Isn't it any wonder why they can't recruit Gardai with such outdated policies.
Looks at other police forces around the World and they've visible tattoos.
I do understand its part of the dress code but I think that needs to change.
I wouldn't even be a fan of tattoos.
Fair enough.
I just believe that if we can accept surgeons as trustworthy with tattoos , that it is really time to relax the rules or allow some changes to the uniform to allow gardaí a bit of lattitude with their personal choice.
And as regards those on the edges you describe who may be vulnerable , no profession can cater for the fears or anxieties if every single person, but there are ways a person can reassure and gain trust .
There would be many for example who would object to being treated by a person of colour or by a member of the opposite sex. It is appropriate to take this into account in some cases but there is a limit to that.
They certainly do need to weigh it up.
And definitely if there is shortage as there currently is .
I agree with you completely. Honestly, I am not really perturbed to the point of action if I were to see tattoos on a police officer, I would not expect him/her to be incompetent/competent based on that alone. I was just pointing out that one might have prejudice toward tattoos, indeed I do, if I make a tiny effort to examine myself. It's irrelevant really that I would not have a big problem, the point is the edge cases. The vulnerable, who cannot afford the level of reflection that most of us can. These people are living in a world of fear and reaction and they are the ones that police have to deal with or help. There is a lot more structure to the world than is commonly spoken about because we take it for granted but absolutely the framework of dress and appearance is a huge part of it. The leadership of AGS are no doubt aware of that, after they police by consent, it's key, whether we as individuals care or not about tattoos or language or demeanor or whatever is not really relevant iny opinion.
That doesn't mean that those personal opinions should influence how we perceive others and treat them in a fair and equal society .
Perhaps ideally speaking, it shouldn’t, but employers, AGS in this instance, also have to be conscious of the fact that people’s personal opinions, prejudices, biases and so on, DO influence their perception of Gardaí.
That’s why for all the people arguing that in their anecdotal experience people with tattoos are no different than anyone else, etc, empirical evidence still suggests that there still exists a negative perception of tattoos - people generally still correlate tattoos with negative traits:
The present research contributes to the public discussion on how police officers with tattoos and piercings are perceived by citizens. Using an experimental design, our studies indicate that police officers with tattoos and piercings are perceived as somewhat less trustworthy, less competent, and more threatening than the ones without tattoos and piercings, despite relatively positive explicit attitudes towards piercings for police officers. In cases of dispute, policy makers and judges decide whether a police officer is allowed to have a body modification on a visible part of the body. They need to weigh the right of each individual to express their personality against public expectations of police officers.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11896-021-09447-w
Thing is, josey , most people of intelligence are aware bias exists and do everything they can to mitigate against it .
That is the whole premise of legislation for equality and anti discrimination. To prevent personal bias creeping in to everyday life .
It is why our country has become more enlightened with education over time , as well as our own historical struggles with a class driven oppressor .
We all have personal opinions about who and what we like .
That would be most unprofessional and unacceptable.
Remember reading this at the time thinking, my-man, what a cool dude.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24906132.amp
I doubt the clergy have much say in the workings of the Gardai these days and even when they did tattoos weren't a topic that came up for discussion.
We have an ex RUC prod as commissioner now.
Personally I wouldn't care if a person had tats like a Maori tribal leader if they were good at the job.
The problem nowadays is what is not 'offensive' to one person can easily be offensive to another.
Indeed you only have to look at this thread to see how people are split on this topic
I don't mind tattoos per-se but I do think in certain professions visible tattoos shouldn't be allowed for the reason above alone.
Very identifiable though. You could only do it once. You'd be stuffed after that..
This is a good laugh, yes I am so upset, lol. Is this to become a competition of apathy now?
To be clear, Yes I am a speaking on behalf of all humans who can see. Bias is a fact, you could describe the life of a human as a series of judgements.
The fashion industry exists because people make judgement based on appearance.
What a revelation this must be for you!
Are you speaking on behalf of every human, are we?
You’re getting a bit upset about all of this, did you see someone with tattoos this morning, and they were nice and able to do their job? That must have been traumatic.
Ah that would make you the only human to ever exist who does not have implicit bias and judge based on appearance.
Edit: unless you are blind, apologies if you are, then I admit you are not judging people based on appearance
Oh....yeah....sugarplum...
Oh and one of these 🤣, am I doing it right? Lol
I've noticed a nice few people who'd you consider older getting tattoos often very visible.
Mainly women ranging from housewives to teachers/nurses.
I think it's something that interested them with a good while.
They were generally encouraged by a changing Ireland and family/friends.
No shıt, really?
You do realise lots of people get tattoos in their thirties and far after?
Colour only fades if it's not been done right.
I've 2 full sleeves done 10 years ago and it's still the same as the day it was done.
And from a personal view I've interviewed 100s of people and found people with tattoos absolutely as good as people without them. As I said earlier in the thread the garda need to move in to the 21st century.
A sailor told me years ago that they were a way of identifying sailors lost at sea when a body was recovered. Made sense.
They should be focusing on more important things.
Giving gardi more power to clobber scumbags if they get out of hand for one.
Personally, I couldn't care less about a guard having tats as long as they did a good job, but the way things are going, we'll be lucky to attract very many new recruits. Tats or no tats.
I'm not surprised, this being Catholic ireland and all.
It wouldn't surprise me if you needed to know th bible back to front to get into the guards.
Would you feel the same about haircuts/colouring??
You raise a valid question - are there any specific rules keeping gingers out of the Gardai? And if not, why not?
You created a straw man in the first place, pot…meet kettle. 🤣
It's like dressing in the same clothes you wore in your teens/20s into your 30s, 40s and beyond. What we thought was cool then may be cringe now.
Speak for yourself there sweetheart.
Ah yeh right.. No sign of that sentiment in your posts but, yes you have that line in there ?
To be just as clear -
Just to be clear I purposely engineered the the hypothetical to suit my argument, of course I did, I am trying to highlight it.
That’s exactly the point I was making - you engineered the strawman of the refugee who shares your views in the first place. It was completely unnecessary, and confounded then by claiming your strawman was being attacked. It was funny though 😂
Me personally? I’d be less concerned about the tattoos on the officers arm than I would be about the weapon he’s carrying! But y’know, that’s just me, and this thread is about tattoos. I really have no idea of prostitutes opinions on tattoos or their knowledge of historical characters!
That being said, I do appreciate artwork, not so much a fan of arse antlers or barcodes, it varies 😂
Tattoos used to be a way of expressing your individuality. Or marking out your gang allegiance. Or demonstrating your masculinity.
Now it’s just fashionable.
There were long sleeve shirts, but I'm not sure now with the polos, don't think I've ever seen a long sleeve polo in general? The Garda tshirts were short sleeve too iirc. Issue with covering them is, it has to be uniform. Some members would wear white long sleeve tops underneath, others black, others navy, etc. Management, who care more about appearances than enforcement, don't like that. Resolution is to provide every member with long sleeve tops to wear underneath. Would need at least 3-5 per member to just about cover a week. Multiplied by ~14k.
The full policy is available to everyone to read:
I mean, they still require a proper crease in operational trousers... thankfully my mother was a dressmaker so the crease was sewn into every pants I had! It might be an old one actually, because it's still going on about shirts as the operational uniform, but it's not old enough that it mentions transitioning people and their uniforms, right before the sexist part where women can have long hair but mens hair has to be short. Unless religion. Which is also the only reason Gardai can now have facial hair. They actually tried to bring in it saying only Muslim men (as the main group this was aimed at) can have facial hair due to their religion. Queue many upset non-Muslim Gardai and now they can have facial hair. But not a long beard, only 2cm max. Some members may consider changing their religion to that of Sheiks, because then you can wear a dagger at all times, the only legal way to wear/carry a dagger at any time!
But that's always an option?
Again, all seems perfectly reasonable in that case no?
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wa.vanillicon.com/v2/a46418388544fe9f8f6352b57fb2f921.svg)
