SCOTLAND'S prison service is to spend up to £500,000 on new uniforms for its 4,000 staff because their current dress is out of date and militaristic.
The new designs are expected to come into use by the end of this year, following discussion with staff focus groups at which officers and staff said their current uniform was too much like old-fashioned armed forces tunics.
The change of uniform
comes two years after Scotland's police forces radically changed their clothing.
They ditched their ties, jumpers and crease-proof trousers in favour of what was dubbed an American-style garb featuring trendy combat trousers, tight-fitting black T-shirts and zip-up fleeces.
Critics of the new designs have accused police of adopting a "stormtrooper" look and of alienating themselves from the public.
The basic design of the dark blue prison officers' uniforms in Scottish prisons is modelled on military uniforms from the immediate post-1945 era. The 1970s and 1980s saw jumpers added, again based on the armed forces.
The design contract has been awarded to Berkshire-based company de Baer, which has previously won contracts to design uniforms for Eurostar, Gala Casinos and Thistle hotels.
The contract will involve designing uniforms for all staff in the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), including fitness trainers and many officials.
The designers have been told that the uniform must make staff look professional and authoritative.
Derek Turner, assistant Scottish secretary of the Prison Officers' Association, said: "This has been an issue for a number of years now among staff. Many, although it must be said not all, feel that it is too militaristic.
"There are a number of things we are looking for in the new uniform. It has to be hard-wearing and easy to care for, safe in extreme conditions so that it won't melt to your skin in a fire, for example. And contain enough pockets to carry the items officers need."
For top Scottish fashion designers, black is the new black in prison uniform design.
Belinda Dickson, owner of Belinda Robertson Cashmere, came up with a possible design which was drawn up by Laura Sims, one of the company's up-and-coming designers.
The all-black design involves polo-neck cashmere jumpers with loose-fitting trousers.
Dickson said: "I admit that we had some fun with this, but this design manages to be smart and carry authority without being intimidating. And black works well for this kind of uniform. We're keeping it simple and taking away the unnecessary details.
"We have done away with the buttons, which were overbearing and confrontational.
"The conventional uniform is very uncomfortable and as soon as anyone gets home they want to take it off. This is comfortable and moves with you."
She added: "The cashmere gives a softer image. Cashmere on its own might not be hard-wearing enough for a prison, but if we had a cashmere and merino mix, it would be much more suitable."
Top fashion designer Jonathan Saunders said: "If I were looking at designing a uniform for the prison service, I think it would have to be as simple as possible, with the minimum of fussy details or additions.
"If one is trying to design a uniform in order to minimise conflict or confrontation, at least as far as you can with a uniform, then colour and design are important.
"You would want to make it as similar as possible to clothes worn by inmates, so as to minimise the 'them and us' mentality, and probably then use a different colour so you can tell who the staff are.
"In terms of being taken seriously, wearing black really works."
A spokesman for the SPS confirmed that the contract had been awarded at between "£51,000 and £79,000", and that there was an extra cost to make the garments of about £100 per member of staff. This brings the overall cost up to about £500,000, which is "not far from the mark".
He said: "This issue has been under consideration for a considerable time and we look forward to working with the designers.
"We are aiming for a design that is practical and that gives the SPS a professional look for the future.
"It's worth bearing in mind that this money would be spent anyway on uniforms of the current pattern, even if we did not get a new design."
The full article contains 744 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
