Dallas Police Department to require that officers cover tattoos
Although tattoo removal is our business, and the new DPD regulation might actually increase our business, I would like to go on record stating the we adamantly oppose the new rule and hope that the department reconsiders. Not only should they allow our men and women in blue to express themselves in the manner they see fit, but for their health and well being, not require them to wear long sleeves during the sweltering summer months.
-Allen Falkner
06:42 AM CDT on Wednesday, July 22, 2009
By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
teiserer@dallasnews.com
The next time you see a Dallas police officer wearing a long-sleeved shirt when it’s hotter than a furnace outside, it may be because he or she is hiding something.
A tattoo.
The department is planning to require police officers to cover up their tattoos, even if it means wearing makeup or a skin-colored patch over a hard-to-obscure place such as the neck or wrist.
A lot of officers are coming in with tattoos, said Lt. Andrew Harvey, a police spokesman.
It’s more normal now than it ever has been, he said but added that the department wants officers to display a more professional image.
The department’s personnel division is drawing up the official policy. It could go into effect as soon as this summer.
The old rules are silent on tattoos and state only that employees must present a neutral and uniform image to effectively relate to all segments of the population they serve.
The department largely left it up to the individual commander to decide whether an officer needed to cover tattoos.
A number of other cities also require officers to cover tattoos, including Los Angeles, Arlington and Houston, though they typically exempt officers working undercover. This is in stride with what other cities are doing, Harvey said.
Officer Nick Novello has four tattoos on his arms, including an American Indian on his right forearm that was there when he was hired by the city in 1982. He said he believes the department should consider grandfathering in current officers and thinks it’s a mistake to have an across-the-board policy.
If I got hired in 1982 and had that tattoo on my forearm, how can you expect me to cover my tattoo up in 2009? Novello asked. If you have to cover up your arms, they’re going to have a lot of problems staying hydrated. You put a guy in long sleeves and he’s not going out of the car unless it’s an absolute emergency during the hot summer months.
Novello, who also has an eagle bursting out of an American flag on his left arm, said he can understand requiring officers to cover up tattoos if they are offensive in some way.
In culture at large, tattoos are extremely prevalent, he said. We’re not divorced from society at large.
Another officer, who asked that his name to be published because he feared retaliation, said he’s worn a long-sleeved uniform for years because his tattoos cover his entire arms. But he said a portion of the tattoos still peeks out on his left hand.
Are they going to make me wear gloves or makeup? he said.
He suggested that a more reasonable approach would be to require officers to cover tattoos if they cover a certain percentage of the body part or if the tattoos are larger than a specified size.
What are you going to do with that guy who is 300 pounds, and you put him in long sleeves in the heat of summer, and he drops out on you? the officer said. There’s other alternatives than saying everybody with tattoos has to cover it.
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This is a waste of time…
why care who has tattoos… if they are willing to serve and protect, then is really trying to get rid of those with tattoos by treating them badly.
I certainly agree that Police Officers (and indeed anyone) should be allowed to show their tattoos. We need, as a so-called liberal and mature society to start realising that body art does not change the way a person can or can’t do their job.
But, this:
“If you have to cover up your arms, they’re going to have a lot of problems staying hydrated. You put a guy in long sleeves and he’s not going out of the car unless it’s an absolute emergency during the hot summer months.”
is just ridiculous. Start the argument where it should start, about performance, professionalism and people’s perceptions.
I routinely spend a couple of hours a day outside in constant temperatures of 30-35C (85-95F) and high humidity, participating in sport activities with long sleeves on (to stop the sun diminishing my tattoo colour and protect myself from skin cancer as much as I can) and have no problems keeping hydrated – just drink more water. And to be honest if you wear the right fabric, it can actually keep you cooler than having the sun beating down on your skin – think India and Saudi Arabia.
To say that he wouldn’t get out of his (probably) air-conditioned car just because it might be too hot outside is a joke. Wear shorts if you’re that worried but really, just because you have to wear long sleeves for part of the day in the sun doesn’t mean you’re going to die. Get a grip.
ferg
When I was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces they updated the tattoo policy.
It went from nothing sexist, racist or offensive to nothing sexist, racist or offensive and nothing visible above the collar of an open shirt including face, ears, neck and upper chest. Everyone that had work in those places was grandfathered in.
Hell, I had my knuckles and my forearm done while I was in, I already had a sleeve at the time on the other side.
Doesn’t surprise me one bit. Just another thing to add to my list of why I’m getting really fed up with Dallas.
This does have to stop. I meet professional, hard working people every day with tattoos. It’s a way to *express yourself* and as such should be allowed.
Plus, we need as many police as possible. This could affect many good officers.
-Nate
Wow Tattoos – Ambigram Tattoo Designs
officers should have to cover their tattoos because they have an image to uphold.
Wish we had more cops like that in sweden, he is big and looks tough, as expected from those who serve and protect.
way to go! and tattoos is only a + in my opinion^^
I am getting a full sleeve. Our department policy is lax, it states that new ink must be approved by the chief if it shows in uniform. Obviously mine will. But I am goign to cover it to avoid complaints from people who do not like Ink. But believe me there there is a better way to cover ink. Just look up a little thing called a tatjacket. Works great is not hot and was approved by my chief as a way to cover ink instead of dying of heat with long sleeves. People need to realize ink is a way of life and is not going away. And really is a “in” with people ont he street that we deal with. They have them and if we do also they tend to talk to us a little more, it’s a common ground!