Police Scotland rejected a record number of 25 recruits last year because they had tattoos that were against the official policy.
According to an Freedom of Information Request by The Scottish Sun on Sunday the tattoos of applicants included a sexslave, a hanging man, and the word “stab”.
The other unacceptable body art was a nun with a gun and “a decapitated Geisha head gagged by a rope”.
Police Scotland relaxed their tattoo rules in 2015 to try and attract more recruits. In 2018, the Metropolitan Police was next.
The newspaper reported that 25 body-art rejections occurred last year. This will increase to 13 in 2023, and 23 in 2020.
According to the report applicants are required to submit photos during the recruitment process. Tattoos are allowed for officers, but images that are extreme violate the policy.
One applicant submitted a photo of “four horsemen from the apocalypse trampling downtrodden people”; another included images of the grim reaper with skulls.
David Kennedy, Scottish Police Federation spokesperson, told The Scottish Sun that “I believe they are very liberal in the vast majority tattoos they allow.”
“But there’s a policy and certain tattoos are not allowed.” There are clearly standards.
It might not be appropriate for a policeman to show certain types of tattoos. It is possible that some people will have to cover up their tattoos to be accepted into an organization.
Police Scotland introduced a controversial ban on beards by 2023, but this was delayed following feedback from officers and experts in health and safety.
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