Ink addicts need not apply: Met Police BANS recruits with 'thuggish' visible tattoos and orders existing officers to submit for inspection

Arresting tattoos: A Lothian and Borders police officer with extensive tattoos. He may fall foul of the new guidelines if it spreads to other forces

Police recruits to Britain's largest force were banned yesterday from having visible tattoos in a sweeping reform of its
public image.
Scotland Yard Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said body art that can be seen by the public 'damages the professional image' of the service.
And he ordered a 'tattoo amnesty' in which anyone who already has marks on their hands, neck or face must declare them within weeks or be sacked.The ban comes amid increasing concern among senior ranks nationwide over complaints from crime victims that some young officers appear 'thuggish'.
They are particularly worried about the trend for tattoo 'sleeves' in which wrap-around tattoos are inked along the arm.
But rank-and-file representatives claim associating tattoos with criminals is old-fashioned and police should reflect the public they serve.

 

One Police Federation official said: 'If tattoos are offensive they should be covered but there is a bit of a generational attitude to them.
'Some see them as artwork and some don't. Tattoos are popular with high-profile footballers and pop stars. Many people we deal with also have them.'
Mr Hogan-Howe announced the tattoo diktat in a message to all 52,000 officers and staff yesterday.
He said: 'All visible tattoos damage the professional image of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe reviews some of the newly graduated police officers at the Hendon police academy, London. He has banned police recruits from having visible tattoos

Rank-and-file representatives of the police claim associating tattoos with criminals is old-fashioned and police should reflect the public they serve

The Met is believed to be the first force to actively ban people with visible tattoos of any kind from joining the frontline

'This corporate announcement discusses a specific requirement from the Met dress code policy in relation to the display of tattoos.
'With effect from the date of this announcement, tattoos on the face, or visible above a collar line, or on the hands are not permitted. All other tattoos must be covered.

'It's an old-fashioned attitude to ban tattoos, so many have them done now that people do not look twice. It's very strange thing to do in 2012.'

Tattooist Lionel Titchener

'The Met is aware that some officers and staff already have prohibited visible tattoos. These are defined as tattoos that cannot be covered by everyday clothing.
'It will be a requirement, by the Commissioner, that all officers and police staff with existing tattoos defined as 'visible' must register such tattoos as a formal written declaration to their line manager before November 12.
'Any officer or member of police staff who fails, without reasonable excuse, to declare and register an existing visible tattoo will be liable to disciplinary action.
'Such a failure is liable to be considered to be gross misconduct.'
Police officers are banned from having offensive tattoos, including ones with discriminatory, violent or intimidating slogans.
Many forces say they will deal with tattooed recruits on a case by case basis, with the quantity, size and prominence of markings taken into consideration.

But the Met is believed to be the first force to actively ban people with visible tattoos of any kind from joining the frontline and other forces may follow its lead.
The 'tattoo amnesty' means officers who already have such tattoos will not be able to secretly add to them without breaking the new rule.
Met officers have already questioned how officers from islands in the South Pacific where cultural tattoos are common will be affected.
And they highlighted that many servicemen may find they are unable to join the police after leaving the Armed Forces.
Last year, Ian Pointon, chairman of the Kent Police Federation, said tattoos can act as an 'icebreaker' when dealing with the public.
He said tattoos can be a 'good way' of opening a line of communication with the public and do not carry a stigma.
A police officer in London said: 'A lot of my colleagues have tattoos on their arms but they just have to wear long sleeve shirts.
'I fail to see how tattoos offend people.
'Saying someone is thuggish because they have a tattoo is like saying someone is a racist because they have a shaved head.'
Lionel Titchener, 59, founder of the Tattoo Club of Great Britain, said he has tattooed dozens of police officers during his career.
He said: 'I'm based in Oxford and when Thames Valley Police changed their badge we had a lot of people come in to have it done.
'I've tattooed police women as well. Often they go back to work and their colleagues turn up a few days later asking for the same thing.
'It's an old-fashioned attitude to ban tattoos, so many have them done now that people do not look twice. It's very strange thing to do in 2012.'

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