Police Scotland turned away a record 25 recruits for tattoos that went against official policy last year.
According to a Freedom of Information request by the Scottish Sun on Sunday, applicants’ tattoos included a depiction of a sex slave, a hanged man and the word “stab”.
Other unacceptable body art included a nun holding a firearm and a “decapitated geisha head gagged with a rope”.
In 2015, Police Scotland relaxed its rules on tattoos in a bid to attract more potential recruits. The Metropolitan Police followed in 2018.
The newspaper found that there had been 25 body art rejections last year, 13 in 2023 and 23 in 2022.
According to the report, applicants submit photos as part of the recruitment process. Officers are generally allowed tattoos but extreme images contravene the policy.
One applicant had a picture of the “four horsemen of the apocalypse trampling the downtrodden”; another had images of the grim reaper and skulls.
David Kennedy of the Scottish Police Federation told the Scottish Sun: “I think they are very liberal with the vast majority of tattoos that they let in.
“But they’ve got a policy in place and certain types of tattoos aren’t allowed. They’ve obviously got standards.
“It might not be suitable for a police officer to be showing certain kinds of tattoos. Some might have to pay for a cover-up to get into the organisation.”
Police Scotland controversially introduced a ban on beards in 2023 but this was postponed after feedback from officers and health and safety experts.
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