Sheriff: Renaming Inmates Is Not a Priority
According to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York state law will no longer refer to prisoners as “inmates” and will instead call them “incarcerated individuals”.
Governor Hochul signed the legislation on Monday. She argues that removing the term “inmate” will help to reduce harmful stigma against incarcerated people by correcting outdated terminology. “In New York, we’re doing everything in our power to show that justice and safety can go hand-in-hand,” Hochul said.
“We can make our streets and communities safer by giving justice-involved individuals the chance to complete their rehabilitation program and work at the same time. By treating all New Yorkers with dignity and respect, we can improve public safety while ensuring they have a fair shot at a second chance,” she added.
When asking Sheriff Devlin about renaming “inmates”, he said he wasn’t concerned. “It seems like we have a lot of other issues we should be dealing with right now rather than renaming “inmates” What we call them doesn’t seem relevant; we have crime issues now that need to be addressed,” Sheriff Devlin said.
