Washington DC has just one jail facility - the DC Jail located at 1901 D St SE. Jail conditions are reported to be so bad that an inmate who served ten years in the jail (this is very rare since it is a local facility, but extenuating circumstances dragged this convict's trial out) said that 9 years in DC Jail is comparable to 20 years in prison.

Who operates the DC Jail?
Most local jail facilities across the US are operated by the county. Sometimes jails are actually run by the city, which is the case with the DC Jail. Since the city itself is overseen directly by the federal government the DC Jail is indirectly a federal institution.

It is better to think of the jail, however, more like a county jail. Most inmates serve less than a year in the jail (unless they are awaiting trial) and have been convicted of less serious crimes such as misdemeanors.

DC Jail facts
The jail has 2,164 beds for inmates which is quite a big facility (compared to other county jails). The jail offers a variety of classes to inmates including drug treatment programs, religious service, HIV prevention, GED courses and more.