I am looking for a way to get ahold of the cop hats for Pirates Of Penzance. (I believe they are called English bobby hats) Anyway, this is for a community theatre production and we need to go about this as cheap as possible. Anyone have suggestions? Thanks!

Well in Canada where I grew up we believed that the term "cop" came from "Constable On Patrol".  An abbreviation used on the paperwork was, of course, C.O.P.  Of course here in New York you call them "officers" not "constables".  Sorry I don't have any great ideas on costumes for this play......

Well who would have expected this little side bar.  The Mounties are the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or, for short, Mounties.  And they really did all ride horses well into the 1960's.  They still ride horses in the parks and the city streets.  They are federal police officers so have currently turned into a Canadian equivilant of the American FBI.  They still wear their big "Smoky the Bear" hats (like American State Troopers) and jodpurs if you can believe it....known to be a police force without a sense of humor...maybe all the jodpur jokes got to them.

Just a thought!
Seeing that the G&S ?PoP? is in the public domain.
Why not put your own interpretation & adapt it to suit your location. Use US police hats/helmets from say the 20?s &/or even set in that era!
Might solve the problem!
Even use the Mounties ?Lemon Squeezers?, as mentioned by Joan - if you have a mind too!

 From what I remember, having being born on Tyneside in the North East of England. Then growing up travelling to most of the major City Theatres through out Britain. As a young bloke I only ever heard the name ?Bill? being referred to the Flying Squad Detectives,  not the Bobby on the beat.
So I checked the TV series ?The Bill? script writers Handbook notes. That my old mate Rod O West sent to me a few years ago! Who unfortunately is no longer with us any more, only in spirit.
He was a script writer on the ?Bill? in the early days of the series. As well as a retired copper, having pounded the beat as a  Bobby in London.
Apparently there are heaps of suggestions on how they got the name. But the handbook suggests it was because all the vehicles used by the CID Flying squad, when they were first formed, all had the letters ?BYL? on their  registration licence plates. Hence they verbally became known as the ?Bill?.
Which possibly is the most plausible, as other suggestions refered to the Metropolitan Police Force as a whole.
 There is also a suggestion it was because of the song ?won?t you come home Bill Bailey?. Linking with the ?Old Bailey Courts?, which I think is a myth! Mainly because the Bow Street Runners, the Watch & the Bailies were only court constables. Later they became known as Peelers with a Bill put to parliament by  Sir Robert Peel. Then Bobby?s with a further ?Bill?, establishing the Police force, was passed.
 
I don?t know if this helps or not, but there are loads of explanations available!