Dane County Sheriff: Inmates Will Now Be Called 'Residents'
The Dane County Sheriff announced that inmates in the Dane County jail will now be referred to as "residents," in an attempt to use language that "reflects our society's values."
"We see it as a small step toward humanizing," Dane Co. Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a news conference.
"I've learned a new perspective," he announced. "We will no longer refer to those in our care of the Dane County Jail as inmates but we will use a more humanizing term like resident or those within our care. This change in language is a way to humanize those incarcerated in our Dane County Jail.”
Barrett was appointed Dane County Sheriff by Gov. Tony Evers. The appointment fills a vacancy created by Sheriff David J. Mahoney’s resignation, effective May 8, 2021. Barrett will complete the remainder of the term which ends January 2, 2023. Barrett served as Dane County Deputy Sheriff from 2009 to 2011, and as an officer with the Sun Prairie Police Dep