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District Task Force on Jails & Justice Publishes Phase II Report with 10-Year Implementation Plan to Transform Justice in D.C.

On February 11, 2021 the District Task Force on Jails & Justice published its Phase II report, Jails & Justice: Our Transformation Starts Today, which provides 80 recommendations and implementation details to help D.C. to invest in safe communities and to lower incarceration rates by half. It also proposes steps to regain local control over D.C.’s criminal justice system, and to create one new non-traditional facility that would house all people still detained pre-trial or sentenced to incarceration, among other reforms.

 

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Full Report

 

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

Summary of Phase II Recommendations

Report of the Committee on Community Investments & Alternatives to the Criminal Justice System

Report of the Committee on Decarceration

Report of the Committee on Local Control

Report of the Committee on Facilities & Services

Analysis of BOP Data Snapshot

Analysis of Survey of D.C. Residents in BOP

Future D.C. Incarcerated Population Projection

Phase I Report Feedback

September 2020 Community Meeting Feedback

 

 

 MEDIA COVERAGE

DCist, Jenny Gathright, A Local Task Force Says D.C. Can End Its Reliance On Federal Prisons In 10 Years. Here's How (February 11, 2021)

 

WTOP, Megan Cloherty, Task Force presents 80 changes to overhaul DC's justice system (February 11, 2021)

 

Patch.com, Mark Hand, Major Criminal Justice Overhaul Proposed by DC Task Force (February 11, 2021)

 

The Washington Post, Justin Wm. Moyer, Task force that includes D.C. attorney general suggests city 'divest' from police, with sweeping changes to justice system (February 12, 2021)

 

Street Sense Media, Athiyah Azeem, DC task force recommends major investments in affordable housing to prevent crime (February 12, 2021)

 

WHUR 96.3, Harold Fisher, DC Criminal Justice Reform (February 16, 2021)

 

 

Over two years, the Task Force engaged 2,500 D.C. residents, including people who are currently incarcerated in the D.C. Department of Corrections and the federal Bureau of Prisons, and studied D.C.’s own data and other jurisdictions’ reform efforts to redefine the District’s approach to incarceration. Based on this information, the Task Force developed  80 recommendations that constitute a detailed ten-year Implementation Plan for overhauling the District’s jails and justice system in three stages, including many changes that can and should be made immediately. While the Task Force’s work will affect the entire community, D.C.’s Black residents are overrepresented at each stage of our criminal justice system. Black people make up 47% of D.C.’s population but 86% of the people we arrest, 92% of the people we jail, and 95% of the people in prison serving D.C. Code sentences. The Task Force explicitly targeted its recommendations to help end the over-criminalization of Black people in the District. 

“We can all now more clearly envision a future with drastically fewer incarcerated people. The time for real change is here and the need is urgent,” said Professor Shelley Broderick, Chair of the District Task Force on Jails & Justice. 

The Task Force is an independent advisory body, founded in 2019, dedicated to redefining the District's approach to incarceration by building city-wide engagement; centering the voices of those with lived experiences; understanding community priorities; and exploring the use and design of secure detention and community-based solutions. The Council for Court Excellence – with our partner, The National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens – brought together and supported the distinguished group of Task Force members.

“Without a doubt, the Task Force’s proposals are transformative. They have identified reforms that can be enacted today and will have immediate and profound impacts. They also set forth a long-term vision that will help the District focus on community-centered solutions, address trauma, and make critical investments in housing, health, and other services, all of which would shrink the footprint of D.C.’s criminal legal system,” said CCE’s Executive Director, Misty Thomas. 

 

Watch the recording of the launch event here.

To learn more about the Task Force’s Phase II report, how to get involved in advocacy efforts, or to request an interview or briefing please contact communications@courtexcellence.org or call (202) 785-5917. 

Follow CCE on Twitter for updates on the implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations. 

 

This report was produced by the Council for Court Excellence under grant number FY21-CFSE-03, awarded by the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants, Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the Executive Office of the Mayor.

 

 

 

 

 

 
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