New York City’s jail oversight board plans to eliminate the word “inmate” from its regulations, replacing it with “people in custody” more than 300 times after social justice advocates labeled the traditional term derogatory.
Board Overhauls Language Standards
The Board of Correction proposed the sweeping rule change affecting Chapters 2 and 3 of its Minimum Standards, completing an initiative that began in 2021. The board committed to “person-first language” throughout its official communications and regulatory framework, targeting terms criminal justice advocates argue dehumanize incarcerated individuals. The proposed amendments systematically swap “inmate” and “inmates” for phrases like “person in custody” and “people in custody” across hundreds of regulatory provisions governing municipal jail operations.
Board officials justified the language overhaul as continuing a “vital effort” to reshape how the city’s correctional system refers to individuals detained in facilities including the Rikers Island complex. The changes follow mounting pressure from advocacy groups claiming traditional correctional terminology perpetuates stigma and prevents successful reintegration into society after release.
State Already Made The Switch
Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation in 2022 eliminating “inmate” from state law entirely, replacing it with “incarcerated individual.” The governor’s office declared that terms including “felon,” “prisoner,” and “convict” dehumanize people and perpetuate permanent demonization of those caught in the criminal justice system. The New York State Department of Corrections now refers to serving the needs of the “incarcerated population” in its mission statement, avoiding traditional correctional terminology altogether.
The New York City Department of Correction, which manages all municipal jails in the five boroughs, already adopted “person in custody” as its official designation for detainees. The Board of Correction’s proposed changes would bring regulatory language into alignment with department practice and state law precedent.
Traditional Terms Under Attack
The terminology shift represents the latest front in progressive efforts to reshape criminal justice language nationwide. Advocates argue that words like “inmate” carry inherent bias and create barriers to rehabilitation by defining individuals solely through their incarceration status. Critics counter that the focus on terminology distracts from substantive criminal justice reforms and represents political correctness overreach that obscures the reality of criminal detention. The debate reflects broader cultural tensions over whether changing language drives social progress or merely masks underlying issues without addressing root causes of crime and incarceration.