For Immediate Release
RE: DC Department of Corrections Responds to Recent Increase in Inmate Population
The DC Corrections Information Council monitors population reports from the DC Department of Corrections (DC DOC). There was a downward trend for the population from April 2020 until August 2020. Data regarding fluctuations in the population of the DOC since October 2015 are available HERE.
To better understand the recent increase for the DC DOC population, the CIC contacted staff at the DOC, who noted the following:
[There are] more persons in custody charged with serious felony offenses who have charges yet to be adjudicated (Pretrial Felon). The population with the misdemeanors, which have yet to be adjudicated, is predominantly those who were charged with felony offenses and then the charge seriousness was modified to reflect misdemeanors (Pretrial Misdemeanant). We have very few sentenced misdemeanants and sentenced felons in custody. Similarly our (strictly) Parole Violator population is hovering slightly below 100. We also count some federal program failures in this category for public reporting, but those too are few (less than 15). So, although the numbers are similar to April’s, the population composition is different.
…because people in custody are charged with serious offenses and sometimes multiple serious offenses, these often have longer legal processes because of the serious consequences for the individual that are at stake. So, even if intake rates are moderate or slow, average lengths of stay are longer in these conditions; consequently, release rates remain low.
According to the DOC’s September 1, 2020 COVID-19 update, there are 926 residents at the District of Columbia Department of Corrections’ (DOC) Central Detention Facility, 447 residents at DOC’s Correctional Treatment Facility, 1 resident at a local hospital, and 1 resident at a halfway house. Currently, there are no positive COVID-19 cases at DOC’s correctional facilities.
The CIC thanks the DOC for providing the data and analysis regarding the current population of DC adults in custody.
