Washington, D.C. - During the week of Oct. 18, the U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia conducted an unannounced inspection of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DC DOC) facilities that house several hundred detainees who are facing charges in the U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia and Maryland or are awaiting placement in a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facility to serve their sentence. While the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) is responsible for the care and custody of these detainees, under an agreement between the federal and DC governments, the DC DOC is responsible for determining where within their corrections facilities the inmates will be housed; maintaining and staffing the physical facilities; and providing for detainees.
The USMS inspection was prompted by recent and historical concerns raised regarding conditions at the DC DOC facilities, including those recently raised by various members of the judiciary.
The inspection encompassed two DC DOC housing facilities - the Central Treatment Facility (CTF) and the Central Detention Facility (CDF). During the unannounced inspection, the U.S. Marshal reviewed both housing facilities and conducted more than 300 voluntary interviews with detainees.
The U.S. Marshal’s inspection of CTF did not identify conditions that would necessitate the transfer of inmates from that facility at this time. CTF houses approximately 120 detainees in the custody of the USMS, including all the defendants in pre-trial custody related to alleged offenses stemming from events that took place on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol, as well as other federal detainees. Housing assignments for detainees are determined by the DC DOC.
The U.S. Marshal’s inspection of CDF revealed that conditions there do not meet the minimum standards of confinement as prescribed by the Federal Performance-Based Detention Standards. CDF houses approximately 400 detainees in the custody of the USMS.
Based on the results of the unannounced inspection, USMS leadership made the decision to remove from CDF all detainees under the custody of the USMS. Working with the BOP, the USMS will transfer those detainees to USP Lewisburg in Pennsylvania. The Lewisburg BOP facility provides attorney and visitor areas, medical care, and video teleconferencing capabilities. The USMS is committed to ensuring that detainees have adequate access to defense counsel, family support, medical care, and discovery related to their cases while in USMS custody.
The USMS has informed DC DOC of its findings, and the USMS Prisoner Operations Division will work with DC DOC to initiate a corrective action plan.
