Bullet proof turbans for Sikh police officers

The Sikh religion requires men to wear a turban but police helmets do not fit on top of them. Experts are working on a turban made from Kevlar-like material.

There are more than 2,000 Sikh police officers and support staff in the UK.

Inspector Gian Singh Chahal, vice-chairman of the newly formed British Police Sikh Association, says: “Sikh officers have been prohibited from becoming firearms officers because our religion does not allow us to remove the turban.

“There has been some research done into producing a ballistic material for turbans and we would like to follow any opportunity where we could manufacture a ballistic product – made out of something like Kevlar – that would ensure a certain degree of protection so Sikh police officers could take part in these roles.

“We need to approach the Home Office and police forces and to gain their acceptance so that Sikh officers could become firearms and public order officers while wearing turbans.

“I think the will is there from chief constables but perhaps not yet from the Home Office,” he told Police Review.

One Sikh PC, who did not want to be named, said: “It would make life a lot easier for us and would mean we could go for jobs we are currently not allowed to go for.”

West Midlands Police spent tens of thousands of pounds trying to find protective headgear to fit over a turban after a Sikh officer applied to join the counter-terrorist Operational Support Unit.

The force spent 18 months looking in vain for suitable equipment and returned the officer to the beat.

The unnamed officer is reported to have claimed discrimination and is now on long-term sick leave with stress.

Sikh soldiers serving in the British Army refused to wear helmets during the First and Second World Wars and more than 80,000 were killed.

A Home Office spokesman said yesterday: “It is down to individual forces to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the religion or beliefs of individual officers.”