Back Tattoo

Police officers in Phoenix, Arizona have been asked to keep their tattoos covered up when in uniform.  Any members of the 1,187 strong patrol force will now be required to cover up tattooed forearms, necks, hands and ankles when on duty, in a bid to project a more “professional” and “straight laced” image. While this tattoo policy isn’t unique among police departments, or indeed professional institutions of all kinds, the decision by Phoenix to impose this rule has been questioned due to its impracticality, given the high temperatures these officers have to serve in.  The question of whether it is reasonable to expect an officer to wear long sleeves as well as all of the rest of his uniform and armor in soaring temperatures has certainly been raised.  Officers riding around in hot police cars, pursuing people on foot, and standing around in the baking sun carrying out their duties outdoors already find things pretty hot in their uniforms and with all their equipment and body armor weighing them down. Adding a policy on long sleeves for certain people seems a little bit unkind.  The officers themselves have taken on the new policy with good humor however it has sparked a debate in the wider community. So, in modern enlightened times, where tattoos appear not just on rock stars and prison inmates but on people from literally all sectors of the community, would a visible tattoo really affect someone’s perception of an upholder of the law?  One Phoenix officer stated that he had had mixed receptions to his full sleeve tattoo when members of the public saw it when he was working, with some seeing it as positive and making him seem “more human”, but many others thinking it was something that would be associated more with the robbers than the cops. Tattoos belonging to officers in Phoenix include the aforementioned sleeve, a lightning bolt, a scorpion and a length of barbed wire – pretty standard tattoo fare with nothing that is likely to shock anybody.  One lady officer, showing total dedication to her role, even has a full back tattoo of St Michael, the patron saint of the police (though obviously keeping her back covered doesn’t present an issue).  Though no poll has been carried out to work out exactly how many officers have tattoos, and how many of these will be affected by the new rule due to where their tattoos are, it is clear that body art is as popular on the force as anywhere else, so perhaps if people don’t think tattoos belong on police men and women, they should think again. The debate however, is less about what sort of person gets a tattoo, and more about whether any advantages gained in terms of public image by hiding officers’ tattoos are worth the inconvenience and impracticality of keeping them covered in hot weather.  The discussion goes on, and it remains to be seen whether Phoenix will opt to keep this new policy or go back on it and let its officers allow their tattoos to breathe.

The full story can be read/found on Body Art Fun