new thread
I've always thought about the suitability and appropriateness of long hair in a law enforcement job. Sure its acceptable on women, but for men, I dont see why it should be such a problem. A lot of big city departments have conformity BS aka "dress codes" that have regulations for men on the length of their hair. I did consider a career in law enforcement but now I cannot part with my long hair when its grown to my desired lengt a year and half or so from now. Making me cut my hair to conform would definitely feel traumatic for me...Id lose a part of me thats for sure. Pony-tails acutally look more neat and clean than some of the dreadful scalped dos Ive seen male cops wear. Guess its also a question of what kind of work youre doing. I think long hair for a narcotics cop fits the part well as there are a number of men who do this, but Id like to see more acceptance among the general LEO population, both with patrol cops and detectives alike.
On a side note, although its fiction, and hes playing an undercover role, I saw a recent episode of Miami Vice from the last season (1989 or 1990? I think) and Don Johnson's hair was the longest it had been in the entire series. Maybe Im partial to long hair, but it was the best Sonny Crockett had looked overall. His mane long cuz it blew back and really showed some length when he was riding on the cigarette boat. No one, including his boss Castillo never said anything to him about it hahhaah. Wish it was like that in the real world :)
Anyway, anyone who has some thoughts on this Id really like to see what anyone has to say. I think this is another interesting longhair hot-button topic to explore as there has been some length discussion about the corporate world and acceptance of longhairs.
I apologize for some spelling errors and typos in my post above. Wish I could go back and change them but thats what happens when you dont look over what you write before you post lol.
Where I live, cops always seem to be shaving their heads for charity. I think it's an annual event so "always" is an exaggeration, but I'd imagine the peer pressure on a cop to partipate, especially one with long hair, would be very high. That's even if long hair would be tolerated in the first place.
In the state of NSW, Australia where i live, the state police force has very strict regulations on hair and grooming policies. No long hair, no long hair in a ponytail or buns, not acceptable at all.
That is the image of the officer they want, sadly.
I first read the following a couple years back, so I decided to find it again and post it here.
Courtesy of: http://www.abc.net.au/tasmania/stories/s914439.htm
" How would you feel about Police with long hair?
Thursday, 31 July 2003
Reporter: Paul McIntyre
Presenter: Anthony Frangi
If you were to describe a typical policeman chances are one of the first images that might come to mind, would be the short length of his hair.
It appears however that very soon the short back and side's style, which is so closely associated with our men in blue, may very soon disappear.
A recent decision in Victoria has allowed the police to grow their hair, so long as they keep it in bun while on duty.
Always at the cutting edge of fashion, Paul McIntyre from ABC Online took to the streets of Hobart to find out how the Tasmanian public might react if they were assisted by a policeman with streaming locks or a tidy bun.
To Paul's surprise all those polled expressed the same opinion.
"I don't think it would worry me at all, so long as it was tidy," one lady told Paul.
"I think that's fine. As long as he treated me according to the rules that'd be no problem," said another.
The major concern expressed by those who spoke to Paul was that it might interfere with the job, particularly if an assailant attempted to pull his hair while being arrested.
Generally though, it was agreed that so long as the hair was kept in a neat and tidy bun, then it should not be a problem.
Paul asked one lady if she felt it would be more romantic to be rescued by a policeman with long hair. "It does it for some, it doesn't do it for others," was her reply.
If policemen in all states and territories are allowed to grow their hair Paul speculated that other figures of authority such as ambulance workers and politicians, might well follow their lead.
One man told Paul he didn't think long hair would suit Prime Minister John Howard "I think he's a bit too far gone," he remarked
Another man said that he wouldn't be worried about politicians with long hair and that they should be left to "do what they've got to do". "
Yes, i have actually seen this article recently and made a reply to Lupus regarding it.
As i said,specifically the NSW police force, not Tasmanian.
However, i see the point you are trying to make here.
If society is slowly starting to become more accepting and less ignorant of male long hairs in typical, 'short haired jobs' then this will eventually start applying here in NSW aswell because if one state can do it, then others will catch on with the trend. The next thing you know, male police officers in all states will be able to grow their hair long and you will find that similar occupations will also relax their hair length policies and rules. It is positive to realise that society is starting to accept male long hair and look at it objectively as an issue of practibility and safety , rather than stereotypes, norms and what is expected of a man to look like in 'society'.
So in other words, "yes, you can have long hair, as long as it is tied up/restrained and doesn't conflict/intefere/hinder your working tasks". This is an objectual, fair statement rather than some bigotry like "no, long hair is not allowed on men, no you cannot tie it up, no you can't have it at all, you need a 'clean cut'", simply unreasonable and unwilling to compromise or negotiate.
At this rate, it is only a matter of time for this to happen.
As for now, i can sit back and taste the discrimination i get for my hair.
Actually, the article is reffering to the Victorian police force.
Many would argue (including myself) that Victoria is definitey in the top 2 states of Australia with NSW.
Most if not all people would probably agree that Melbourne and Sydney are the 'big two'.
So if the Melbournian cops are doing it, isn't it only a matter of time for their NSW bretheren?
And then the snowball effect begins...
So you got a problem with Western Australia?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Actually, I have not a clue as to what I'm talking about; just thought I'd see what you'd say. :-)
...to you good sir!
Tasmania is not even a part of mainland Australia! It is a territory to the South of the mainland, or under it you could say.
Well now you know what I would say, a history lesson!
Bragi, Bragi, Bragi. 'Sigh'
Here is my 2 cents... if you want careers in LE or Military then you can pretty much forget about long hairs.... Both are concerned with image and all require you to have short hairs. In the military women can have long hair too but not guys. If you live somewhere that has conscription then I dont know...
That's the reason why cops don't have it long. If you're trying to restrain someone (especially someone on PCP), having something for them to pull you by and control your head is very dangerous.
Also, having long hair cover your eyes when you have to shoot someone (more for military, but also applicable here) would be a no-no. Just imagine if a cop missed and hit a kid instead of the guy with the gun. What would all the news stations be saying? "Why was he allowed to have long hair?"
In this case, it's necessary to have short hair. If I ever join the military (it's a fall-back in case something goes horribly with college), I'll have no problem with cutting my hair, because it's better than getting shot in the face.
I still don't see this as a reason to cut your hair since women are allowed to have it at that lenght, why should male cops have special restrictions on that?
This shouldn't be a problem if the hair is long enough to fit in a tie without any straws hanging free on the sides. Think it is more of keeping a low profile. A policemans job is to serve and protect and in order to fully carry out his profession he need to look representive. And a long mane on a man just doesn't fit the stereotyped image that most people expect and thus he would recieve less respect and trust. Or, atleast that's my idea of this.
I'll have no problem with cutting my hair, because it's better than getting shot in the face.
Sorry for marking your words here but why should You be shot in the face for having long hair? As a penalty of disipline or because you can't see your own gun pointing to you skull? lol
thats most often the excuse given but in both law enforcement and military girls are always allowed to have long hair, so your argument is not really that valid, unless girls arent expected to fight anyone.
It's a matter of securing the hair. There is a perception that guys don't know how to do that/aren't prepared to because it looks girly, but that's outdated now. Interestingly, the women's peaked caps, both in the police and the military, have a higher crown to provide space for hair that's worn up under the hat, and that's probably also necessary to go with a policy change, i.e. the long haired guys should get the women's style caps. If it's all under the hat, there's nothing to pull. There again, in the UK police and the Royal Navy the guys definitely wouldn't want the hats the girls have instead of caps.
As for hair that's shorter, but not ultra-short, a fringe (bangs for Americans) will also fit under even the male caps. I think that may be the primary reason why they even have headgear in the first place, so they won't have their hair in their gun sights. I don't think crew cuts were in vogue when these uniforms were first designed, so that seems like the probable purpose.
In the military it is generally true that they don't put women in combat, but I don't think that's been true of any police force for a very long time. The only significant difference between police and military seems to be that if you are in the infantry or certain other types of military unit you may not get to wash your hair for a very long time if you are in a combat zone. OTOH, haircuts and shaves would be out too in that situation. Maybe the theory is that if they start from short hair and no beard it will limit how much they grow before they can get it cut.
Getting your hair grabbed on a battlefield doesn't seem like a big worry, though, so it comes down to keeping it out of the eyes and keeping it from tangling with equipment. It seems to me like a plait (braid) would take care of those problems for me personally, as well as keeping the appearance of unwashed hair presentable for long periods of time. I seem to recall that 200-300 years ago the troops did exactly that, and there seems to me to be no good reason why they couldn't do so today.
LOL!!! PCP
What about in Holland, you don't have to cut your hair to join the army...
i don't see why you'd have to cut it, though if you were out in the jungle for a while, youd have some trouble washing it... but wouldnt a braid be fine?
When you think of long hair in law enforcement
think Dog the Bounty Hunter.
Also think Fin on L&O:SVU (yes I know it is a fictional
show.)
