March 10, 2006
Swedish police has announced a change in its uniform policy and will in future allow officers on the job to wear turbans, head scarves or Jewish skull caps. The new policy is a way to attract more ethnic minorities to the police force, which has been criticized for not having enough diversity. Previous regulations stipulated that religious headgear could not be used as part of an official police uniform. "To not allow police to wear turbans or head scarves would be to shut out large groups in Sweden from the police profession," Katri Linna, the government ombudsman against ethnic discrimination, told the news agency AP. "An officer in religious headgear would also serve an important symbolic function." However, the police will not issue its own turbans, head scarves or skull caps. An officer wishing to wear such headgear will have to pick one that has a "suitable shape and color" to fit the uniform, the Swedish National Police Board said in a statement.