The National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, also known as the Revitalization Act, was enacted on August 5, 1997, with provisions to reform the criminal justice system in Washington, D.C. [1] The act was spearheaded by North Carolina Republican Senator Lauch Faircloth. [2]
Under the legislation, adult felon prisoners were put under custody of the Bureau of Prisons, and the Lorton Reformatory in Lorton, Virginia was required to close by December 31, 2001. Offenders serving short sentences for misdemeanors serve time at either the Central Detention Facility or the Correctional Treatment Facility, both run by the District of Columbia Department of Corrections. Approximately 6,500 prisoners have been sent to Bureau of Prison facilities around the United States, including over a 1,000 sent to West Virginia, and another 1,000 to the new and purpose-built Rivers Correctional Institution in North Carolina. [3] Following the passage of the Revitalization Act, a Corrections Trustee was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to oversee the District of Columbia Department of Corrections during the transition period. [4]
The Revitalization Act transferred authority regarding parole to the United States Parole Commission, and the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency was established to oversee probationers and parolees, and provide pretrial services. The functions were previously handled by the D.C. Superior Court and the D.C. Pretrial Services Agency. [5]
The Revitalization Act also mandated that the Federal government provide funding for the District of Columbia court system, including the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. [4]
In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and supervision of persons who have been convicted of crimes. These functions commonly include imprisonment, parole, and probation. A typical correctional institution is a prison. A correctional system, also known as a penal system, thus refers to a network of agencies that administer a jurisdiction's prisons, and community-based programs like parole, and probation boards. This system is part of the larger criminal justice system, which additionally includes police, prosecution and courts. Jurisdictions throughout Canada and the US have ministries or departments, respectively, of corrections, correctional services, or similarly-named agencies.
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration.
The Correctional Service of Canada, also known as Correctional Service Canada or Corrections Canada, is the Canadian federal government agency responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of convicted criminal offenders sentenced to two years or more. The agency has its headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for all Federal prisons and provide for the care, custody, and control of federal prisoners.
A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probation and parole officers are employed by the government of the jurisdiction in which they operate, although some are employed by private companies that provide contracted services to the government.
Corrections Victoria is part of the Department of Justice and Community Safety in the Victorian Government, and is responsible for the provision of custodial and community-based services as an important element of the criminal justice system in the state of Victoria, Australia. In March 2018, Dr Emma Cassar was announced as the new Commissioner of Corrections Victoria to commence in June 2018.
Crime in Washington, D.C., is directly related to the city's demographics, geography, and unique criminal justice system. The District's population reached a peak of 802,178 in 1950. Shortly after that, the city began losing residents, and by 1980 Washington had lost one-quarter of its population. The population loss to the suburbs also created a new demographic pattern, which divided affluent neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park from the less well-off neighborhoods to the east.
The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) oversees prisons and the parole and probation population in the state of Michigan, United States. It has 31 prison facilities, and a Special Alternative Incarceration program, together composing approximately 41,000 prisoners. Another 71,000 probationers and parolees are under its supervision. The agency has its headquarters in Grandview Plaza in Lansing.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacramento.
The U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System, also called the Office of Probation and Pretrial Services, part of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, is the probation office of the federal judiciary of the United States. It serves the United States district courts in all 94 federal judicial districts nationwide and constitutes the community corrections arm of the Federal Judiciary. It administers probation and supervised release under United States federal law enforced by probation officers.
The New Hampshire Department of Corrections is the government agency in the U.S. state of New Hampshire charged with overseeing the state correctional facilities, supervising probation and parolees, and serving in an advisory capacity in the prevention of crime and delinquency. As of June 30, 2013, the Department had an inmate population of 2,791, 15,267 on probation or parole, and 893 total employees, 470 as corrections officers and 64 as probation/parole officers. The agency has its headquarters in Concord.
The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is the government agency responsible for community corrections and operating prisons and correctional facilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The agency is fully accredited by the American Correctional Association and is one of the oldest functioning correctional agencies in the United States. Its headquarters is located in the state capital of Richmond.
The Lorton Reformatory, also known as the Lorton Correctional Complex, is a former prison complex in Lorton, Virginia, established in 1910 for the District of Columbia, United States.
The Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) was established under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 to oversee probationers and parolees, and provide pretrial services in Washington, D.C. The functions were previously handled by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and the D.C. Pretrial Services Agency. For the first three years, CSOSA operated under trustee John "Jay" Carver, and officially became a Federal agency in August 2000.
The District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DCDC) is a correctional agency responsible for the adult jails and other adult correctional institutions for the District of Columbia, in the United States. DCDC runs the D.C. Jail.
Incarceration prevention refers to a variety of methods aimed at reducing prison populations and costs while fostering enhanced social structures. Due to the nature of incarceration in the United States today caused by issues leading to increased incarceration rates, there are methods aimed at preventing the incarceration of at-risk populations.
Rivers Correctional Institution is a privately owned prison in unincorporated Hertford County, North Carolina, operated by GEO Group under contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons since its construction in 2001. The prison, on 257 acres (104 ha) of land, was specially built to house prisoners from the District of Columbia. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the town of Winton and about 200 miles (320 km) from Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia Courts, Public Defender Service, and Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency Act of 2014 is a bill that would make changes to the District of Columbia Official Code that governs the D.C. Courts system.
The Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia provides legal defense to individuals on a court-appointed basis for criminal and delinquency cases indigent adult and juvenile defendants/ respondents. Its Mental Health Division provides representation to persons facing involuntary civil commitment based on allegations that the person is a danger to self or others as a result of mental illness. Its parole division represents parolees charged with violating parole and facing revocation before the United States Parole Commission. PDS also provides other legal-related services in DC.
The Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) is a department within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The mission of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is "to provide a secure correctional environment for comprehensive rehabilitative, holistic, and wraparound re-entry services to persons sentenced to our custody and care with professionalism, integrity, respect, and fairness."