Anyone wishing to join the Pennsylvania State Police and become a trooper needed to follow the outdated and unfair personal appearance policy (PDF), which included:

shall have no tattoos or brandings which would be visible to the public when wearing the summer uniform shirt. The summer uniform shirt is a standard, collared, short-sleeved dress shirt. Visible areas include the lower portion of the upper-arms, elbows, the entire forearms…

This week the policy has changed to broaden the field of potential applicants, tattoos on the arms are now allowed, as outlined in a statement by Col. Robert Evanchick.  Tattoos above the dress shirt collar, below the wrist, including hands and fingers, and those deemed racist or hate-based are still not allowed.

The official PDF document on the PA State Police website outlining the appearance policy has not been updated as of the publishing of this blog post.

We have offered a discount for all full time first responders, extending it to those wishing to join local and state police and will continue to do so, but are thrilled at the new change in policy.  We firmly believe ones appearance shouldn’t disqualify and otherwise qualified applicant from becoming a state trooper. The discount is also offered to all retired officers, active duty military, vets and those trying to enlist but can’t due to a dress code policy.

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