Norwegian cops can now wear hijabs

• Tweet

OSLO, Norway, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Norwegian Police Director Ingelin Killengreen says police officers can now wear hijabs, traditional Muslim head coverings, with their police uniforms.

Killengreen said hijabs were allowed to be worn by police officers in an attempt to increase police recruitment in Norway, The Norway Post said Thursday.

The police director said a growing number of female immigrants wear the traditional head coverings for various reasons. Therefore, Killengreen said, hijabs should be allowed in order to avoid excluding these immigrant groups.

The country's leading police official said being open with uniform additions such as the hijab would allow all members of Norwegian society to feel equal and foster increased trust.

But Arne Johannessen, the head of the Policemen's Union, told the Post that hijabs would violate the planned neutrality of the average Norwegian police officer's uniform.