Every once and a while we hear about some scratcher being busted, but when this happens it’s typically because they went too far over the line and were caught tattooing minors or forcing a tattoo on someone or something equally messed up as that. Today after reading this news article from Dubai, I started trying to think back to the last time when people were arrested and charged simply for being scratchers – that is for existing as scratchers, regardless of how old and willing the people they were tattooing were. I may be completely wrong here, but I can’t remember ever hearing about someone being arrested and charged for being a scratcher.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the kind of person who thinks that as a rule we’re too soft on criminals and that the justice system needs to be stricter and all that. I’m just the kind of person who thinks that only professionals should tattoo and that professionals should be treated as such in the eyes of the law. By that I mean that it’s more a sign of respect towards a tattooist than anything else to have laws in place that ensure they require a license and are doing the job that only a qualified tattooist can do.
That’s why I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but Dubai seems to have the right idea in dealing with scratchers. Stop them rather than tolerate them and you’re making a cleaner, safer and more respected society not just for the tattooists, but for the people who wear tattoos.
‘Al Merri said, “The police raided the place and found that the four men were applying tattoos and piercing earrings and metal ornaments on different places of the body for amounts ranging from Dhs500-1,000, as per the selected paintings. This they did without having a licence from the competent authorities.”
“The police nabbed four men, TK, SB, AT, and KT all of Filipino nationality, and some customers. The apartment was found to be very dirty with needles, razors, blood-stained cotton and gauze swabs scattered everywhere. All the used instruments were found to be very dangerous and capable of easily transmitting serious infectious diseases.”’
I don’t know about you, but I cringed when I read that description of the apartment and its disgusting instruments. But there you go, the authorities stepped in and flexed their muscles a little, sending out a strong message that unlicensed, illegal tattooing will not be permitted. I think it’s time that we did the same over on this side of the world as well.