A new draft bill submitted by the Romanian Police union Europol gives the green light to candidates with tattoos who are interested in becoming police officers. Current police policy excludes this possibility; however, it doesn’t prohibit tattoos after a candidate successfully obtains the role.
The Police union’s draft bill will give a chance to all tattooed people in the selection and recruiting process, but the head of the human resources will have the final word.
“Until now, they weren’t allowed by default. Now, through this draft bill, there will be an entry in the candidate’s medical record that he or she has tattoos visible in the summer outfit, and HR will assess the opportunity and decide to admit or reject the candidate’s application for enrollment in the educational institution,” the president of the Europol union, Cosmin Andreica, said to Romanian news outlet Ziare.
The proposal was presented to the Social Dialog Committee on Tuesday. Its aim is to allow candidates regardless of tattoos to enroll in the institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs because from the union’s perspective, competence has a higher priority than visibility of tattoos, Andreica added. “I personally know police officers on duty with visible tattoos,” he said.
Andreica highlighted the inherent benefit of granting the right to apply to such candidates: In some cases, in the Organized Crime division, colleagues with unusual physical features are wanted – for example, police officers with long hair, earrings and tattoos – so they can infiltrate certain circles.
Cops have nothing against colleagues’ tattoos unless they are Nazi, xenophobic or racist inscriptions.
Title image: Tattooed officers are OK. Image source: MediaZink.com
