Crime & Safety

Ask a Cop: Can Cops Wear Glasses?

You can wear glasses, but if you are color blind, you are in trouble.

If you have a question for the police, forward it to brad.kava@patch.com and he'll send it off for you.

Question:  I want to join a police force and then eventually go into the FBI. The only problem is that my uncorrected eyesight is definitely worse than 20/20 (w/ astigmatism) and I'm color blind. What can I do? I'm currently studying Criminal Justice in college so if those factors will stop me, I'd have to change my major and career choice now.

Answer, CHP officer Sarah Jackson:

Find out what's happening in Capitola-Soquelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For CHP and Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office jobs, the rules for those who wear glasses are:

Those who have successfully worn soft contact lenses for 12 months need only pass a 20/20 vision test with their contacts in.
 
For glasses and/or hard contact lens wearers, their vision needs to be 20/40 uncorrected and correctable to 20/20.
 
Every applicant must also pass a color test (for color blindness).

Find out what's happening in Capitola-Soquelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Does that sound fair to you? Should color blind people be allowed to join the police force? Tell us in the comments!


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