Show A 14 The Salt Lake Tribune NATION Thursday January 1 1998 California Prisons: Spare the Razor Spoil the Inmates BY JEFF KRAMER ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER SANTA ANA Calif California state prisoners are being ordered to clean up their act Handlebar mustaches: banned Pony tails: banned Body piercing: Dont even think about it Amid debate about whether such prohibitions will enhance prison security or make prisoners more dangerous California quietly is implementing tough new grooming standards for inmates 4000 of whom were sporting new haircuts in time for the holidays The regulations limit hair length in male prisoners to 3 inches fix fingernail length at inch beyond the fingertip and take the guesswork out of growing a mustache "Inmates' mustaches the regulations ordain must extend to the corners of the mouth but cannot extend more than Vi of an inch beyond the corners and whiskers cannot be longer than the top of the upper lip ones beard is akin to asking a Jew not to wear a skull cap or asking a Christian not to wear a cross Muzammil Siddiqi religious director of Islamic Society of Orange County Calif said Siddiqi said he recently received a letter from an inmate complaining about the policy Similarly the Sikh religion a sect of Hinduism prohibits the cutting of body hair and some American Indian tribes attribute religious or cultural significance to hair growth More than 5000 Muslims roughly 2000 American Indians and a small but unknown number of Sikhs reside in the states 33 prisons officials estimate And while they stress that no inmate will be forced to cut his hair they also acknowledge that anyone who doesnt conform is subject to disciplinary write-up- s loss of credit for good behavior or other negative consequences We feel that at this stage public safety outweighs the issue of religious freedom said May the corrections-departmespokeswoman We will be looking for ways to accommodate individual religious practices without com promising our procedures May noted that an American Indian prisoner was allowed to mail his shorn hair home to relatives as a compromise In June a legal obstacle to prison grooming standards fell when the US Supreme Court overturned the Religious Freedom Restoration Act The law had made it harder for government to interfere with how Americans practice their religion Now as the new rules go into effect throughout the prison system corrections officials and inmate advocates disagree on virtu grooming standards will improve hygiene but critics say increased in chronic sharing of razors will short supply in prisons speed up the of spread hepatitis C among prisoners Corrections officials say the regulations will make it easier to but oppoidentify prisoners nents suggest the opposite will be true once all inmates have the same hairstyle And while officials say the rules will promote discipline detractors predict more disruptions by angry prisoners Corrections officials have until March to modify the regulations but alterations seem unlikely What were hearing from the camps is that almost every single inmate is complying May said ally every aspect of them Opponents say the rules will trigger thousands of expensive inmate lawsuits against the state and further drive up costs by keeping noncompliant inmates in prison longer The Prisoners Rights Union a Sacramento Calif-base- d advocacy group estimates the added cost in razors alone at $7 million to $14 million a year I cant imagine that figure having any basis in reality May responded There are other points of contention Prison officials say the stricter one-quart- No Gaudy Colors: Female prisoners are being told to board the grooming bus as well They can wear makeup but not flamboyant or gaudy colors or false eyelashes Who will be the arbiter of what constitutes gaudy? Most likely it will be the corrections officer that supervises them" said department spokeswoman Christine May If the inmate wants to contest that they can go through the appeals process Corrections officials issued the standards as emergency regulations in October They were imposed this month on 4000 low-risprisoners and are expected to be in force throughout the states 155000-membe- r prison population by spring The regulations are mainly designed to promote public safety k May said "Last weekend we had an inmate who was described as looking like Santa Claus The day before he walked away from his minimum-securitfacility he shaved his beard and cut his hair So none of the mug shots we have of him reflects his current apy pearance" A similar escape last January at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility east of San Diego also underscored the need for grooming standards May added Critics accuse the department of exaggerating safety concerns Describing the new rules as part of a systematic effort by Gov Pete Wilsons administration to subvert inmate rights they note that during the past three years the state has curtailed prison recreational and education programs banned media interviews and restricted overnight family visits VI it SvncIlRAM Expandable To rhMB HiB Hard Drive l(i Maximum CD ROM lime H bl-- t tkbps l)aliTix Modem I pgradable To IMB F1K) Video Memorv I pgradable To 2MB self-identi- 1339 s300 1039 11' 2 SCvKbps -- 40 999 00 Platinum Service Plan $120 ALL OPEN BOX DESKTOP COMPUTERS Selections And Quantities ' Vary By Store 121 High Contrast Dual Scan Color Display Processor Upgradable To 2 33 MHz Pentium Processor Wuh MMX" Technology 1 4GB Hard Drive 200mh mntum PROCESSOR !66mhz PENTIUM PROCESSOR With MHz 11 Or 1 ITEM 199 rf WLfiM 166mh MS With MMX" Technology EPSON hi "laJn 92 Um 1 Rebate Per Household HUG! 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