Tattoos in the Police Field.

[HopefulOfficer]

Hello,

My name is Nick and I am currently going to Indiana State University for Criminology. I am wanting to become a cop one day with the hopes of being a DEA agent. I have three tattoos at the moment.
1) Italian flag with my last name above it on my chest.
2) A Celtic cross on my calf.
3) A motorcycle and PawPaw with dates, for my Grandfather who passed away.

I am wanting to get another for my uncle who passed away on his birthday, due to a brain aneurysm. I am wanting this on my forearm. It will say, "If you are not my blood, then you are my bones." Because we were related via marriage.

My reason for the details is so you do not think they are tattoos of gang symbols or anything offensive.
Are cops allowed to have tattoos on their forearms? I am guessing it is by the discretion of the hiring station, but instead of guessing and being wrong I figured I would ask police officers. (It seems inappropriate to approach any officer so this seemed like the best choice.)

Thanks,
Nick

[retdetsgt]

Our department doesn't allow tattoos visible when wearing a short sleeve shirt. Others vary. I know of none that disallow them on areas like your chest or calf that aren't visible when wearing a uniform.

[Cat_Doc]

We don't allow tattoos visible while wearing a short sleeve shirt.

Edit: This will not be an automatic DQ, you just have to cover them with a bandage or ace bandage while wearing the S/S uniform shirt.

[retdetsgt]

Edit: This will not be an automatic DQ, you just have to cover them with a bandage or ace bandage while wearing the S/S uniform shirt.

I don't think we're that generous. However, once you get your probation done, you can get one as long as it's not offensive or gang looking. Odd.....

[HopefulOfficer]

Thanks for the feedback. I met a police officer who spoke to a Crim class of mine, and he had a tribal tattoo that came down and wrapped around his forearm and elbow. That kind of sparked my interest.

[retdetsgt]

I'd hold off until you get hired by somebody. It can wait and it would be a shame to lose a position because of that.

[HopefulOfficer]

Completely understandable. Thank you for the tips guys. You will most likely see more of me, I am really interested in this line of work. Considering the military told me no.

[retdetsgt]

Completely understandable. Thank you for the tips guys. You will most likely see more of me, I am really interested in this line of work. Considering the military told me no.

If you don't mind me asking, why did the military tell you no?

[HopefulOfficer]

I have a mild Crohn's disease. And apparently that can affect my performance in the line of duty. I was hoping to be a Marine and then with military experience become an officer. Unfortunately, I am unfit for combat.

[marinepilot]

Nick, first off, Welcome to RP from the Florida Panhandle! Glad you found our site and joined up. Sorry about hearing that you can't be a Marine (I retired from the Corps after 21 years), but keep up with your dream of being an LEO. It's quite the amazing career path!

Secondly, I"m going to move this thread to the Ask-A-Cop forum because this section is really for technical questions about the site itself. Ask-A-Cop is more where this type of question belongs.

Also, in answer to your question: I know agencies around here will hire you with the tat's, but will require you to wear a long sleeve shirt to cover them. And that would be tough because it gets HOT and HUMID here during the summer. Best of luck to you and come back to let us know how it's going!

[retdetsgt]

I have a mild Crohn's disease. And apparently that can affect my performance in the line of duty. I was hoping to be a Marine and then with military experience become an officer. Unfortunately, I am unfit for combat.

Sorry to hear that, I know a couple of people with Crohn's, nasty stuff. But it won't affect you going into LE. Good luck.

[BJJVad]

My department requires you to cover your tatoos.

The short answer is that as long as the tatoo is not a criminal affiliation symbol, it shouldn't be a concern if you can cover it up. (no facial tat's)

[HopefulOfficer]

Thanks for the empathy, and thanks for serving. It has always been a dream of mine. However, "you can't always get what you want." So I am keeping my head up, now that I am out foster care the world is mine to make it what I can.

[HopefulOfficer]

And yes sir Crohn's is not too friendly, thanks for the luck.

And thank you all who answered about tattoos.

[DeltaV]

I've found that more and more agencies that did not used to have visible tattoo policies are starting to institute policies against visible tattoos for new hires. While not all agencies have them, it would be unfortunate for you not to be able to apply to a specific agency because of your tattoo. We do not allow visible tattoos for new hires, but will hire someone with one as long as they sign a document promising to get them removed before their entrance probationary period is over. If they don't do it then they're terminated. One person figured that they would never enforce it, but he got the axe.