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ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 23409 • Posted: Friday April 17, 2009  

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Force is strong for Jedi police

Eight police officers serving with Scotland’s largest force listed their official religion as Jedi in voluntary diversity forms, it has emerged.

Strathclyde Police said the officers and two of its civilian staff claimed to follow the faith, which features in the Star Wars movies.

The details were obtained in a Freedom of Information request by Jane’s Police Review.

Strathclyde was the only force in the UK to admit it had Jedi officers.

In the Star Wars films, Jedi Knights such as Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda use the Force to battle the evil Darth Vader, who has strayed to the dark side.
[...]

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police confirmed: “At the time of the request, 10 (eight police officers and two police staff) had recorded their religion as Jedi.”
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About 390,000 people listed their religion as Jedi in the 2001 Census for England and Wales. In Scotland the figure was a reported 14,000.

The Office for National Statistics did not recognise it as a separate category, and incorporated followers of Jedi with atheists.

Last year, brothers Barney and Daniel Jones founded the UK Church of the Jedi – which offered sermons on the Force, light sabre training, and meditation techniques.
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One Strathclyde officer , who did not want to be named, said: “We do see ourselves as the good guys fighting crime, but it’s hardly in the same league as Luke Skywalker battling Darth Vader is it?

“Most of the time, we just give people a caution rather than fight off hordes of stormtroopers with lasers and lightsabers.

” As long as they don’t try to start using ‘ the force’ to try to solve crimes, I’msure it’s harmless.”

Chris Herbert, editor of Jane’s Police Review, said: ” The force appears to be strong in Strathclyde Police. Criminals should be quaking in their boots.”

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