Blue is the new green

From the middle of this year, the familiar sight of the khaki-clad corrections officer will disappear. Corrections’ custodial staff will be wearing smart new blue uniforms designed to cater to their many and varied duties.

The new uniform will be more comfortable, practical and professional, while the colour – steel blue – has been specifically chosen to align Corrections more closely with the wider justice sector including police, the fire service and customs.

Ironically, the khaki uniform was originally introduced in 1977 after New Zealand Police changed to a blue uniform and claimed exclusive rights to that colour.

Blue uniforms for prison guards date right back to the early decades of New Zealand’s colonial history.

In 1855 New Zealand stopped sentencing offenders to penal servitude and transporting them to Australia. This led to us building and staffing our own prisons, and with staff came the need for a uniform.

Like the guards themselves, many of the uniforms were ex-military. At larger gaols they wore a militia dark blue hat, tunic, trousers and braces, while staff in smaller gaols were often provided with little more than a hat!

In 1881 Inspector of Prisons Captain Arthur Hume was tasked with unifying the prisons, which had been run separately in each province. As Hume also served as Commissioner of Police and head of the New Zealand Home Defence Forces, it comes as no surprise that he decided to use the same dark blue/black fabric to make uniforms for all the services. Hume’s dark blue/black greatcoat, tunic, trousers, blue shirt (with separate collar) and buckle belt formed the basis of prison uniforms for more than 80 years.

The khaki uniform made its debut after the second world war when prison officers supervising work parties and borstal trade training wore green uniforms made from surplus ex-army material. Staff received two uniforms, the dress blue for custodial duties and khaki for work parties. When the uniform needed to be changed in 1977, it made sense to go with the khaki as it was already in use.

With history coming full-circle, the blue uniform is back.

There are two uniform types: a more casual residential uniform for prison staff whose duties are mainly unit-based and who deal with prisoners on a daily basis, and a formal non-residential uniform for those who deal with outside agencies and the general public on a daily basis.

Managers will wear the non-residential uniform to strengthen the bond and identity across Prison Services.