Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department

Transcription

1 Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department NUMBER SECTION CHIEF OF POLICE EFFECTIVE REVIEW DATE 4 2 5/30/2013 5/1/2017 SUBJECT GROOMING AND PERSONAL APPEARANCE GENERAL As representatives of the VCUPD and law enforcement in general, it is vitally important that all employees present a professional image to the public. It is the policy of the department that all members shall consistently maintain a neat and clean appearance at all times during the performance of official duties and at any time that the employee is representing the department in any manner. The purpose of this policy is to establish departmental guidelines for grooming and personal appearance for all employees, sworn and civilian, while on-duty and/or when representing the department in an official capacity. ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT All employees are expected to fully comply with the guidelines and timelines set forth in this written directive. Failure to comply will result in appropriate corrective action. Responsibility rests with the division commander to ensure that any violations of policy are investigated and appropriate training, counseling and/or disciplinary action is initiated. UNIFORM PROCEDURES A. Uniformed Male Employees Sworn and Civilian 1. Hair shall be clean, combed and styled neatly. Regardless of style, it shall be tapered on the sides and at the back of the neck so that it does not appear bulky at any point. The bulk or style of the hair shall not interfere with normal wearing of issued headgear. Hair shall not hang over the top of the collar at the back of the neck or over the top of the ears. Hair on the forehead shall not extend below the hat when properly worn nor cover any portion of the ears. 2. While in uniform, male sworn officers shall not wear beards or goatees. Beards and goatees may only be worn by plainclothes personnel and only with the approval of the division captain. Uniformed male civilian personnel may wear beards, mustaches and goatees. 3. Mustaches If worn, shall be neatly trimmed and not extend over the top of the upper lip or beyond the corners of the mouth. 4. Sideburns May extend to the base of the ear, be neatly trimmed and not flared and shall end with a clean-shaven, horizontal line. VCUPD Written Directives Manual 4-2 Grooming & Personal Appearance 1

2 5. Wigs and Hairpieces Must conform to the standards for natural hair. Hair color shall be black, brown, blonde, red, grey or some other closely related, natural shade. 6. While in uniform, hair styles such as ponytails, rag/rat tails and large bouffant hairstyles are prohibited. Uniformed male civilian employees may wear braided hair styles, if neat and worn close to the head. B. Uniformed Female Employees Sworn Officers and Civilians: 1. Hair shall be clean, combed and styled neatly. Regardless of style, it shall not extend below the bottom of the collar at the back of the neck. Hair may be combed over the ears but shall not extend below the ear more than two inches in front of the ear. 2. On-duty, uniformed sworn female employees assigned to the field shall arrange their hair so that it does not extend below the bottom edge of the collar or interfere with the proper wearing of issued headgear. 3. Ponytails or braids hanging below the bottom of the collar are not permitted. 4. Long hair shall be attached to the head by items that do not interfere with the wearing of hats. Braided styles worn close to the head, if neat, are permissible. 5. Wigs and hairpieces are permitted if they conform to the standards for natural hair. Hair, if dyed, shall be black, brown, blond, red, grey, or some other closely related natural shade. C. Plainclothes Sworn Officers and Non-Uniformed Civilian Employees: 1. Hair shall be clean, combed and neatly styled. 2. Hair, if dyed, shall be black, brown, blond, red, grey or some other closely related, natural shade. 3. Wigs or hairpieces are permitted if they conform to the standards for natural hair. 4. All employees shall maintain their hair so as to present a neat appearance consistent with their job assignment. CLOTHING STANDARDS A. All plainclothes male officers and non-uniformed male civilians, while on-duty or in court, shall wear civilian clothes that are in conformance with current proper business attire or acceptable work attire. Such dress shall consist of conservative suits, blazers or coordinated sport jackets, shirt, dress slacks and tie. B. Appropriate undergarments shall be worn at all times and in the matter intended by the manufacturer and shall not be intentionally visible through or outside of the employee s clothing. C. Clothing should be of an appropriate length at all times, fit to facilitate movement, and to portray a professional image. VCUPD Written Directives Manual 4-2 Grooming & Personal Appearance 2

3 D. The wearing of denim clothing, tank or tube tops, spandex sheer blouses, T-shirts or other such casual attire is not acceptable. E. Only department-issued hats are permitted. F. Sworn officers working in an undercover/plainclothes capacity shall dress in a manner prescribed by supervision when their mission requires them to blend in. G. The IT Analyst may wear attire deemed appropriate for his/her current assignment and duties. H. All supervisors shall be responsible for ensuring that personnel under their command dress appropriately based on their regularly assigned duties. Any uniform or attire worn on-duty shall conform to departmental policy and the highest standards of professionalism and appearance. I. Officers working in assignments in which a duty uniform is not required, may be authorized by their division commander to wear plainclothes consisting of appropriate attire which the officer s commander deems appropriate for his/her current assignment and duties. J. Non-sworn personnel working in assignments that require them to wear a uniform shall do so in accordance with this directive and the guidelines established by their assigned division/unit. PLAINCLOTHES AND NON-UNIFORMED PERSONNEL DRESS CODE A. Plainclothes officers shall dress appropriately according to their assignment. Officers and detectives shall consult their supervisor for guidelines not contained within Written Directives 4-7 Uniforms and Equipment and/or 4-2 Grooming and Personal Appearance. B. Civilian employees shall be properly dressed in business or business casual attire. Business casual is categorized as relating to or denoting a style of clothing that is less formal than traditional business wear, but is still intended to give a professional and business-like impression. C. Guide to Business Casual Dressing for Work: 1. Slacks, Pants, and Suit Pants a. Slacks that are similar to Dockers and other makers of cotton or synthetic material pants, wool pants, flannel pants, dressy capris, and nice looking dress synthetic pants are acceptable. b. Jeans, sweatpants, exercise pants, leggings, shorts, overalls, and any spandex or other form-fitting pants are not permitted. NOTE: Jeans are permitted on casual Fridays by paying members of the jeans fundraising program. Sworn officers are not permitted to participate in the casual Fridays fundraising program. 2. Skirts, Dresses, and Skirted Suits VCUPD Written Directives Manual 4-2 Grooming & Personal Appearance 3

4 a. Casual dresses and skirts, and skirts that are split at or below the knee are acceptable. b. Dress and skirt length should be at a length at which you can sit comfortably in public. c. Short, tight skirts that reach halfway up the thigh are not permitted. d. Mini-skirts, skorts, sun dresses, beach dresses, and spaghetti-strap dresses are not permitted. 3. Shirts, Tops, Blouses, and Jackets a. Casual shirts, dress shirts, sweaters, tops, golf-type shirts, and turtlenecks are acceptable attire for work. b. Most suit jackets or sport jackets are also acceptable attire for the office, if they violate none of the listed guidelines. c. Tank tops, midriff tops, shirts with potentially offensive words, terms, logos, pictures, cartoons, or slogans, halter-tops, tops with bare shoulders, sweatshirts, and t-shirts unless worn under another blouse, shirt, jacket, or dress are not permitted. 4. Shoes a. Conservative athletic or walking shoes, loafers, clogs, boots, flats, dress heels, and leather deck-type shoes are acceptable for work. b. Wearing no stockings is acceptable in warm weather. c. Thongs, flip-flops, and slippers are not permitted. 5. Makeup, perfume, and cologne should be in good taste, with no visible body piercings. Some employees are allergic to the chemicals in perfumes and make-up; therefore these substances should be worn with restraint. 6. Hats and Head Covering a. Hats are not appropriate in the office. b. Head covers that are required for religious purposes or to honor cultural tradition are permitted. COURT APPEARANCE A. When attending court to testify in their official capacity, all sworn members of the department who are permanently assigned to a uniformed assignment shall wear a complete uniform, unless the officer s immediate supervisor has excused the officer from appearing in uniform (i.e. light duty assignment). B. Bicycle officers shall wear the Class B uniform for all matters appearing before General District Court or Traffic Court of the city of Richmond. Shorts are prohibited in court. VCUPD Written Directives Manual 4-2 Grooming & Personal Appearance 4

5 C. Officers appearing for testimony before any Federal Court, any Circuit Court in the city of Richmond or any court outside of the city of Richmond shall wear a Class A uniform. If the officer is appearing in a Richmond Circuit Court to submit evidence or for any reason that does not include testifying, the regularly assigned uniform is acceptable. D. Whenever a department member appears before any court for any purpose other than in his/her official capacity, the officer shall not wear a police uniform. UNIFORM/CLOTHING EXCEPTIONS A. Any employee whose current assignment may require any deviation from the above procedures may make a request, through channels, to the Chief of Police for approval of an exception. If granted, the approved request will automatically expire upon completion of the assignment. B. Medical exceptions to any of the aforementioned procedures may be permitted. Upon receiving the written request from the employee along with a physician s statement attached detailing the need for the exception and the length of time the exception will be required, the document shall be submitted, through channels, to the Chief of Police who shall grant or deny the request. JEWELRY, COSMETICS AND MISCELLANEOUS STANDARDS A. Conservative sunglasses (black, brown, gold or silver frames) are permissible for all department employees. Sunglasses shall not be mirrored. In addition, sunglasses shall be removed while indoors, including prescription sunglasses that do not change to clear eyeglasses. B. While in uniform, sworn employees shall not wear any type of necklace or jewelry that jeopardizes safety in any way. Employees shall not wear their sunglasses hanging from their neck. C. When conservatively applied, cosmetics are allowed for uniformed on-duty sworn females; however, false eyelashes are prohibited. D. Sworn personnel shall keep their fingernails trimmed so as not to extend further than 1/8 inch from the edge of the finger. The fingernail limitation is included as a safety measure. Longer nails impede an officer s ability to properly operate issued weapons. E. If uniformed personnel desire to wear nail polish, it shall be clear. If plainclothes sworn female personnel desire to wear nail polish, it must be conservative in nature. F. While on-duty, uniformed female civilian employees in Dispatch may wear moderate length, color, designs or accessories on their fingernails as long as it does not interfere with their assigned duties. G. While the wearing of rings is not encouraged while on-duty, sworn personnel may wear one ring on each hand on their little or ring fingers. A combination wedding ring and engagement band is considered one ring. VCUPD Written Directives Manual 4-2 Grooming & Personal Appearance 5

6 H. Uniformed personnel may wear one wrist watch and a bracelet. More than one wrist bracelet (maximum width = 1/4 inch) is prohibited, while in uniform, excluding Medic Alert bracelets. I. No more than one neck chain or exposed necklace may be worn while in uniform, maximum width =1/4 inch and only if it is within the collar of the shirt. J. Uniformed sworn female personnel may wear up to two pairs of post-type/stud earrings i.e. two in each ear only. Plainclothes sworn female officers may wear one-inch dangle earrings. The head of the earring shall not exceed ¼ inch in diameter. Uniformed female civilian employees in Dispatch may wear no more than two (2) earrings per ear and of any type as long as it does not interfere with their assigned duties. K. Civilian male personnel may wear one earring in each ear. L. Uniformed on-duty personnel are only permitted to utilize Bluetooth devices while operating a vehicle. The use of Bluetooth devices is prohibited by uniformed, on-duty personnel when not operating a vehicle. M. Footwear: While on-duty, non-uniformed department employees may wear open-toed professional or business casual shoes. The wearing of flip-flops is prohibited. When sworn employees are working undercover or in special assignments the appropriate foot wear shall be determined by supervision. N. Tattoos: Tattoos on the face and/or neck are prohibited for all department personnel. Tattoos that could be considered offensive to the public or members of the VCU community shall be concealed while on-duty. Concerns regarding the nature of exposed tattoos shall be addressed by the employee s supervisor. O. Body Piercing: Department employees shall only wear the type, size and number of earrings as authorized in this policy; no other body piercing jewelry is permitted. Department members are prohibited from wearing jewelry in their tongue, nose, eyebrows, cheeks or body parts other than the earlobe, while on-duty. P. Other Exceptions: 1. Employees on special assignments may deviate from these standards with the approval of their commander. 2. Sworn employees may request an exemption to the above standards for cause, through their chain of command. However, the Chief of Police or designee shall be the final arbiter in all such requests and shall set forth the temporary standards to be adhered to by the requesting sworn employees. SUPERVISION OF GUIDELINES VCUPD Written Directives Manual 4-2 Grooming & Personal Appearance 6

7 It is incumbent on department supervisors to enforce the business/business casual dress code. A. If clothing fails to meet these standards, as determined by the employee's supervisor, the employee will be asked not to wear the inappropriate item to work again. B. If the problem persists, the employee will be sent home to change clothes and will receive a verbal warning for the first offense. C. Progressive disciplinary action will be applied if dress code violations continue. VCUPD Written Directives Manual 4-2 Grooming & Personal Appearance 7