LAKELAND, Fla. — The Lakeland Police Department is relaxing its standards when it comes to its tattoo policy.
The agency, like many others in the Tampa Bay area, is struggling to find qualified recruits these days and thinks this will help.
“We are doing it a little bit to be competitive,” Assistant Chief Hans Lehman said.
Lakeland Police Department currently has 15 openings. But, like other agencies, it’s been a challenge to fill them.
“You know, there’s a recruiting shortage for police officers nationwide. It’s not every day that someone is wanting to sign up and become a police officer anymore,” Lehman said.
The department‘s current tattoo policy only allows 50% coverage on an officer’s arms, but they have found lots of younger people have full sleeve tattoos these days.
The department recruiters found it to be a top concern among recruits.
“We do lose some applicants that we think would be very good police officers because of our tattoo policy,” Lehman said.
Some tattoo restrictions will remain in place. No neck or face tattoos. And nothing on hands or fingers.
Some say they understand the policy shift, but others were concerned about what the tattoos symbolize or say.
“I guess depending on what the tattoo represents is like a big thing,” a Polk resident, Syderia Hall, said. “Like I don’t think somebody should have a tattoo of a devil, or something on their arm trying to save the city or protect the city and do their job.”
“Everybody deserves an opportunity no matter their looks, no matter their appearance,” said Miguel Moreno, who has arm tattoos of his own. “Tattoo is just art to me.”
Some smaller police agencies in Polk County have loosened their tattoo policy in recent years. So far, the Polk County Sheriff‘s Office has not.
“I think we’re going to see a lot more of those instances take place across the nation and it’s all due to the shortage of applicants for the job of being a police officer,” Criminologist and Associate Dean at Tarleton State University Alex Del Carmen said.
Del Carmen says loosening standards are part of a trend that troubles him.
"It’s not the tattoo itself that concerns me, but rather what is going to be next. Right?" Del Carmen explained. "What is going to be the next step after that? Are we going to go ahead and waive somebody’s background if they’ve been only in prison for a month versus six months? And before we know it we’re going to be putting people in uniform with a badge and a gun that should’ve never ever been given that privilege of being able to enforce laws."
The ink is not yet dry on the department’s new tattoo policy, but it is expected to be approved by a review board and then implemented in the next couple of weeks.
Here is a list of some of the tattoo policies at other law enforcement agencies around Tampa Bay: