Why cops have mustaches

As a result, department members who suffer from skin conditions aggravated by shaving, such as pseudo folliculitis barbae or severe acne, can apply for an exemption to the clean-shaven policy.

Note that even with a medical exemption, officers must comply with all other grooming standards, including hair, mustache, side-burns, and uniform policies. In general, officers are allowed to have beards if religious practices justify it. Officers that grow a beard based on religious beliefs must have written approval from the deputy commissioner of Equal Employment Opportunity or other similar authorities. This exemption to the rule comes from a long-standing dispute regarding Muslim officers who complained and sometimes refused to trim their beards — alleging it went against their religion.

According to the Law Enforcement Code of Conduct, beards must be trimmed to 0. However, a few years back, the NYPD started accepting uniformed officers to grow facial hair for religious beliefs. Soon, other States followed by revising their policies. Today, all officers are allowed to have a beard if religious practices justify it. But, said beard must not be any longer than a half-inch. Requests for lengths greater than that are usually reviewed and decided case-by-case.

As expected, all undercover agents are allowed to retain any facial hair required by the assignment. Thus, they are another explicit exemption to the clean-shaved rule required by most task forces. This allowance has a lot to do with the fact that undercover agents are supposed to play a part by acting as civilians. Hence, in some cases having a clean-shaved beard might call for unwanted attention.

However, note that these rules vary greatly, depending on the State and chief officer in charge. Thus, as of a few years, the campaign has extended into many police corps. The purpose of this concept is not to let officers grow untidy or messy beards that could affect their overall appearance, but to raise awareness. I went to visit a college friend who had moved to New Orleans.

He was showing me around and introducing me to his friends. It occurred to me that these new people had never seen me without a mustache.

I actually ran a 5K while I was down there and I saw pictures of myself in the race. When I had the cop uniform, I looked like a cop. Lesson learned. Rob Penty is a writer, improviser, storyteller, and web developer living in Brooklyn, NY. Check out his blog here. Follow him robpenty. Fact Check with Logically. Police are paid for their mustaches in India. Reference links. Related Keywords. I found a typo or a broken link in your fact check.

I have a correction request for one of your fact checks. Advertisement - Content continues below. Image credit: Miles Cole. This week — inspired by the Line of Duty finale — The Big Issue looks at whether the policeman can serve while sporting a beard. How it was told It has not been a vintage year for facial hair out in public.

Checked Yes, police officers can have beards — but it is not as straightforward as you might think. Forces around the UK have broadly similar guidance with a few differences here and there. Worth repeating Beards have been growing in popularity. Sign up today Get The Big Issue in your inbox. Sign Up!