Too Sexy For Prison

No, this is not a Bernie Maddoff story.  This story is from the UK.  Apparently a young prison guard is out of a job because she was “too pretty”.  In our sexist society, it seems that young women face discrimination for not being glamorous enough.  Here we have the opposite taking place.

Amitjo Kajla is demanding compensation claiming that she was hounded out of her job by repeated criticism for being ‘too sexy’ and ‘glammed up’. (The Daily Mail says she’s 22, but the BBC says she’s 27).

The five foot tall officer told an employment tribunal how colleagues complained that she wore too much make-up and that her clothing was more revealing than the standard-issue uniform, which had to be adapted to her tiny size-four frame.

One young inmate told her: ‘Miss, you look sexy’, prompting colleagues to warn the officer that her glamorous appearance left her at risk of being dragged into a cell.

First off was she able to perform the job?  I’m assuming corralling prisoners. Wielding a baton.  Being cool under pressure, all that stuff the seems to be shown in movies and TV about prison.  If so… her superiors complaining about her looks is ridiculous.  There are other women working as guards… they just aren’t as easy on the eyes.  So they complained!?

Philippa Maddox, a prison officer who took induction with Miss Kajla, said the 27-year-old did not follow advice regarding hair and make-up and claimed the uniform she wore was “snugly fitted”.  She said: “Miss Kajla would go and talk to the lads. She lacked boundaries and assertiveness with the prisoners.”

From the details at the employment hearing it seemed that Kajla was trying to fit in with her annoyed colleagues:

Despite writing in her diary: ‘Make-up is me, I don’t want to change me’, she bought lighter shades of lipstick and other make-up to comply with the rules.

Adam Farrer, for the prison service, suggested that going to work ‘glammed up’ was not appropriate and that she was seen by inmates as a ‘soft touch’. But Miss Kajla replied that she had been taught to take pride in her appearance.

They threw in that she was too friendly with the inmates.  OK, that could be problem.  Why not just reprimand her.  Write her up for an actual violation of policy, rather than all this hearsay and non-sense about her tight fitting uniform.

Don’t worry Amitjo.  Come on out to California, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is, “Looking for a few good women.”  They have a huge outdoor ad campaign.  Parts of it are running at Dodger Stadium.

This is just one of the marketing efforts by the department to recruit more female officers. In an economy that’s still shedding jobs, the agency is proactively hiring deputies.  A year ago, the department set a goal to reach a 20.11 percent threshold of female deputies of the 10,016 sworn personnel, according to its website. The agency now counts 16.65 percent sworn female personnel.

Head west, young woman!