Kitty Flanagan on cops with tattoos - The Project

Kitty Flanagan on visible tattoos on police officers - http://theprojecttv.com.au

Broadcast date: 1 February 2012.

Officers may be banned from having visible tattoos under a proposal being considered by the New South Wales police force.

In a move designed to clean up the public image of the state's police force, officers are likely to be banned from having visible tattoos on their face and neck.

A draft document soon to go before the state's police commissioner for approval recommends that prospective new recruits with prominent tattoos could also be denied entry to the police academy.

Existing officers with obvious body art on their arms or legs might be asked to keep them concealed with long sleeve shirts and pants.

Assistant Police Commissioner Michael Corboy, who has helped draw up the policy, says there have been complaints from the public about officers wearing tattoos, with some people regarding them offensive.