A proposed new policy would introduce designated ‘growing periods’ for facial hair on police officers.
The facial hair policy is not yet in force but was sent out to officers by the police commissioner along with a new guiding document on tattoos.
To beard or not to beard is the question that the document seeks to regulate. And, if the answer is yes, how should facial hair be grown?
The facial hair policy says that, if worn, beards and goatees must be “established and not stubble”.
To ensure that this is followed, each calendar year the force would allow two “growth periods for beards and goatees” – March 1 through March 31 and August 1 through August 31.
Alternatively, one can grow a beard or goatee during a period of vacation leave but not while on duty.
The proposed policy says that a minimum length of half centimetre shall be established for facial hair, meaning no fuzz for the fuzz.
“If an officer shaves his beard or goatee below the minimum half centimetre in length or does not attain the minimum length during the authorised growth period, the officer shall be required to completely shave all facial hair (except for moustache) and will not be permitted to grow a beard or goatee again until the next growth period,” the document reads.
According to the proposed rules, beards, goatees and moustaches are permitted on officers so long as they are “contiguous, with no designs shaved into it”.
Facial hair shall be cleanly shaven below the Adam’s apple and no portion of the facial hair may be exceptionally longer than the rest, the document insists.
That’s not all... goatees shall be restricted to either “a classic goatee or a full goatee”.
The document even includes diagrams of what a goatee should look like, lest any police officers decide to cut it too close.
Meanwhile, members of the force can now have visible tattoos, provided they are not on necks, faces or palms.
The new tattoo policy, which came into effect last week, revises the rigid anti-tattoo stance that the police enforced on officers for years.
Politicians had been talking about revising the policy for the best part of a decade.
It allows policemen and women to have visible tattoos, albeit with exceptions. Tattoos cannot be vulgar, political or discriminatory in nature. And the only face, neck or palm tattoos allowed are those required for medical reasons.
Previously, officers with tattoos had to ensure they were not visible to the public while on duty.