Walla Walla Correctional Officer John T. Christy does not carry a gun.

Like all correctional officers, he has a set of steel handcuffs, several plastic zip-tie cuffs and a radio. But officers need another important tool to gain respect from inmates, Christy said.

A good uniform.

After several state correctional officers brought complaints about their uniforms to the House Committee on Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the committee unanimously supported a bill Friday to allow the Department of Corrections to buy uniforms from private companies instead of ones made by prisoners.

Correctional Industries employs more than 100 inmates and eight staff for the production of uniforms at the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell.