Netflix 'Orange Is The New Black' Orange Jail Jumpsuits Too Trendy: Michigan Jail Reverts To Black And White Stripes

Is black and white is the new orange at the Saginaw County Jail in Saginaw, Michigan?  Sheriff William Federspiel thinks so, and is worried about the impact the hit Netflix series, Orange Is The New Black has on popular culture.

Federspiel says, "It's because as you see shows on television, like 'Orange Is The New Black,' some people think it's cool to look like an inmate of the Saginaw County Jail with wearing all-orange jumpsuits out at the mall or in public. It's a concern because we do have our inmates out sometimes doing work in the public, and I don't want anyone to confuse them or have them walk away."

Federspiel says art's gotten a bit too close to life, hence the old school black and white striped uniforms. 

"When the lines get blurred between the culture outside the jail and the culture within the jail," he says, "I have to do something to redefine those boundaries, because they've been blurred far too often in public culture."

Federspiel says he hopes to make the uniform changes ongoing, lest anyone get too comfortable: "It was time to make a change again," Federspiel says. "It's cyclical. And there will come a time in the future when I change back to another color or different attire."

The new colors serve as "just another aspect for how to provide better security for our deputies," Federspiel says.

An the inmates? "They don't like it. They've been very verbal," he says. "A lot of them have said, 'We don't like wearing black-and-white stripes.' And my response is, 'Too bad. Don't come to jail.' If you come to dinner at my house and you don't like what I'm serving, don't come back. If you don't like the food, don't come back. If you don't like the clothes that I give you, don't come back. I didn't ask you to come wear this uniform."

via mlive.com