At the 1963 World Jamboree in Marathon, Greece, Dr. T. Lindsay Baker obtained several International Scouting uniforms. Later, Dr. Baker, who attended that jamboree as a Scout, gifted them to the National Scouting Museum.

A former professor at Tarleton State University (in Stephenville, Tex.), Dr. Baker either collected or traded for the eight uniforms, which date from 1963 to 1976 and represent the United Kingdom, South Africa, Norway, France, Italy, Israel, and Poland. He bought two Polish uniforms in Warsaw in 1976.

Accompanying most of the uniforms are neckerchiefs, hats, belts, and other accessories. The South African uniform (left) includes a hatband and neckerchief slide made from spotted cat skin (a no-no today) and a leather belt. Insignia on the uniform indicate it came from the Cape Midlands region.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office ordered all deputies serving civil and criminal warrants back into uniform in the wake of the newly enacted Right to Resist law.

Previously, deputies were allowed to wear plainclothes when serving warrants.

The change in wardrobe offers deputies a higher degree of visibility, while at the same time, reducing the risk that a homeowner or wanted subject may mistake the law enforcement officer's identity, RTV6's Jack Rinehart reported. 

"We don't want people to mistake us for vigilantes," said Maj. Reggie Roney. “We want them to know that what we're doing is lawful. Our concern is to protect the officer's safety.”

To read the full story, click here

Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha attended recent public events wearing what could be the new police force uniform. It includes a long-sleeve shirt and a tie.

At this time the department is only testing the more formal uniform with the chief and deputy chiefs for now.

"We just want to reserve this for special occasions and ceremonies. So it's not something they're going to use every day out in the sun because that would be too uncomfortable for our officers out there," Kealoha said.

There are plans to have the assistant chiefs wear it along with the rank and file.

Stuff like uniforms, copy paper, and janitorial supplies can be purchased at lower cost, according to a report by City Controller Wendy Greuel (who is running for mayor). Comparisons were made with other large jurisdictions, including Chicago, Detroit, Maricopa County in Arizona, and the state of Massachusetts. Based on a sampling of frequently bought items, Greuel's office found that the city could have saved $700,000. From press release:

Findings show the City paid more for a variety of items. For example, the City purchased specific brand items when less expensive items of similar quality were available. The City also requires delivery of purchases for many items within one or two days after receipt of the order, even if these items are not needed immediately, driving up costs. Additionally, the City purchased specific items as required by warranty, even after the warranty expired.

Much of the purchasing is overseen by the General Services Division, which clearly needs to improve its act. If this were a business, somebody's head would be on the block. But it's not a business - it's a deeply entrenched, often inefficient bureaucracy.

The uniform is primarily white but it also features gold shards, that organisers say are "accenting the energy of the Olympic flame" at the shoulder and neckline.

Several gold shards are used at the elbow to draw attention to the arm while a final shard continues down the cuff and the hand holding the torch.

The torch relay crew and torch security team will also have their own unique uniforms that they will wear when put through their paces as part of the dress rehearsal test event on Friday April 20.

A London organising committee spokesperson said: "The uniform is easy-to-wear and celebrates the important role of the torchbearer.

"The uniforms work well together but clearly distinguish the different roles the wearers have".

Read more: Click here. 

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Any uniforms made for Santa Fe city workers must not come from sweatshops under rule changes adopted by the city.

The City Council last month approved changes to its procurement rules that call for products and services purchased with city funds to be produced in an environment free of sweatshops.

Councilor Ron Trujillo tells the Santa Fe New Mexican ( ) it means the city will be encouraging fair labor standards such as decent wages and working conditions for apparel manufacturers.

It requires that vendors from whom the city purchases goods or services must certify that the goods were made in a manner compliant with wage, health, environmental and safety laws.

Original article posted at necn.com. 

Spotting a policewoman carrying out her duties while clad in a burqa or niqab might strike many living in a western democracy as being bizarre. Yet, incredibly, the Toronto Police Service is actually open to the idea of burqa/niqab-clad police officers if such "reasonable accommodation" helps recruit more Muslim policewomen.

You heard that correctly: we're talking Toronto's police service - not Tehran's.

The back story: last fall, I reported that the Toronto Police had quietly altered its uniform requirements to allow Muslim policewomen to wear the hijab.

Yet again, a public institution appears to be bowing to the tyranny of political correctness - bending over backwards to accommodate certain individuals, some of whom are quite unaccommodating of our cherished western values.

The question arises: What's driving this directive? After all, contrary to popular belief, the Qur'an doesn't mandate Muslim women to wear the hijab.

When my original Toronto Sun column appeared, a spokesman for Deputy Chief Mike Federico said the deputy chief would welcome an opportunity to talk about uniforms. Well, not really. It actually took a few months to get answers. But when I finally got the answers I was looking for, I was left gobsmacked.

For starters, I wanted to know how far the Toronto Police Service would go when it comes to haberdashery accommodation. For example, if a female Muslim police officer were to demand she be allowed to wear a niqab or a burqa on the job, how could such a request possibly be denied given the precedent that's been set with the hijab?

Fire-resistant shirts designed to prevent burn injuries when a firefighters outer uniform fails were sitting in storage last year when five District firefighters were injured during a two-alarm blaze.

The reason the shirts were in storage rather than on firefighters? The clothing didnt have the correct D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services patch, Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe testified at a hearing Wednesday. Ellerbe added that the order was placed before he started his job last January.

There were held because of the logo and its a polo shirt [so its] not a uniform shirt, Ellerbe said at a D.C. Council Judiciary Committee performance hearing.

Photos taken last month and obtained by The Washington Examiner show the uniforms still sitting in storage, and sources say they are from an order placed in October 2010 to be filled by January 2011. In total, 1,750 shirts costing the city $68,250 have been sitting in boxes for more than a year, according to a source who has the procurement order and spoke to The Examiner on the condition of anonymity.

Read more at Firehouse.com. 

RACINE — If you walked into Racine area Pick 'n Save stores recently, you may have noticed your clerk wearing a new look — a black tie and white shirt.

It's a change which started in some Milwaukee area stores last winter, but that took more than a year of negotiations for some union stores such as the Racine area stores on Douglas Avenue, Rapids Drive and Spring Street.

Early last year when Pick 'n Save announced a new dress policy, not all workers were happy about it, according to John Eiden, the president of Workers Union Local 1473, which represents employees at many Pick 'n Save stores.

From there the new dress policy went into negotiation for more than a year, Eiden said. Then, starting at the beginning of last month, the new uniforms officially rolled out here at most Racine stores, although the new store on Durand Avenue and Highway 31 started earlier.

The costs were negotiated as part of the union contracts, but Eiden would not disclose the cost of the uniforms for employees, nor would Vivian King, the director of public affairs for Roundy's, which owns Pick 'n Save.

The new uniforms started in July 2010 in Roundy's Chicago area stores, King said.

Read more at The Journal Times. 

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTW) — Heather Morrison, a deputy in the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, has taken several suspects into custody - cuffing each with pink handcuffs.

The 25-year-old says the pink handcuffs have become her trademark since she was hired in April as the first female road deputy for the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.

"The big guys I take to jail always ask, 'You're going to put pink handcuffs on me?'"

".Yeah, I am," she responds smartly. "They're more upset about wearing pink handcuffs than the fact they're going to jail."

She ordered the handcuffs in pink - her favorite color - to "feminize the uniform."