Tattoo policy cans 5 before trooper training

By Leslie Reed, World-Herald News Service

Published: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 11:03 AM CST

LINCOLN – The 21 future troopers who are expected to graduate from the Nebraska State Patrol's training camp next April have one thing in common: They are tattoo-free – at least as far as the general public can see.

Under a policy adopted in 2008, Nebraska's statewide law enforcement agency rejects potential recruits with tattoos or other body art that would be exposed while the uniform is worn. Five of the 228 candidates invited to a pre-training camp orientation session in October were immediately eliminated because they had visible tattoos.

Current troopers who already have tattoos on arms, face or neck must keep them covered.

As tattoos and body art have become more prevalent among the general population in recent years, police agencies have wrestled to develop policies governing professional appearance that address tattoos and other body art. How big can they be? What images and body locations are appropriate? Should some images and sayings be taboo?

The State Patrol's policy is the most restrictive among the largest law enforcement agencies in Nebraska and Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol has no specific policy governing tattoos, a spokeswoman said. The Omaha Police Department requires that tattoos be covered if they're offensive or unprofessional. The Lincoln Police Department requires all tattoos to be covered but wouldn't reject a job applicant because of tattoos.

It's a matter of professional appearance and grooming, said Col. David Sankey, commander of the Nebraska State Patrol.

After struggling to define appropriate tattoos and inappropriate tattoos, the patrol's leaders concluded the "simplest and cleanest" approach would be an outright ban on visible tattoos on new recruits. Because state troopers are required to wear short-sleeve summer uniforms from mid-May to mid-September, that means no tattoos on the forearms, hands, head or neck.

"For new employees, if you have a tattoo visible, you have to get it removed and reapply or we won't accept you," Sankey said.

Some troopers think the policy is too restrictive.

Trooper Jay Petersen, a 21-year veteran, said it could prevent the patrol from hiring some military veterans or other candidates with life experiences that would make them excellent law enforcement officers.

Sam Walker, criminal justice professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said he sees no job-related reason for prohibiting police officers from having visible tattoos.

"I think it's a mistaken policy, just given today's cultural standards," he said. "You're just limiting the pool of potential (job) candidates."

Several surveys during the past decade -- by the Pew Research Center, Harris Polls and University of Chicago researchers -- indicate that more than one in three Americans ages 18 to 29 have at least one tattoo.

University of Chicago researcher Anne Laumann, now a professor at Northwestern University's school of medicine, said she believes the prevalence has increased since 2004, when she conducted a national telephone survey that indicated that one in four respondents ages 18 to 50 had tattoos.

Tattooing's historic associations with crime and drug use may be why police departments want to prohibit tattoos, Laumann said. In particular, tattoos on the face, neck and hands sometimes are crime symbols.

Her research, which was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatologists in 2006, showed that respondents who had spent at least three days in jail were the group most likely to have tattoos.

But those associations may be waning as tattoos become more prevalent, she said.

Two Lincoln tattoo artists said their clients include several police officers. But the military and law enforcement are tightening their policies at the same time tattoos are becoming more popular among the general public, they said.

"It seems ironic that at the same time the military and police are tightening up, society is loosening up," said tattoo artist Darren Scherer, 36, a Navy veteran who also attended the U.S. Air Force Academy.

All four service branches – Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines – have extensive regulations about permissible size, location and content of tattoos. Sailors, for example, can have tattoos on their forearms up to the size of their hands, but tattoos on the head and neck are forbidden.

Spokeswomen for both the Lincoln and Omaha Police Departments said tattoos are increasingly common among police officers, though usually they are well hidden underneath an officer's uniform.

"We have officers with tattoos," said Lt. Darci Tierney. "Lots of them."

At the Lincoln Police Department, "most employees have tattoos in places that are concealed by their uniform," said spokeswoman Katie Flood.

The Lincoln Police Department adopted the "cover-it-up" policy in August 2008, about the time department leaders began noticing the growing popularity of tattoos. Previously those with visible tattoos tended to be older guys who had served in the Navy. Those longtime officers were granted exceptions to the policy.

Tattoos can send the wrong message, Flood said.

"Mrs. Jones might be offended. Recruits have to want the job bad enough to put a bandage over the tattoo or wear a sleeve over it."

Said Sankey: "I am sure there are some candidates we're missing out on because of our policy. What I tell young people is, ‘If you're thinking about getting a tattoo, think about where you're going to put it. You could be making a career decision.'"

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