Dreadlocked prison officer sidelined over hairstyle

A Dunedin prison officer, who has been stood down from his normal duties because of his hairstyle, plans to take a personal grievance case against the Corrections Department.

Brian Davies, a spokesman for the prison officers' union, Canz, says the officer was told by management last week that he would be stood down from court and escort duties, and was barred from having any contact with the public until his offending "dreadlocks" had been shorn.

"His hairstyle is quite normal - he has just taken three strands at the back about three inches long and plaited them," Mr Davies said .

"But apparently that's unacceptable because it will set a terrible precedent in terms of the image it portrays to the public."

Originally the long-serving officer was instructed to go home and have his hair cut forthwith, but management was forced to rescind that order when they discovered there was no national policy stipulating hairstyle.

With 3000 prison officers nationwide, both male and female, sporting a variety of hairstyles, it was "absolutely bizarre" for one manager to single out one officer in one of the smallest institutions in the country, Mr Davies said.

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that long hair doesn't appear overnight.

"This is a long-serving prison officer with long-serving long hair - he's just changed the style slightly.

"We have a member of parliament with dreads down to his waist, but he's a member of ruling classes and that doesn't seem to pose a problem."

Mr Davies said the situation was "ridiculous and discriminatory" and the union was prepared to take the matter to the Employment Relations Authority if necessary.

A spokeswoman for Corrections said the officer in question had only been stood down from some duties but his entitlements remained unaffected.

Meanwhile, the department was looking into the broader issue of appearance standards, which were "vague" at present.

- NZPA