D.C. did not see a spike in the number of people involuntarily admitted to area hospitals during the federal takeover, according to data from city agencies, despite concerns local and federal law enforcement would place more holds on people experiencing homelessness.
Nationally, President Donald Trump has pushed involuntary civil commitment as a response to homelessness. In July, shortly before the takeover of D.C., he signed an executive order encouraging more states to use the process to remove people with severe mental illness from the streets and “restore public order.”
As Trump foreshadowed taking over law enforcement in the District in early August, the D.C. Office of the Attorney General (OAG) followed by sending an email to local hospitals, warning an “anticipated and concerted effort to clear out homeless tents/encampments and parks” could lead to an increase in involuntary hospitalizations.
Under D.C. law, people can be involuntarily admitted to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation if a police officer or Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) officer determines they are a danger to themselves or others. Depending on the evaluation’s outcome, the person may then be held in the hospital for several days for treatment. D.C. officials have occasionally used this process, called an FD-12, on people experiencing homelessness who refuse to leave during encampment closures. While mental health professionals generally say involuntary commitment is an important tool, they caution its widespread use. Housing advocates say it does not address the root causes of homelessness and can be traumatizing for some people who experience it.
Encampment closures did rise during the takeover, as federally-driven sweeps displaced at least 20 people in the first two weeks, according to Street Sense reporting. But figures from the city show instances of involuntary commitment remained largely consistent both with the summer months before the takeover and with years prior.
In 2024, 205 people were involuntarily hospitalized in August and 214 in September, according to DBH’s data; that number was 213 this August, and 210 this September.
OAG also tracks involuntary commitments, though the agency has a different data process than DBH, including counting individual hospitalizations, rather than people hospitalized. While OAG’s statistics aren’t consistent with DBH’s, they also suggest a surge in involuntary admissions didn’t materialize.
OAG reported 429 hospitalizations in August, which was in line with the numbers from the rest of the summer: 413 in May, 415 in June, and 437 in July. According to OAG data, hospitalizations dropped in September and October. Recent research suggests it’s common for demand for emergency mental health treatment to spike in the summer.
The DBH and OAG numbers do not capture everyone who is placed on a hold, only those who are admitted. They likely wouldn’t include, for instance, a man who was recently detained during an encampment closure in downtown D.C. but never admitted to a facility and released later that night. But the D.C. Hospital Association told Street Sense it hasn’t heard local facilities have seen any spikes in involuntary holds, either.
At least during the first week of the takeover, when most of the federally driven encampment closures took place, federal officials said they weren’t using involuntary commitment as a response to homelessness. In emails obtained by Street Sense through the Freedom of Information Act, D.C.’s Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Wayne Turnage, questioned federal officials about how many people experiencing homelessness had been arrested or involuntarily committed. A federal official wrote that of 16 people sleeping on federal property whom the U.S. Park Police spoke to Aug. 15 to 17, none were arrested or committed, though all were told to move.
According to the email, the Metropolitan Police Department also did not arrest or FD-12 to anyone for camping during the same period.
Throughout the takeover, outreach workers and advocates also expressed concerns about a possible spike in arrests of people experiencing homelessness, especially as people were arrested for petty crimes, like fare evasion or drinking in public. While Street Sense was not able to identify any arrests for sleeping outside, several people experiencing homelessness were arrested for other offenses.
This article originally appeared in Street Sense’s Nov. 19, 2025 edition.