What's The Cost Of A Badge And A Gun? For Some, It's Self-Mutilation.

Kelli Pfiffner

What's The Cost Of A Badge And A Gun? For Some, It's Self-Mutilation.

                I come from a family of cops. My grandpa was a cop, my dad is a cop, and my brother is about halfway through the police academy. It's a career that requires a complete lifestyle overhaul, and, often, a loss of autonomy. It's not a job that anyone can, or should, be able to do.        

            But police departments across the country have hiring practices that could be weeding out some of their best potential candidates for minuscule reasons. While most hiring standards are pretty reasonable- you can't be a convicted felon, you have to pass a drug test, and you need to be able to handle the physical demands of the job- others have more to do with appearances than ability.

            For example, I was scrolling through Facebook a few weeks ago when a post from one of my brother's friends popped up. He talked about how he was excited to follow his dreams and begin the recruitment process with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. After struggling to find where he belonged, he finally was ready to make some drastic changes that would help him accomplish his goals.

            Below his words were a series of photos. The first depicted a tattoo on his index finger that read "King" in a cursive font. The next showed the same index finger, but with a bloody, gaping hole where the tattoo used to be, his bones visible. And the third photo showed him holding the butchered, tattooed chunk of skin in the opposite hand, the one he had not etched a mistake into.

            And then there were the comments; some praising him for his determination, others horrified at what he had just done to himself, and many were a combination of both. The reality is, if he didn't cut off this two-inch section of skin, he never would have been considered for employment.

            According to LVMPD's employment standards, "tattoos and/or branding/jewelry which would be exposed or visible while on duty," are considered an "area of concern," meaning if you have them, you're not getting a job with Metro. They go on to say that, "such markings may not be covered with a bandage or make-up."

            But when 38% of 18- to 29-year-old Americans have tattoos, and 30% of them are visible, police departments are drastically cutting down on their recruitable population.

            Departments in the UK have taken note of this, prompting the  Police Federation of England and Wales to challenge a ban that prevents officers from having tattooed necks, hands, and faces. The logic behind this being that they are not considering qualified applicants purely for aesthetic reasons, and that it may actually be easier for tattooed officers to establish trust within their communities.

            HR officials for the Scottish Prison Service actually like when guards have visible tattoos, because it makes them more relatable to the inmates, who are often tattooed themselves, according to Andrew Timming, an expert in the field of employee selection.

            While it is unlikely that a police department would recommend this method of tattoo removal, for some it may be the only option they have because of cost, convenience, or time. So instead of leaving potential employees no choice other than permanently altering their bodies to be considered for a job, they may want to consider the benefits of a more diverse looking force. It would probably cause a lot less pain and headache, for everyone.  

Tweet: Interested in becoming a cop? You may have to mutilate your body.