Toward a Continuous Learning System: Restructuring Sentencing and Supervision Practice in the District of Columbia

Abstract

The District of Columbia's criminal justice system is being restructured following Congress' enactment of the National Capital Revitalization Act of 1997, which will govern sentencing of all felony offenses committed on or after August 5, 2000. The Revitalization Act abolishes parole for offenders convicted of violent crimes. In addition, all District of Columbia prisoners will serve their felony sentences with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and every felony prison sentence must be followed by a period of post-release supervision in the community.

This paper reviews selected past, present, and likely future challenges to the District's sentencing and corrections system. It discusses the role to date of the Sentencing Commission, which, it is argued, provides a vehicle for creating a continuous learning system within the District of Columbia. A continuous learning system—a system that makes data-driven decisions and continuously monitors its environment to build knowledge for future action—would engage practitioners such as attorneys and probation officers, policymakers in the legislative, executive and judicial branches, and knowledge-builders including Commission members and staff.