The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has taken a step back in time, at least in terms of inmate fashion. The sheriff's office has reintroduced black-and-white striped uniforms for inmates, a style reminiscent of an era long gone. The move, said to be a security measure, signals the end of the orange and pink outfits previously worn. As per FOX 10 Phoenix, the decision was made to help differentiate Maricopa County inmates from those of the State Department of Corrections when outside jail premises.
"Recently we’ve had incidents where we’ve been out with inmates in public settings such as the hospital or other places and our inmates are confused with State Department of Corrections or other inmates," MCSO Deputy Chief Brent Williams explained. Williams detailed that the transition began in the summertime, but the uniforms were not received until the previous month, and deployment happened only this week. Marking a shift in jail attire protocol since shortly after former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's exit in 2017, when the stripes were originally shelved.
Nearly 7,000 inmates are now clad in the "classic, timeless" design, and while the black-and-white theme is not any more costly than the former orange ones, the visuals intend to leave a distinct impression. "If I’m driving down the road and I see someone walking down the road in an orange shirt, I’m not really thinking that much," Williams said in a statement. "I see someone in black-and-white stripes and it’s not close to Halloween, I might think a little differently." The message appears crystal clear, the stripes are meant to signal something specific: incarceration.
In a mock newscast about the uniform update, spokesperson Chris Hegstrom introduced the change with a touch of levity. "Orange is officially out. That’s right. MCSO is transitioning inmate uniforms from orange to stripes. Officials describe the look as classic, timeless and still very much jail," Hegstrom said in the video posted on both Facebook and Instagram. This nostalgic return to the black-and-white striped attire was a decision made during the tenure of Jerry Sheridan, Arpaio's former chief deputy and the current sheriff, as highlighted by KJZZ.
While the sheriff's office states that this choice of uniform does not incur additional costs, as they are part of the same contract with the supplier, specific figures regarding the expense were not disclosed. The effort to prevent any mix-ups with other inmates appears paramount, though, and the stripes are set to be a non-negotiable part of the jail experience in Maricopa County for the foreseeable future.
