5th District Department Of Correctional Services

The Fifth Judicial District, Department of Correctional Services is a community based correctional agency that provides a variety of services to approximately 8,000 offenders in South-Central Iowa. We provide supervision and treatment to offenders prior to conviction, post-conviction, and for offenders in residential settings. We utilize evidence based practices to achieve our Vision of “A Fifth Judicial District with No More Victims”.

The belief and values of the over 250 employees of the Fifth Judicial District are that people can change; offenders can become stable, productive citizens, and employees; that every person should be treated with dignity and respect; that our work efforts need to facilitate public safety, and that everyone must work as a team if we are to succeed. We base our services on those beliefs and values.

We have not only survived but have actually improved the delivery of services during budget cycles which have included decreases to our budget. We use technology, but more importantly, hire staff that understands and embraces our mission.

Our mission is to “protect the public, employees, and offenders from victimization, and, we seek to help transform offenders into productive Iowa citizens“. We acknowledge that this work cannot be done in a vacuum and we rely heavily on the collaborative community partners that share in this work. We work closely with victim rights groups in order to be responsive to victims´ needs. We hope to expand our efforts at developing a more diverse workforce, and therefore encourage minorities and people fluent in other languages to apply for either employment or volunteer opportunities.

Thank you for visiting our website.

Jim Hancock Center
1000 Washington Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50314
(515) 242-6600