BARRE - They are pressed, polished, and ready for duty. The Barre Police Department is the best-dressed in the nation.

The department won a national competition through the North American Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors for a department with less than 100 members, competing against more than 16,000 other communities.

Barre Police say it’s a huge honor to represent the community and Massachusetts. Barre officers say professionalism begins with appearance and looking “squared away” helps them interact with the community.

Barre Police Chief John Carbone said, “It’s the first thing a person sees when they approach us. It shows our commitment to our community. It shows the amount of respect we have for our community. We believe it shows people visiting our community the amount of professionalism we have here in Barre.”

Deputy Chief James Sabourin said, “We take pride in our professionalism and our profession as a whole. This is just an extension of that.”

Patrolman Samuel Rivera said, “When I show up to a call and the public sees me as a professional-looking officer, they trust me more. It makes the public feel a lot safer.”

The department has six uniforms. The favorite is their class A, dress uniform. Their chief and deputy chief spent about three years designing it.