Sentencing and Incarceration
Ensuring a humane, effective, and just correctional system in the District.
Working Towards a Safe and Healthy Future for All People in Custody
Ensuring safe and healthy conditions for people in custody is crucial for their well-being and rehabilitation. Proper healthcare and support services are essential for reducing recidivism and helping individuals reintegrate into society successfully.
We are dedicated to ensuring that residents held in D.C. custody live in safe environments and receive the healthcare and rehabilitative services they need. Our work focuses on monitoring and reporting on the conditions within the D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC) and the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), advocating for improvements that uphold the dignity and rights of all individuals in custody.
How CCE is Helping
We have researched and published several important reports related to the D.C. Jail and criminal justice space, focusing on improving conditions and services for those in custody. Here’s how our work has made a significant impact:
- Substance Use and Incarceration: In 2020, we published a comprehensive report in partnership with the D.C. Auditor, Everything Is Scattered, in which we examined the intersection of substance use disorders (SUD) and justice-involvement in the District. Our recommendations focused on improving treatment delivery for people in or released from the jail, ensuring they receive the necessary support for recovery and reintegration. Then, in 2023 and 2024 we worked with the D.C. Auditor to publish an implementation report card, evaluating whether the D.C. government had implemented our key SUD recommendations.
- Upcoming Study on D.C. Jail Conditions (2024): As a follow-up to ODCA’s 2019 report, Poor Conditions Persist at Aging D.C. Jail; New Facility Needed to Mitigate Risks, CCE has been commissioned to produce a new study on D.C. jail conditions. This upcoming report, scheduled for release in fall 2024, will provide an updated evaluation of the jail’s conditions and further recommendations for improvement.
- Solitary Confinement: In 2024 we published More Data is Needed on the Use of Solitary Confinement in D.C. It details CCE’s struggles to get important information and data about the use of restrictive housing in the D.C. jail. It also summarizes the information we do have on solitary, and makes the case that effective oversight can only take place if data and information are available to the public.
- Compassionate release: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, D.C. passed a law that allows certain incarcerated people to seek compassionate release, providing a pathway to early release that was previously unavailable. In 2022 we released a report that looks at the implementation and impact of that law, and highlights the success of the legislation.