAT THERE’S SOME PEOPLE WHO DON’T NECESSARILY FEEL THAT WOMEN SHOULD BE THERE, AND SO TO WALK AROUND LOOKING LIKE WHAT I FELT WAS SORT OF CLOWNISH, I DIDN’T WANT THAT FOR MYSELF. SO, IT MEANT A LOT TO ME TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHAT I WAS WEARING…” SANDBACH CONTINUED ON OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE ALTERED UNIFORM: “…THE OTHER CONSIDERATION FOR THE OUTFIT, OR THE MATERNITY UNIFORM, WAS THE FACT THAT [LPS] WERE STILL TRYING TO MAKE ME WEAR A GUN WHEN I WAS IN UNIFORM. BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN SO LONG SINCE ANY WOMAN HAD DEALT WITH THIS IN THE SERVICE; [LPS] DIDN’T REALLY HAVE POLICY AND PROCEDURE ABOUT WHAT YOU COULD AND SHOULD DO. PART OF MY TERM THERE, IN MY FIRST PREGNANCY, WAS SORTING OUT THE SAFETY OF WEARING UNIFORMS; SO BEING IDENTIFIED AS A POLICE OFFICER WITHOUT YOUR FIREARM IS NOT ENCOURAGED, AND IT’S NOT DONE IN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES. ALL MALE OFFICERS, IF YOU ARE OUT IN THE PUBLIC, AND YOU HAVE A UNIFORM, YOU WILL CARRY A SIDEARM. EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT WEARING A UNIFORM, THE UNDERCOVER FOLKS WOULD DO THAT, AS WELL (CARRY A SIDEARM). AND SO, IT BECAME A QUESTION OF ‘IS THAT SAFE? AM I PHYSICALLY CAPABLE TO BE DEFENDING?’ IF I’M IDENTIFIED AS AN OFFICER, THAT BECOMES A PROBLEM BECAUSE OF THAT. ‘IF I REQUIRE MY FIREARM, AM I PHYSICALLY CAPABLE, AND SHOULD I ACTUALLY BE DOING THAT?’ THE SAME WITH, WHEN WE HAD FIREARMS TRAINING, THERE WAS STILL A FLAVOR OF ‘YOU SHOULD STILL BE GOING TO SHOOT.’ AND, ULTIMATELY, I ARGUED, (AND WAS SUPPORTED), IN THE FACT YOU SHOULDN’T BE SHOOTING A GUN WHILE YOU ARE GROWING A BABY. THAT’S TERRIBLE FOR THE BABY! WHEN WE [KAREN AND SANDBACH] WERE CREATING THE UNIFORM… ONE OF THE CONSIDERATIONS WAS, ‘CAN I WEAR A PANCAKE?’ WHICH IS THE INDIVIDUAL SIDEARM; THE FIREARM [IS] CLIPPED TO YOUR WAIST… AS OPPOSED TO ALL THE REST OF YOUR DUTY BELT, (THAT HAS YOUR PEPPER SPRAY, YOUR CUFFS, AND EXTRA AMMUNITION, AND THINGS LIKE THAT). I WASN’T PHYSICALLY CAPABLE OF WEARING THAT [DUTY BELT], BUT I COULD HAVE WORN A PANCAKE, WITH A GUN IN IT… LIKE THE DETECTIVES, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WEAR SUITS AND TIES; THEY WILL HAVE A PANCAKE HOLDER ON THEIR OUTFIT. SO IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT THE UNIFORM BE ABLE TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO WEAR THE GUN AT THE TIME, EVEN THOUGH IT PLAYED OUT THAT I DIDN’T HAVE TO WHILE I WAS PREGNANT, BECAUSE I PUSHED TO NOT. WE TAILORED THAT UNIFORM SO THAT WE COULD; I THINK PART OF THAT ‘BUNCHING’, THAT WIDER FACE TO THE SHIRT, WAS TO ALLOW ME TO TUCK THAT PANCAKE ONTO THE HIP OF MY PANTS.” SANDBACH NOTED: “IN THE END, THEY DIDN’T MAKE ME GO TO THE FRONT DESK, AND I WAS ABLE TO AVOID DOING THE FIREARMS TRAINING WHILE I WAS GROWING THE BABY.” WHEN ASKED WHY SHE HELD ONTO THE ALTERED UNIFORM FOR AS LONG AS SHE DID, SANDBACH RECALLED: “…AT SOME POINT DURING MY PREGNANCIES AND HAVING TO WEAR THIS [SHIRT] (AND I WORE THE SAME OUTFIT FOR MY SECOND PREGNANCY, AS WELL) [I KNEW] THAT IT WAS GOING TO BELONG IN A MUSEUM AT SOME POINT… POLICING IN LETHBRIDGE, [AND] I THINK AS A WHOLE EVERYWHERE, IS SUCH A MALE-DOMINATED FIELD, AND THERE’S JUST SO FEW FEMALES THAT [POLICE SERVICES] ARE ALWAYS FUMBLING THEIR WAY THROUGH WHAT THE HECK TO DO WITH US, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS, DIFFERENT BODY SIZES… AS FEMALE OFFICERS, WE WOULD ALWAYS HAVE TO WEAR THE MALE CLOTHING, UNTIL THEY CREATED FEMALE LINES. AND THIS MATERNITY SHIRT, IN MY MIND, WAS A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE OF ‘HERE WE ARE IN 2001, AND WE STILL DON’T HAVE IT FIGURED OUT, WHAT DO FEMALE OFFICERS ACTUALLY WEAR’? BUT, IN THE BACK-OF-MY-MIND, I ALWAYS SORT OF THOUGHT [THE MATERNITY OUTFIT] WOULD BE DONATED SOMEWHERE, TO A MUSEUM, OR IF THE POLICE SERVICE NEEDED, OR DESIRED, TO HAVE EVIDENCE OF WHAT [LPS] HAD DONE OVER TIME, I HELD ONTO IT. I HAD THE MATERNITY PANTS UNTIL TWO MOVES AGO, AND I’M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM. BUT, MY INTENTION WAS ALWAYS TO MAYBE DO A DISPLAY ONE DAY…” SANDBACH COMMENTED: “…I’M NOT SURE WHAT THE LADIES WHO CAME AFTER ME WORE, BUT I KNOW THIS WAS A STARK DIFFERENCE FROM WHAT TIFF HAD WORN, YEARS BEFORE.” ON HOW LOOKING AT THE SHIRT MAKES HER FEEL, SANDBACH EXPRESSED: “…IT REMINDS ME OF BECOMING A MOM FOR THE FIRST TIME. IN TERMS, OF, LIKE, BEING HUMAN, AND FEMALE. THE OTHER PIECE OF IT IS THERE’S AN ATTACHMENT FOR ME AROUND BEING DIFFERENT, BECAUSE I AM FEMALE IN THAT [POLICE SERVICE] ENVIRONMENT. IT’S SO STARK, FOR LOTS OF THINGS, AND THE UNIFORM REPRESENTED JUST AN ACTUAL PHYSICAL EXAMPLE OF BEING FEMALE, AND REQUIRING DIFFERENT NEEDS THAN THE MALE OFFICERS… IT’S A BLEND BETWEEN PROUD THAT I WAS ABLE TO SPEAK UP FOR MYSELF, THAT I NEEDED TO FEEL GOOD WEARING WHAT I WAS FEELING, TO FEEL PROFESSIONAL… [AND] JUST FELT GOOD ABOUT MY BODY, IN GENERAL, IN THIS STAGE OF MY LIFE. BUT THE OTHER THING IT BRINGS UP FOR ME IS WHAT A FRIGGING FIGHT BEING PREGNANT WAS IN THAT [POLICE SERVICE] SPACE, THE FACT THAT I HAD TO FIGHT FOR OTHER ISSUES. [SUCH AS] HOW MUCH TIME I HAD OFF. [LPS] HADN’T EVEN UPDATED POLICY AND PROCEDURE TO BE ALIGNED WITH GOVERNMENT POLICY, FEDERAL POLICY, AROUND MATERNITY LEAVES, IN ALL THE OTHER PLACES. THE POLICE SERVICE HADN’T EVEN IDENTIFIED THAT, SO I CAN FEEL THE ANGST, AND THE PIECES THAT I STILL HAD TO DEMAND BE DONE FOR JUST FAIR HUMAN RIGHTS TREATMENT. SO, IT’S THIS BLEND OF, I’M REALLY GRATEFUL THAT I STOOD UP FOR MYSELF, AND ASKED FOR WHAT I WANTED, AND GOT TO CREATE THAT, BUT ALSO THE YUCK THAT COMES WITH, ‘MAN, I HAD TO DEMAND A LOT THAT SHOULD HAVE JUST BEEN COMMON SENSE.’ SO, IT’S A BIT OF BOTH [FEELINGS]!” ON IF SANDBACH KNEW IF HER EXPERIENCE IMPACTED CHANGE FOR SERVICE MEMBERS THAT CAME AFTERWARDS, SANDBACH STATED: “I WISH IT WAS MORE [CHANGE] THAN WHAT IT WAS, BUT I DEFINITELY AM AWARE OF SOME CHANGES THAT OCCURRED, ALBEIT SLOW-MOVING. WHEN I WAS PREGNANT, AND I WAS ASSIGNED TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES UNIT, (WHICH IS EVENTUALLY WHAT HAPPENED INSTEAD OF PUTTING ME AT THE FRONT DESK)… I HELPED OUT WITH HIRING, AND JUST ADMINISTRATIVE STUFF, WHATEVER THEY HAD. BUT THEY ASSIGNED ME A TASK, BECAUSE [LPS] WERE REALIZING THAT THEY WERE SO FAR BEHIND ON POLICY AND PROCEDURE AROUND WHAT MATERNITY LEAVE IS LEGALLY ENTITLED TO HAVE, INCLUDING PARENTAL LEAVE... THEY HAD ME DO A SPECIAL PROJECT THAT I WORKED ON FOR SEVERAL MONTHS OF MY PREGNANCY; FINDING OUT WHAT ALL THE OTHER CANADIAN POLICE SERVICES, ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT WERE SIMILAR IN SIZE TO THE LETHBRIDGE POLICE SERVICE, WERE DOING. WHAT WERE THEIR POLICIES? HOW LONG WERE THE WOMEN ALLOWED TO BE OFF? WHAT DID THEY DO WITH THEM FROM THE MOMENT THEY SAID THEY WERE PREGNANT? WAS THERE A LAG-TIME IN REMOVING THEM FROM PATROLS, OR DID THEY PULL THEM OUT OF SERVICE RIGHT AWAY? OR DID THEY NEVER PULL THEM OUT OF SERVICE? COUPLED WITH HOW MUCH TIME WERE THEY ALLOWED TO BE AWAY? AND THEN, WHAT POSITIONS DID THEY PUT THEM IN WHEN THEY DID RETURN? SO, I DID THIS PROJECT. I PUT TOGETHER SPREAD SHEETS, AND A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT THINGS, TO SAY THIS IS WHAT IS LEGALLY REQUIRED; THIS IS WHAT EDMONTON DOES, AND CALGARY, AND RED DEER, AND TORONTO, AND WENT THROUGH ALL OF THAT, AND IT WAS ALL PUT TOGETHER AS A PACKAGE, AND SENT TO ADMIN. THAT SEEMS TO HAVE GONE NOWHERE TILL, I FIGURE, ABOUT 7,8,9 YEARS LATER, WHEN THEY HAD SOMEONE ELSE GO OFF (AND IN FACT IT WAS A MALE OFFICER WHO WAS LOOKING TO TAKE PATERNITY LEAVE), AND THEN THEY EVENTUALLY FOLLOWED UP WITH THAT INFORMATION, BECAUSE [LPS] STILL HAD NO IDEA WHAT THEY WERE LEGALLY BOUND TO DO… ALL THAT INFORMATION [IN THE PACKAGE] FINALLY CAME BACK AROUND TO START TO CREATE PROPER POLICY FOR MALE AND FEMALE OFFICERS, WHETHER THEY WERE LEAVING FOR PATERNAL LEAVE, OR MATERNAL LEAVE. SO, THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE IN THE SENSE THAT, AT LEAST FOR ME, IN MY TWO PREGNANCIES, THERE WAS SOME CLARITY AROUND WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO… I DON’T KNOW WHAT OTHER LADIES WORE, SO I DON’T KNOW IF THERE WAS AN IMPACT THERE [IN TERMS OF UNIFORMS].” SANDBACH REITERATED: “[LPS WAS] NOT PROACTIVE IN ANY WAY. LIKE I SAID, IT TOOK MULTIPLE YEARS BEFORE [LPS] EVER EVEN DEALT WITH THE INFORMATION I HAD SHARED WITH ADMIN AT THE TIME… PART OF IT, THERE’S NOT A TON OF WOMEN, AND SO THE NEED FOR HAVING THIS FIGURED OUT COMES ONCE EVERY 4,5,6,7 YEARS, BUT [LPS] WERE ABSOLUTELY BEHIND THE ‘EIGHT BALL’. [LPS] DIDN’T EVEN HAVE THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT [UPDATED] WITH THE ASSOCIATION; BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION AND THE SERVICE, TO REFLECT THAT YOU WERE ALLOWED TO HAVE A YEAR’S WORTH OF MATERNITY LEAVE. [THE AGREEMENT] SAID NOTHING ABOUT PATERNITY LEAVE, WHEREAS THE GOVERNMENTS HAD LONG-BEFORE DECIDED THAT HERE’S WHAT PATERNITY LEAVE LOOKS LIKE, AND THIS IS HOW YOU SHARE IT, ETC… AND, EVEN BETWEEN MY TWO PREGNANCIES, I STILL HAD TO HAVE THE SAME CONVERSATIONS AGAIN, WHEN MY SECOND SON WAS BORN. LIKE, ‘NO, NO. WE COVERED THIS LAST TIME. THIS IS THIS, AND THAT’S THAT,’ AND REFER THEM TO THE DOCUMENT THAT THE ASSOCIATION HAD. BECAUSE THE ASSOCIATION HAD TO UPDATE THEIR INFORMATION AS WELL, BECAUSE THEY WERE BEHIND IN TERMS OF WHAT WAS REQUIRED OF THEM… [LPS] DIDN’T KNOW ANY OF THAT BUT PLACES LIKE EDMONTON, OR CALGARY, THEY WERE ON IT.” FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON MANDY SANDBACH’S LETHBRIDGE POLICE SERVICE MATERNITY SHIRT, LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, SANDBACH’S 2020 INTERVIEW WITH PREVIOUS GALT CURATOR, AIMEE BENOIT, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20230006000

Acquisition Date

2023-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail