In the Herald: a perfect mix of the that paper's government, crime and high fashion reporting, all in one throwaway story. The photo is fantastic on so many levels. - via hatless
Inmates earn old stripes
For prisoners with violent records, the Broward County Jail is issuing retro black-and-white uniforms.
BSO OFFICERS: Elizabeth Calzadilla, left, and Veda Coleman-Wright model the new look. JOSHUA PREZANT/FOR THE HERALD
The reliable fashion axiom holds true, even in jail: What's old is new again.
Last week, Broward County inmates rolled out their newest look, black and white horizontal striped jailbird suits, the iconic outfits of Monopoly cards and jailbreak movie nostalgia.
''It's going to be a status symbol before evening,'' said assistant public defender George Reres, only half-jokingly.
Not everyone gets one. Only 85 of Broward County's 5,000 prisoners -- people with violent records or a history of jailhouse scuffling -- are wearing the new, old look, stamped in red block letters with the words "Maximum custody prisoner.''
Don't let that wording fool you. The baddest of the bad wear bold red. Broward prison officials added the black and white suits because they wanted a way to identify second-tier risky inmates, who still pose a strong risk of violence, but aren't quite in the red level.
Most run-of-the-mill inmates in Broward wear solid khaki. In Miami-Dade County, it's charcoal gray. Other colors in the jail uniform pallet can signify a range of situations. For example, juveniles in Miami-Dade adult jail wear UPS brown. Inmates who work in the kitchen in Miami-Dade wear white. Broward prisoners who cut grass or clean parks under supervision wear bright yellow. The list goes on: forest green, navy blue, postal blue. Miami-Dade has no plans to add stripes, though spokeswoman Janelle Hall did sound impressed.
Stripes have made a comeback nationally in the past 10 years, mostly because the vivid lines make inmates easier to spot from guard towers. They're also used for crews that work along the road in some counties because they identify the prisoners for the public. On average, the polyester-cotton blended striped jumpsuits cost about $.50 to $.80 more than their monochrome counterparts, about $14 for standard sizes.
Jail officials do not have the time or the money to let nostalgia come into it, said Pam Hurt, a sales representative for Robinson Textiles in Gardena, Cal., which sells millions of uniforms to jails and prisons around the county, including those in Broward.
Hurt says inmates in Louisiana wear five different striped patterns incorporating black, orange, red, green and blue with a white background. That allows guards instant, easy-to-spot classification information. Nationally, solid orange remains the most popular style, according to Hurt.
Don't try buying one of these outfits to amuse your friends at next month's Halloween party. Manufacturers, concerned a regular Joe in a jail suit could somehow help with an escape, don't usually sell these outfits to the general public.
In addition to practical concerns, bringing back the stripes may be part of a reemergent trend toward humiliating prisoners, said Thomas Blomberg, dean of Florida State University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The symbol creates a psychological effect.
''It separates them,'' Blomberg said. "It's a way of shaming and we've been shaming criminals since colonial society.''
I was telling a while back that I'd like to have some sea dragons. Here's some video of them.
Bodiless Dancer in Flash (has sound)
Inmates earn old stripes
For prisoners with violent records, the Broward County Jail is issuing retro black-and-white uniforms.
BSO OFFICERS: Elizabeth Calzadilla, left, and Veda Coleman-Wright model the new look. JOSHUA PREZANT/FOR THE HERALD
The reliable fashion axiom holds true, even in jail: What's old is new again.
Last week, Broward County inmates rolled out their newest look, black and white horizontal striped jailbird suits, the iconic outfits of Monopoly cards and jailbreak movie nostalgia.
''It's going to be a status symbol before evening,'' said assistant public defender George Reres, only half-jokingly.
Not everyone gets one. Only 85 of Broward County's 5,000 prisoners -- people with violent records or a history of jailhouse scuffling -- are wearing the new, old look, stamped in red block letters with the words "Maximum custody prisoner.''
Don't let that wording fool you. The baddest of the bad wear bold red. Broward prison officials added the black and white suits because they wanted a way to identify second-tier risky inmates, who still pose a strong risk of violence, but aren't quite in the red level.
Most run-of-the-mill inmates in Broward wear solid khaki. In Miami-Dade County, it's charcoal gray. Other colors in the jail uniform pallet can signify a range of situations. For example, juveniles in Miami-Dade adult jail wear UPS brown. Inmates who work in the kitchen in Miami-Dade wear white. Broward prisoners who cut grass or clean parks under supervision wear bright yellow. The list goes on: forest green, navy blue, postal blue. Miami-Dade has no plans to add stripes, though spokeswoman Janelle Hall did sound impressed.
Stripes have made a comeback nationally in the past 10 years, mostly because the vivid lines make inmates easier to spot from guard towers. They're also used for crews that work along the road in some counties because they identify the prisoners for the public. On average, the polyester-cotton blended striped jumpsuits cost about $.50 to $.80 more than their monochrome counterparts, about $14 for standard sizes.
Jail officials do not have the time or the money to let nostalgia come into it, said Pam Hurt, a sales representative for Robinson Textiles in Gardena, Cal., which sells millions of uniforms to jails and prisons around the county, including those in Broward.
Hurt says inmates in Louisiana wear five different striped patterns incorporating black, orange, red, green and blue with a white background. That allows guards instant, easy-to-spot classification information. Nationally, solid orange remains the most popular style, according to Hurt.
Don't try buying one of these outfits to amuse your friends at next month's Halloween party. Manufacturers, concerned a regular Joe in a jail suit could somehow help with an escape, don't usually sell these outfits to the general public.
In addition to practical concerns, bringing back the stripes may be part of a reemergent trend toward humiliating prisoners, said Thomas Blomberg, dean of Florida State University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The symbol creates a psychological effect.
''It separates them,'' Blomberg said. "It's a way of shaming and we've been shaming criminals since colonial society.''
I was telling
Bodiless Dancer in Flash (has sound)
posted by Scottobear at
8:07:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home