# District of Columbia The District of Columbia does not certify correctional officers. Its Department of Corrections (DOC) hires and trains its own staff and runs the D.C. Jail, while adults on probation and parole are supervised by a federal agency, CSOSA. Since 2023 the District has made permanent its ban on neck and asphyxiating restraints by on-duty DOC and CSOSA employees and then narrowed the definition of a neck restraint, set delivery-room and training rules for officers escorting pregnant people, and stated that its limits on helping immigration authorities do not bar cooperation that federal law requires. Source: https://uscli.org/corrections-tracker/district-of-columbia ## At a glance - **Certifying body:** None for correctional officers. DOC hires and trains its own officers. The statutory minimum standards in D.C. Code 5-107.01 apply only to sworn members of the Metropolitan Police Department; see the [District of Columbia Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/district-of-columbia). Adult probation and parole supervision officers are federal employees of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), “established within the executive branch of the Federal Government,” whose Director hires and supervises them; parole release decisions belong to the U.S. Parole Commission ([D.C. Code 24-133](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/24-133); 24-211.02). - **Statute:** D.C. Code Title 24, chapter 2, subchapter II (Department of Corrections, 24-211.01 et seq.) and subchapter VIII-A (restraints on confined pregnant persons, 24-276.01 to 24-276.05), and 24-101.01 (Corrections Information Council). The Limitation on the Use of Chokehold Act (5-125.01 to 5-125.03) covers on-duty DOC employees ([D.C. Code Title 24, ch. 2](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/titles/24/chapters/2)). - **Minimum standards:** No statutory hiring standards for DOC correctional officers were found in the D.C. Code. DOC’s “Become a Correctional Officer” page returned HTTP 403 when checked on October 20, 2026, so its stated requirements could not be read. - **Basic training:** A DOC program, not a statute. Phase 1 is Pre-Service Training before Basic Correctional Training: “16 hours of classroom instruction and 24 hours of online, self-directed training.” Basic Correctional Training covers ethics, CPR and first aid, the legal environment, weapons, conflict resolution, body cameras, investigative techniques, on-the-job training at the Central Detention Facility (D.C. Jail), and emergencies and disturbance control, ending in practical exams. DOC does not state the total length ([DOC, Correctional Officers Training](https://doc.dc.gov/page/correctional-officers-training)). - **In-service training:** By DOC policy, “All uniform, civilian, and contractor staff are required to complete In-Service training annually”; hours are not stated. By statute, since May 2, 2025, DOC “shall ensure that all guards and staff who interact with incarcerated individuals known to be or could become pregnant receive annual training” on the pregnancy and restraint rules ([D.C. Code 24-276.04(b)](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/24-276.04); 24-211.10(j)). DOC must also train employees on the limits on cooperating with federal immigration agencies (24-211.07(c)). - **Decertification:** None. DOC officers are not certified, so there is no decertification process or public list; discipline is a DOC personnel matter. - **Jail standards:** DOC runs the District’s jail: the Central Detention Facility, the Correctional Treatment Facility, and the Central Cellblock (24-211.02). There is no separate jail-standards board. The Corrections Information Council is the independent inspector; it “shall be responsible for the inspection of all facilities housing District of Columbia inmates” under Bureau of Prisons or DOC jurisdiction, and its Executive Director conducts comprehensive inspections of the two jail facilities and halfway houses ([D.C. Code 24-101.01](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/24-101.01)). People convicted of D.C. felonies serve their sentences in federal Bureau of Prisons facilities. - **Probation and parole officers:** Federal, not District: CSOSA supervises adults on probation, parole, and supervised release in D.C. Its Director hires and supervises “supervision officers” and sets uniform supervision practices with the D.C. courts and the U.S. Parole Commission ([D.C. Code 24-133(b)(2)](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/24-133)). No D.C. certification exists for them. On-duty CSOSA employees are still “law enforcement officers” under the District’s ban on neck and asphyxiating restraints (5-125.02(4)(G)). - **Restrictive housing:** No D.C. Code provision limiting solitary confinement or restrictive housing was found in Title 24, chapter 2, or in the titles of D.C. laws enacted in Council Periods 25 and 26. Whether a restrictive housing bill is pending was not determined. - **Corrections use of force:** It is unlawful for any “law enforcement officer,” expressly including “(F) An on-duty employee of the Department of Corrections” and “(G) An on-duty employee of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency,” to use a neck restraint or asphyxiating restraint. An officer who sees another use one must immediately render or get first aid or call emergency medical services ([D.C. Code 5-125.02](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/5-125.02), 5-125.03). Pregnant people: restraints must be the least restrictive available; none in the third trimester or postpartum recovery, including during transport and treatment, unless the Administrator makes an individualized finding of extraordinary circumstances; never during labor. Restraints come off immediately if the treating clinician finds it medically necessary, a written statement is due within 10 days, and since 2025 a private right of action is available (24-276.02 to 24-276.05). Escorting officers must stay outside the delivery room except in extraordinary circumstances (24-211.10(d)). ## Changes, 2023 to 2026 - Dec 6, 2025 — **Immigration limits do not bar cooperation required by federal law or information sharing under 8 U.S.C. 1373** — D.C. Law 26-55 (Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Act of 2025), sec. 3052, adding D.C. Code 24-211.07(g) · Permanent law effective December 6, 2025; emergency acts preceded it, the latest being D.C. Act 26-210 of November 24, 2025 — Section 24-211.07 still bars DOC, absent a federal judicial warrant or order, from holding people past their release for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, giving it facility space or interview access, or sharing release dates and personal information. New subsection (g): “Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit cooperation required by federal law, or to restrict the sharing of information covered by section 642 of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997,” which is 8 U.S.C. 1373. — **For corrections staff:** The detainer and access limits still apply, but sharing immigration-status information covered by 8 U.S.C. 1373 is not barred. — [D.C. Law 26-55](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/26-55)[D.C. Code 24-211.07](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/24-211.07) - May 2, 2025 — **Pregnancy and delivery: officers stationed outside the delivery room, annual staff training, and a private right of action** — D.C. Law 25-326 (Safe and Supported Pregnancy and Delivery Amendment Act of 2024), adding D.C. Code 24-211.10 and amending 24-276.03 to 24-276.05 · Effective May 2, 2025; parts subject to funding (see below) — DOC officers escorting someone to a hospital for labor, delivery, a cesarean, pregnancy termination, or postpartum hospitalization “shall be stationed outside the delivery room.” The exception is extraordinary circumstances, and even then not if a DOC staff member is the approved support person or the provider finds removal medically necessary. DOC must provide free pumping equipment and medically recommended diets and give written notice of these rights. “The Department shall ensure that all guards and staff who interact with incarcerated individuals known to be or could become pregnant receive annual training of their responsibilities under this subchapter.” A private right of action for violations of the restraint subchapter is added (24-276.05), with fee-shifting and a rebuttable presumption on grievance exhaustion. Subsections (c), (e), and (g) of 24-211.10 and section 24-211.11 are marked “Not Funded” and are not in effect. — **For corrections staff:** Stay outside the delivery room unless DOC declares extraordinary circumstances, and complete the annual pregnancy and restraint training. — [D.C. Code 24-211.10](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/24-211.10)[D.C. Code 24-276.04](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/24-276.04)[D.C. Code 24-276.05](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/24-276.05) - Jun 8, 2024 — **Secure DC narrows the neck restraint definition and adds a good-faith medical care exception** — D.C. Law 25-175 (Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024), sec. 12, amending D.C. Code 5-125.02(5) · Effective June 8, 2024 — Before, a “neck restraint” meant pressure on the neck with the purpose, intent, or effect of “controlling or restricting the person’s movement, blood flow, or breathing.” Now it is pressure “with the purpose, intent, or effect of controlling or restricting the person’s airway, blood flow, or breathing, except in cases where the law enforcement officer is acting in good faith to provide medical care or treatment,” such as CPR. Restricting movement alone no longer qualifies. The change applies to on-duty DOC and CSOSA staff. — **For corrections staff:** The ban still covers any neck pressure that restricts the airway, blood flow, or breathing; CPR and good-faith medical care are excluded. — [D.C. Law 25-175](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/25-175)[Prior text, D.C. Law 24-345](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/24-345) - Apr 21, 2023 — **Neck and asphyxiating restraint ban made permanent for on-duty DOC and CSOSA employees, with a duty to get aid** — D.C. Law 24-345 (Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022), sec. 101, amending D.C. Code 5-125.02, 5-125.03 · Effective April 21, 2023 — The act replaced the definitions in the Limitation on the Use of Chokehold Act with new ones for “asphyxiating restraint,” “neck restraint,” and “prohibited technique,” and a “law enforcement officer” list that includes “(F) An on-duty employee of the Department of Corrections or Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services” and on-duty CSOSA employees. Using a prohibited technique, or failing to immediately render first aid or call emergency medical services after seeing another officer use one, is unlawful. Emergency and temporary versions of the same text had been in force since 2020, so for DOC staff the act made existing rules permanent. The [District of Columbia Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/district-of-columbia) covers the act’s police provisions. — **For corrections staff:** Any neck or airway restraint by on-duty DOC or CSOSA staff is unlawful, and a witness must get the person medical aid at once. — [D.C. Law 24-345](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/24-345)[D.C. Code 5-125.02](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/5-125.02) ## Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass - **Healthy food at correctional facilities (D.C. Code 24-211.09):** added by D.C. Law 25-175, sec. 32, effective June 8, 2024, with nutrition standards, plant-based, kosher, halal, and medical diet options, and public posting of food-service inspections. Marked “Not Funded”; not in effect until funded in an approved budget and financial plan. - **Pregnancy and delivery provisions (D.C. Code 24-211.10(c), (e), (g) and 24-211.11):** from D.C. Law 25-326; marked “Not Funded” and subject to funding under section 4 of that law. The Council’s legislative system was not searched for pending or failed bills on restrictive housing or DOC use of force. ## Checked and unchanged - Not reviewed: D.C. Law 24-344 (effective April 21, 2023) amended 24-276.01 to 24-276.04 and 24-101.01, and D.C. Law 26-53 (Residential Tranquility Amendment Act of 2025) amended 24-101.01 (Corrections Information Council); neither law’s changes were read. - Not reviewed: DOC’s correctional officer hiring requirements, because its page returned HTTP 403 and was not retried. - Law titles were screened for Council Periods 25 and 26 only; the Council Period 24 index returned HTTP 404.