January 12

Concerning your question as to whether Baha’is may join the police force of a country where this force bears arms, there is in general no objection to Baha’is volunteering to serve in the police force. However, police forces vary considerably from country to country, and according to local situations, and conditions can change from time to time. Therefore the House of Justice feels that under current world conditions no hard and fast rules can be laid down, and if the friends have a strong desire to participate in law enforcement they should in such matters come to their own conclusions. (From a letter dated 14 February 1984 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; published in Baha’i Studies Bulletin, 3.4, December 1995)