Sikh Police Want Bullet-Proof Turbans

Sikh police officers are pushing the British government to come up with a bullet-proof turban design so they can serve as firearms officers. Their religious requirement of wearing a turban prevents them from wearing the protective headgear a firearms officer must have. "We would like to follow any opportunity where we could manufacture a ballistic product, made out of a synthetic fibre, that would ensure a certain degree of protection, so Sikh police officers could take part in these roles," said Inspector Gian Singh Chahal, vice-chairman of the newly formed British Police Sikh Association.

Seems Reasonable

[GammaKitsune]

If turbans are part of the attire, I don't see why someone can't make a bullet proof form of turban. Does it have to strictly be made of nothing but wrapped cloth, or can a sort of Kevlar weave be worked in beneath the material?

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[Zapotek]

What if they wear a turban underneath the headgear to feel like a proper Sikh and a turban outside the headgear to look like a proper Sikh....with an unusually large head.

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[Trecares]

What makes you think that just kelvar fabric alone will be sufficient to protect their heads? Have you seen the effects of a bullet on the human body, as it impacts the bulletproof vest? It can leave bruises, or even crack ribs, etc. Now how will that affect the head which is mostly just a thin covering of skin over a bony structure. Chances are, you're not walking away if a bullet manages to miss your face, and hits your kelvar headwrap.

Trecares

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[Ocker3]

I think they should work on a helmet that has the Turban intergrated into it, and the relevant Sikh council should give a special dispensation for members of the military or police to wear these special turban/helmets in times of combat if they so choose.

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[twidarkling]

I'm interested in how that would realistically work. Would it be a turban wrapped around the outside of a bullet-proof helmet? Maybe a helmet with a turban-lining? Would a helmet sculpted in the form of a turban suffice for religious purposes?

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[Ocker3]

I'm guessing the inside of a helmet has a liner, this could be made in the shape/style of a turban. However I think the wrapping of the turban in the morning is part of the whole ritual and may pose an issue. It may require a new regulation be created, allowing for a much closer turban that wouldn't prevent the wearing of a helmet. IANASC (I am not a Sikh Cleric).