District of Columbia Inmate Search

The District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DCDC) runs all adult prisons and other correctional facilities in the state. The department operates under the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice.

Records of all criminal defendants housed in halfway houses and other correctional institutions are kept by the DCDC. Interested individuals and families may contact the DCDC Records Office at (202) 523-7060 to do a prisoner search or acquire basic information about inmates.

To find them, visit the DC offender search page. You need to have either one of the following details to utilize this database:

• DC Department of Corrections (DCDC) Inmate ID number 
• A prisoner's name

Locating DC inmates using the Victim Information & Notification Everyday

Additionally, suppose you are a victim of a crime in DC, and your offender is incarcerated. In that case, you can still find their whereabouts using the Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) program. However, to utilize this platform, you need to have the following; you can register with VINE (Victim Information & Notification Everyday) at 1 (877) 329-7894 and receive automated updates on inmate movements.;

• The DC Department of Corrections (DCDC) inmate ID number
• The Metropolitan Police Department identification number (PDID)
• The full name of the inmate
• The court case number

How can you locate individuals charged with violating federal law?

DC does not have any federal prison. Instead, it transfers its federal inmates to out-of-state federal facilities. To locate such inmates, you need to contact the DC Department of Justice online, by phone or in person and request to know the whereabouts of your loved one. The department may give you the location and details of the incarceration status of your inmate. 

On the other hand, all federal inmates' information is maintained on the inmate information database. This database is accessible to the public through the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator tool. You can perform a nationwide federal inmate search using the inmate's name. The database also offers an advanced search option to add inmates' personal information like age, gender, charges, height, race, eye and hair color, and tattoos and visible scars.

On the other hand, if you know the prisoner's ID, you can easily find them using the inmate locator "by number" option. However, you need to indicate the type of number you wish to find the inmate using. This may be; DCDC, FBI, INS, or BOP register number.

How to locate DC inmates using a third-party website

Since DC inmate records are public as per the DC Freedom of Information Act, you may access the whereabouts of your inmate using a third-party website that provides access to DC public records. To utilize these websites, you should choose your preferred website and check what they require to search.

Most of these websites will require you to provide them with the following details to run their search engine:

• The official names of the inmate
• The charges the inmate was sentenced for
• State and city
• Physical description 
• Minor personal information of the inmate

After providing them with this, their search engine will run through the various DC government databases, and they will provide a search result containing the names and details of inmates that match your description. 

However, note that some of these websites will charge a service fee, which is sometimes very expensive. Again, some may have outdated information, as, unlike government agencies' websites, they are not updated regularly. Nonetheless, they provide an easy way of locating an inmate, saving time and other resources.