Amsterdam police officer tests headscarf-wearing at work

An Amsterdam district officer wore a headscarf during her work on Saturday, days after the city's police chief said he is considering allowing female Muslim officers to wear headscarves.

The officer in action, who is not Muslim herself, did this "to find out what would be the reaction of the community", Xinhua reported.

Amsterdam police commented with a tweet: "It is an individual action. Our uniform is lifestyle-neutral and it does not change."

This tweet got mixed reactions from "flowers and bow to her" supporting the officer, to negative ones such as "impose a fine on her".

Currently Dutch police officers are not allowed to wear any religious symbols. Amsterdam police chief Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg announced on Thursday that there should be debate on whether this ban should be lifted to improve diversity.

Aalbersberg said half of Amsterdam's police force should have an ethnic minority background to better reflect the city's population.

"If we cannot recruit sufficient officers with a migrant background, this is a measure which could have an impact," Aalbersberg added.

The population of Amsterdam is one of the most diverse in Europe with 180 different nationalities and 45 per cent ethnic minorities. Only 18 per cent of the city's police officers has "non-Dutch" roots.

--IANS

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