In a notable shift reflecting evolving perspectives on incarceration, the New York City Board of Correction is set to eliminate the term “inmate” from its jail regulations. The move involves substituting it with “person in custody” as part of a long-standing initiative aimed at emphasizing that being imprisoned should not become a person’s sole identity.
This latest measure takes inspiration from a 2021 effort which originally started phasing out the use of “inmate” from the Board’s Minimum Standards. Officials back then determined that individuals should not be solely characterized by their time in custody.
“Individuals held by the Department of Correction are first and foremost human beings, and their incarceration does not solely define them,” stated the Board in 2021. “Thus, we are committed to using person-first language consistently in our Standards and communications moving forward.”
In this photo, inmates at Rikers Island are seen watching the World Cup semifinal match between England and Argentina at the jail complex in New York, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo / Seth Wenig)
Continuing with this initiative, the Board has methodically begun replacing “inmates” with more inclusive terms such as “people,” “persons,” and “individuals in custody.” The newest proposal seeks to expand these revisions to additional segments of the regulations.
The changes are reflected throughout the rulebook.
A section formerly titled “Classification of Prisoners,” for example, was renamed “Classification of People in Custody,” while numerous references to “prisoners” and “inmates” were rewritten. The regulations also define a “person in custody” as “any person confined in a facility.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaking with inmates on Rikers Island while they watch a World Cup semifinal soccer match on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The proposal says the amendments are intended to continue the Board’s earlier work.
“In 2021, the Board made a commitment to employ person-first language in its Minimum Standards and communications by deleting references to ‘inmates’ in favor of person-first terms such as ‘people in custody,'” the proposal states. “The Board proposes continuing this vital effort in Chapters 2 and 3.”
The city is not alone in moving away from the word “inmate.”
QUEENS, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 10: Views of the New York City jails on Rikers Island, as seen from a departing flight from Laguardia Airport on December 10, 2022 in Queens, New York. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
In 2022, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation replacing references to “inmate” throughout state law with “incarcerated individual.”
The measure amended dozens of provisions across New York law to adopt the new terminology, though New York City instead chose the phrase “person in custody.”
The terminology debate has resurfaced as New York City’s correction system has drawn renewed public attention following a FIFA World Cup semifinal watch party at Rikers Island attended by Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.
During the event, Mamdani told attendees, “These are New Yorkers, and they will be New Yorkers when they get out of Rikers.”
The city’s terminology changes do not alter jail operations, housing policies or disciplinary procedures.
Instead, the Board has characterized the revisions as an effort to modernize its regulations and ensure the language reflects its longstanding philosophy that people should not be defined solely by their incarceration.
News Media reached out to the New York City Board of Correction asking why it chose “person in custody” instead of “incarcerated individual,” the term adopted by New York state, and whether the Board received public feedback on the proposal.
Requests for comment were also sent to the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, which represents New York City’s correction officers, and the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit criminal justice reform organization.