Prison uniform

Striped prison uniform, contemporary design as used in the United States and other countries

Inmates outfitted in common present-day prison uniforms (gray-white), US

Blue prison uniforms in 1970s Vietnam (museum exhibit)

Prison uniforms, India (museum exhibit)

A prison uniform is the standardized clothes worn by prisoners. It usually includes visually distinct clothes worn to indicate the wearer is a prisoner, in clear distinction from civil clothing.

A prison uniform serves the purpose to make prisoners instantly identifiable, to limit risks through concealed objects and to prevent injuries through undesignated clothing objects. It can also spoil attempts of escape as prison uniforms typically use a design and color scheme that is easily noticed and identified even at a greater distance.

The state of wearing a prison uniform in many cases provokes a distressful psychological response from the detained person, as unlike civilian clothes it is worn involuntarily, typically reluctant and is often perceived as stigmatizing. The imperative regulation of a person's outward appearance is typically perceived as a steep invasion into the autonomy of decision. As a consequence the loss of individuality particularly caused by having to wear a prison uniform can have a detrimental effect to a person's self-perception and self-esteem. Therefore, a prison uniform is often perceived as an implicit element of punishment and a stigma, while the level of psychological distress and humiliation caused by the garment is in large part determined by its characteristic and overall design.

However, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners first adopted in 1955 and amended in 2015 as "Mandela Rules" prohibit degrading or humiliating clothing, requiring in Rule 19 that:

1. Every prisoner who is not allowed to wear his or her own clothing shall be provided with an outfit of clothing suitable for the climate and adequate to keep him or her good health. Such clothing shall in no manner be degrading or humiliating.
2. All clothing shall be clean and kept in proper condition. Underclothing shall be changed and washed as often as necessary for the maintenance of hygiene.
3. In exceptional circumstances, whenever a prisoner is removed outside the prison for an authorized purpose, he or she shall be allowed to wear his or her own clothing or other inconspicuous clothing.^[1]

Using some manifestation of a prison uniform for incarcerated individuals has become the standard within the penal system of most countries. Some facilities may however not issue designated uniform garments to the inmates as such. Primarily depending on the economical conditions a unified dress code is sometimes specified in facilities of different countries, which typically includes confiscating and withholding certain items of otherwise standard clothing. This way the required distinctive appearance to tell inmates apart from regular civilians is obtained in a similar way to uniform garments. This commonly occurs for financial reasons, as this option is naturally free of cost.

Early prison uniforms[]

Female prisoner in courtroom,
19th century Wales (museum exhibit)

Prisoners in bare feet next to shod visitors. Cornelis de Wael; Italy c. 1640

During the Victorian era when prison sentences of prolonged durance were implemented in the judicial system of several countries, actual garments were conceived to be worn specifically by prison inmates, which developed to the various types of prison uniforms presently in use.^[2]

Prison uniform by nation[]

Dutch Jews wearing vertically striped uniforms at the Buchenwald concentration camp during World War II.

British prison uniform, 19th century

Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst wearing British prison uniforms stamped with the broad arrow

Prisoners in Utah c.1885 wearing the horizontally-striped prison uniforms devised at Auburn Prison.

Blue uniforms in a 1970s women's prison in Vietnam (museum exhibits)

Blue-grey striped uniforms for female prisoners at the Auschwitz concentration camp

Poland[]

While prison uniforms are used for both convicts and detainees, they are not compulsory. The policies are similar to those in Germany. Some prisons do not use them at all, some prisons use them only for some inmates (depending on conviction of crime or behavior), and some prisons make uniforms compulsory. Minimum security prisons are encouraged to not use prison uniforms and maximum security prisons are encouraged to use them, however this all varies a some inmates incarcerated for small crimes do wear uniforms and some inmates incarcerated for serious crimes do not wear them. Uniforms are almost always and even possibly always worn on top of civilian clothes. Usually on all security levels the uniform is a green button down jacket worn on top of civilian clothes with green jacket pants but some inmates in maximum security prisons and non-serious criminals who are badly misbehaved sometimes wear orange or red instead of green. ^[3][4][5]

Germany[]

During the Nazi period of Germany, interned people in the concentration camp system were often made to wear prisoner's uniforms. In today's Germany, inmates may wear regular civilian clothing in some prisons. In other prisons clothing issued by the prison is compulsory. If a prisoner cannot afford to have his own clothing cleaned and/or replaced, they may be issued with clothing. There are also facilities with no prison uniforms.^[6][7]

The prison uniforms are officially referred to as Anstaltskleidung (literally: “institutional clothing”), not as “uniforms”. They are usually similar to the type of clothing generally worn for manual work, and not necessarily recognizable as prison clothing. When prisoners are allowed to temporarily leave prison, they may generally wear private clothing to avoid being recognized as prisoners.^[8]

United Kingdom[]

19th century[]

In the United Kingdom, prison uniforms formerly consisted of a white jacket, trousers and pillbox hat, all stamped with the broad arrow to denote crown property. The idea of covering the uniforms of Penal Servitude prisoners with the broad arrow was first introduced by Sir Edmund Du Cane in the 1870s after his appointment as Chairman of Convict Directors and Surveyor-General of Prisons. Du Cane considered the broad arrow to be a hindrance to escape and also a mark of shame. It was certainly unpopular with the convicts. “All over the whole clothing were hideous black impressions of the Broad Arrow”, wrote one prisoner.^[9] Another considered the “hideous dress” to be “the most extraordinary garb I had ever seen outside a pantomime”.^[10] Men sent to public-works prisons were issued with boots. One prisoner, Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, left this description: “Fully fourteen pounds in weight. I put them on and the weight of them served to fasten me to the ground. It was not that alone, but the sight of the impression they left on the gutter as you looked at the footprints of those who walked before you, struck terror to your heart. There was the felon’s brand of the ‘broad arrow’ impressed on the soil by every footstep…the nails in the soles of your boots and shoes were hammered in an arrow shape, so that whatever ground you trod you left traces that Government property had travelled over it.”^[11] The broad arrow markings were used until 1922.^[12]

21st century[]

Currently prisoners are clothed in a standard issue prison uniform, which consists of a blue t-shirt, a grey jumper (sweater), and grey soft trousers (jogging bottoms/pants). All male prisoners must wear the uniform during the first two weeks of their sentence,^[13] and are then entitled to wear some of their own clothes if they choose to after obtaining a higher enhanced reward level, for doing things such as performing their prison chores and keeping good behavior, etc. This does not include dangerous criminals, usually those held in Category A maximum security prisons, who are assessed as having a high escape attempt risk; they are required to wear yellow and green boiler suits with the words 'HM PRISON' ('HM' standing for His/Her Majesty) printed on the back in black capital lettering on a permanent basis whilst in custody. This uniform is known as an "Escape list suit". Such prisoners are also handcuffed and sometimes fitted with a leather belly chain when moved outside of prison to places such as court buildings. Remanded prisoners in the UK who have not yet been sentenced may wear their own clothing.^[14] Prisoners in Category D open prisons can also wear their own clothing to prepare them for their eventual release, but not anything that resembles a prison officer's uniform. All non-prison issue personal clothing sent in must be approved before it can be used by prisoners.

Although female prisoners are not subject to the same rules and do not have to wear uniform under government legislation, individual female prisons are able to set their own regulations regarding uniforms.^[15] Many female prisons still stock prison issue clothing items similar to those worn by male prisoners for women who don't have clothing of their own, and have regulations regarding what items of clothing can and cannot be worn are similar to those upheld by male prisons.^[16]

United States[]

To make escape more difficult, prison uniforms in the United States often consist of a distinctive orange jumpsuit or set of scrubs with a white T-shirt underneath, as it is difficult for an escaped inmate to avoid recognition and recapture in such distinctive attire. Originally a horizontal white and black bee-striped uniform and hat was used.

Striped prison uniforms commonly used in the 19th century (the Auburn system) began to be abolished in parts of the United States early in the 20th century because their continued use as a badge of shame was considered undesirable.^[17]

Throughout most of the twentieth century, attitudes were different towards philosophies of rehabilitation. Fair treatment of prisoners and a growing number of non-violent, working-class offenders prompted such a change in attitudes, and clothing and conditions changed to serve the concept of rehabilitation rather than punishment. As a result, work clothes were introduced, perhaps because of the concept of honest labor helping to turn an inmate into an honest citizen. Blue jeans and light blue denim or chambray work shirts became the norm, a tradition still followed in some state prison systems today. In federal prisons, this concept was introduced in the form of khaki pants and shirts, still in use.

Near the end of the 20th century, first orange jumpsuits, then orange scrubs, became commonplace.^[18] In many cases, prison uniforms are better suited to the comfort and durability required for long term inmates, and these new uniforms are used mostly in local jails for short term inmates and offenders awaiting trial or transportation to a more permanent facility. Striped uniforms, in general, have made a significant comeback into the jail and prison system for a variety of reasons, such as mistaking jumpsuit-clad workers as inmates. False reporting of people in similar clothing has become a problem in some counties, so many have switched back to using striped uniforms (mostly orange and white) due to the unambiguous nature of these garments being associated with inmates.^[19]

In July 2014, because the popular television program Orange Is the New Black was making the orange jumpsuits of his prison fashionable, Saginaw County, Michigan Sheriff William Federspiel decided to replace them with traditional black-and-white-striped uniforms.^[20]

Color designations[]

Different color designations are commonly used to indicate the status of the inmate.^[21] The uniforms may be in plain colors or horizontally striped.

In some cases the following color code is used:

• Dark red: supermax, or "worst of the worst"
• Red: high-risk
• Khaki or Yellow: low-risk
• White: segregation unit or in specific cases, death row inmates
• Green or blue: low-risk inmates on work detail (e.g. kitchen, cleaning, laundry, mail, or other tasks)
• Orange: unspecific, commonly used for any status in some prisons
• Black/Orange and White stripes: unspecific, commonly used for any status in some prisons
• Pink: used for special punishment in some prisons

Other countries[]

In Finland, inmates wear prison uniforms, unless they receive a special permission to use some of their own for sports training. Prison uniforms are red and grey.^[22]

In South Korea prison uniforms are also compulsory, often using a khaki color scheme.^[23]

See also[]

• Prison officer
• Prisoner's rights
• Detention (imprisonment)
• Straitjacket
• Physical restraints
• Barefoot

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prisoner uniforms.