White uniforms?

[FireEMSPolice]

I usually pre-treat the crap out of the shirt with Shout and scrub the stained/dirty areas. Then I put them in the washer and add liquid Tide and this stuff called Borax. Borax enhances the detergent. Seems to work well aside from dry cleaning, which can be costly.

[Securitysteve]

My company has use wear white shirts and slate grey pants with black striping. I use oxyclean with laundry detergent, keeps the clothes looking bright.

[FireEMSPolice]

Picking colors about what the shirt should be is out of my hands and its not good to be confused with the local police. It is funny to see somone giving the LEO some crap thinking he mall security and the apologies that follow once they find this out. Anyway, our uniforms match the police uniforms exactly, only the police's black pants have a black or nayvy stripe down the sides, our pants are solid black.

At least we dont have to wear the campaign hats anymore (except for certain events). Talk about uncomfortable and unsanitary. It would be different if we had a practical hat and everyone got their own. Nope. Instead you inherit someone else's sweat and whatever else on the inside of the hat. Thats for a different topic.

My last security job we wore all black. We fared just fine

[SecTrainer]

A uniform is more than a shirt...to avoid looking like your local police, the pants could be a different color than the ones worn by the police and that might help.

There are arguments to be made on both sides of the question of whether security uniforms should closely mimic those of the police, but aside from the local legalities which may prohibit such, I think it's usually best to adopt a truly sharp uniform that is not "police-like" in terms of colors. Among the biggest reasons for this is that it *instantly* improves police/security relations (this just seems to be a big hair up some cops' butts for some reason - I never cared, personally, when I was a cop), and a second big reason is that it lets both police and citizens easily identify you and your role when a "situation" involving the cops is going down on or near the property you protect.

This can prove challenging in areas where there are lots of departments all wearing different garb, but there are enough very attractive combinations of shirt/pants that it can usually be accomplished. Navy shirt with one of the lighter shades of tan trousers (with or without a thin navy stripe), for instance, is not a combination that is commonly used by the police and can be very sharp looking by picking just the right shades AND top-drawer materials - which will repay you by improved wear and lower maintenance costs. I do know of a sheriff's department that wears this navy/tan combo, but there aren't many.

Oh, and here's my rant for the day: BASEBALL CAPS LOOK TOTALLY DORKY AND UNPROFESSIONAL, whether on the police OR on security officers. I loathe baseball caps. How in the hell did that ever get started? Trust me on this...they are NOT "cool" on cops or security officers and make you look like anything but a professional. Yeah, I know they're cheap...and they look like it, too. We have to remember that our officers are our BILLBOARDS and they "advertise" us to every solitary person who sees them merely by their appearance. This is absolutely critical, but lots of agency owners seem clueless and "cheap" is all they can think about.

...and "SWAT" style uniforms with bloused BDUs, IMHO, are only appropriate in certain high-security venues. Otherwise, they convey a very negative image to the public.

[exguard]

In Philadelphia the Police wear Blue Shirts and Darker Navy Pants - So we're never confused with them.

In the Refinery we are required to wear Nomex in all operating areas - Our Uniforms as well as jackets are nomex. In the Winter we're in a black two piece uniform or cover-alls if we choose. I perfer the cover-alls in the winter wearing them over my street clothes simply helps out with that river chill that comes with being outside most of the day and night.

In the Summer Months {May to end of October} we're in a two piece Tan Nomex Uniform. We're required to be in long sleeves all year 'round so the lighter weight tan makes it a little more bearable in the heat {especially in a refinery which is steamy, hot, and often stinks} Thank-God we have A/C in our trucks.

It's worse to get an Emergency Response Call for a Fire, rescue or Leak in the Summer. - Compound the Nomex Uniform and full Firefighting gear that we wear and you'll be hot. The Tans do show stains a little more -

[FireEMSPolice]

Oh, wow. Feel for them, too, then.

I do, but I bet they City pays for their uniforms and has a cleaning program (dry cleaning for example) in place. We dont.

[N. A. Corbier]

Oh, wow. Feel for them, too, then.

[FireEMSPolice]

White is the uniform color of the local police. That the other problem. Constantly being confused with them. Couldn't a black uniform accomplish the same task as far as being visible? Where can the 3M stuff be purchased?

[N. A. Corbier]

White is highly visible, and the color of purity.

Grab some 3M StainGuard spray or wash, and stainguard the crap out of your shirts. I used to wear white uniform shirts. I hated it.

Also, with the police having went to navy blue, most guard companies and clients believe white "doesn't look like the police."

[FireEMSPolice]

What is it with mall security and white uniforms? Its this way in most malls I have been to (including my own) and they look awful. I only have 3 shirts (paid for them out of my own pocket since most of ours look grey or awful). After 1 or 2 days, they look like I came out of a factory or something. How do they expect us to look professional? Is there anything I can do?