New policy prohibits Bryan police from displaying tattoos

Despite all kinds of people sporting spectacular tattoos these days, the Bryan Police Department has decided that new recruits whose body ink can't be covered with a uniform need not apply.

As of June 10, officers on duty may not display any tattoos, body art or branding, said Officer Kelley McKethan, department spokeswoman.

In addition to a public appearance policy, the department already had a uniform policy dictating where an officer's badge and name tag can be work and in what order service ribbons should be worn, she said.

"We hadn't addressed tattoos," McKethan said Wednesday. "As they become more commonplace, we saw the need to have a standard line of what is acceptable and what's not."

Officers who were on the force prior to June 10 are allowed to continue displaying any tattoos they had as long as they are acceptable, she said.

"Under no circumstances will inappropriate tattoos be allowed," the new policy states. The Bryan police chief determines what constitutes an appropriate tattoo, McKethan said.

The new guideline hasn't caused an uproar among the department's 138 officers, McKethan said.

"I haven't heard any grumblings about it," she said. "It's not anything they're upset with."

Although a policy discouraging visible tattoos might seem an illogical step when law enforcement agencies are recruiting heavily among military veterans, McKethan said Bryan's requirement is very similar to existing policies of service branches.

For example, the U.S. Navy forbids sailors to have tattoos that show through their white uniforms, she said. In addition, a Navy recruit can't have tattoos on the head, face or neck or any body ink larger than a closed fist on the arm, she said.

Both the U.S. Army and Marines prohibit tattoos that are gang-related or vulgar, McKethan said.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office has a similar policy:

"After the date of hire, all personnel shall be prohibited from placing any new body art or tattoos on their person that would be publicly visible," the sheriff's department policy states.

"Uniformed and plain clothes personnel, except those in undercover assignments, shall not have body art or tattoos visibly exposed," the policy states.

The Houston Police Department's prohibition against displaying visible tattoos or body art while on duty or while wearing a department-approved uniform took effect in 2006, according to an earlier Chronicle article.