CLIP JOB IN STORE FOR CONVICTS; STATE'S INMATES TO LOSE BEARDS, LONG HAIR, HITLER MUSTACHES.

Byline: Andy Furillo Scripps-McClatchy Western Service

The new prison dress code is out, and this winter, the male inmates are going to have to lose the ``Hitler-type'' mustaches.

Same with the false eyelashes and body piercing.

Hair will be shorter, and beards must come off. But the state doesn't want to see its female inmates ``masculinized,'' the code says, so they'll still get to wear earrings, clear nail polish and some makeup.

Scheduled for a public hearing Dec. 12, the proposed grooming standards for the Department of Corrections boil down to the issues of ``safety and security,'' said agency spokeswoman Christine May.

``If inmates are allowed to have facial hair or long hair and then they escape, then they can readily change their appearance,'' she said. ``So the idea is, if they do escape, we will be able to recognize them more readily.''

Another reason for the new rules, May said, is for increased ``discipline and good order'' in the state's 33 prisons.

Prisoners rights activists take issue with the proposed regulations.

``They're dehumanizing,'' said Gail Wisely, president and founder of Family Net, a statewide support group for people with relatives in prison. ``It's a pseudo-militaristic kind of move to make them all look identical. It has nothing to do with public safety.''

Wisely said the proposed regulations, along with a series of other restrictions on inmates' rights and privileges during the past two years, could heighten tensions inside the already overcrowded prison system.

If the rules are approved next month, as expected, prisoners no longer will be allowed to ``cut, shave, dye or paint lettering or any type of symbols on their hair or scalp.''

``They may not use their hair or scalp as an advertisement of gang or political affiliations,'' the proposal says.

Prisoners ``may not possess wigs or hairpieces'' unless medically necessary. Men's hair must be trimmed to 3 inches or less. Women can go longer, but their hair must be kept up, ``in a neat, plain style, which does not draw undue attention to the inmate.'' Beads are forbidden.

``The department contends that implementing different grooming standards for women and men is reasonable because of the physical differences, psychological differences and behavioral differences,'' the proposal says.

``The department . . . does not want female inmates to be `defeminized' or `masculinized' by completely disallowing long hair or makeup,'' it says.

Mustaches can run no shorter or longer than a quarter-inch from the corner of the mouth. ``This will prevent handlebar mustaches or mustaches that connect to sideburns, and also prevent `Hitler- type' mustaches,'' according to the proposed rules. Sideburns are to be trimmed to mid-ear.

Fingernails must be cut to less than a quarter-inch in length ``to reduce the incidence of scratching other inmates or . . . staff.'' Clear nail polish for women prisoners ``will allow them to maintain a nice appearance'' while not allowing them to hide anything underneath.

New regulations barring body piercing ``prohibit male inmates from possessing or wearing earrings,'' the rules say. ``This is necessary because ears or other parts of the body can be injured if the earrings are ripped out during an altercation.'' Moreover, ``the department does not want flamboyant advertisements of one's sexual preference.''

Women, however, can ``wear one institutionally authorized earring in each ear.'' The female prisoner also can apply cosmetics ``that enhance her looks,'' but ``gaudy colors and false eyelashes will not be allowed.''

Inmates who refuse to comply with the new dress code could lose good-behavior credits that shorten their sentences.