District of Columbia profile
Washington, D.C. has an incarceration rate of 816 per 100,000 people (including prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities).
The D.C. criminal justice system is especially unique—after the Lorton Prison Complex was closed down in 2001, the District's prison population has been integrated into the federal Bureau of Prisons system. The District of Columbia's Department of Corrections currently operates two facilities that serve functions similar to local jails. While we don't (yet) have a good annual data source for prison growth after 2001, the data that does exist indicates that District of Columbia has the highest incarceration rate in the U.S., and therefore the world.
5,100 people from the District of Columbia are behind bars
Additionally, the number of people impacted by local jails in Washington, D.C. is much larger than the graph above would suggest, because people cycle through local jails relatively quickly. Each year, at least 12,000 different people are booked into local jails in Washington, D.C.
Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years
- total numbers rather than rates.
- Women’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population
- Men’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population
People of color are overrepresented in prisons and jails
Today, D.C.’s incarceration rates stand out internationally
D.C.'s criminal legal system is more than just its prisons and jails
Reports and briefings about the District of Columbia's criminal legal system:
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- D.C. eliminated discretionary parole for almost everyone in prison. Who is still eligible, and what other pathways to early release exist?
- In D.C., 5,069 people are behind bars and another 5,985 are on probation or parole. See how these populations have changed over time.
- Reform rollbacks in Washington D.C. are a warning sign for state-level advocates.
- Dozens of children have been shuffled into D.C.'s juvenile legal system. Why, and where are they confined?
- People on probation in D.C. are saddled with onerous rules and conditions they must follow every day or risk incarceration.
- Prisons in D.C. have tablets, but they may be being used to restrict incarcerated people’s access to books and sap them of the little money they have.
- 80% of people in District of Columbia jails have not been convicted of a crime, meaning they're legally innocent. There are simple steps it can take to reduce this number. Why isn't it?
- District of Columbia releases roughly 9,043 men and 1,430 women from its prisons and jails each year. What is it doing to support them upon reentry?
- People on parole in D.C. can be sent back to prison for "associating" with anyone who has a felony or misdemeanor conviction — even loved ones who are trying to support them
- DC's choice to criminalize "failure to appear" may be hurting public safety
- Data from Washington, D.C. and other jurisdictions shows: Releasing people pretrial doesn't harm public safety
- Our report State of Phone Justice shows that D.C. jails charge much more than necessary for phone calls, reaping profits for companies
- The D.C. Central Detention Facility has a jail-based polling location that enables people detained there to cast ballots in elections
- D.C. hurts jury diversity by excluding people with felony records
- Why is D.C. jailing so many people for minor parole and probation violations?
Other resources
- Research on the District of Columbia in our Research Library
Events
- July 9, 2026:
Join the Prison Policy Initiative, Latino Justice, and the MacArthur Justice Center for a powerful webinar focused on the parole board process and the case for the presumption of release. It will begin with a firsthand account from Frank Silva and his interview for freedom followed by Clinical Professor of Law Heidi Rummel and the legality of “presumption of release,” and how California’s framework has shifted the burden of proof.
Register here
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