The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) is a

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

of the

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

that performs a number of functions, including the operation of state

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

s. It has its headquarters in

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincor ...

, an unincorporated community that is also the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City o ...

, United States, located north of Maryland's largest city of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. Additional offices for correctional institutions supervision are located on Reisterstown Road in northwest Baltimore.

Organizational units

Some of the agencies contained within the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services include: * Criminal Injuries Compensation Board * Division of Capital Construction and Facilities Maintenance * Division of Correction * Division of

Parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

and

Probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

* Division of Pretrial Detention and Services (operates the former

Baltimore City Jail Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC, formerly known as the Baltimore City Jail) is a Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services state prison for men and women. It is located on 401 East Eager Street in downtown Baltimore, Mar ...

- now the

Baltimore City Detention Center Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC, formerly known as the Baltimore City Jail) is a Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services state prison for men and women. It is located on 401 East Eager Street in downtown Baltimore, Mar ...

and the pre-trial release programs in the city of

) *

Emergency Number Most public switched telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number (sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or the emergency services number) that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assis ...

Systems Board * Handgun Permit Review Board * Inmate Grievance Office * Internal Investigative Division * Information Technology and Communications Division
Maryland Correctional Enterprises
* Maryland Parole Commission * Office of the Inspector General * Office of Planning, Policy, Regulations, and Statistics * Office of the Secretary * Police and Correctional Training Commissions * Public Information Office * Sundry Claims Board

Facilities

* Baltimore City Correctional Center,

(operating capacity 500 inmates) *

(formerly historic

- established and constructed 1801, re-constructed 1858–1859, gutted, re-constructed and added wings, 1959–1965) * Baltimore County Detention Center (formerly historic Baltimore County Jail) * Baltimore Pre-Release Unit,

(capacity 201) * Brockbridge Correctional Facility - Jessup * Chesapeake Detention Facility (previously the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center - also formerly known as "Super Max") - Baltimore (leased to U.S. Department of Justice and

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

for detention of federal prisoners) * Eastern Correctional Institution -

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...

, Somerset County * Eastern Pre-Release Unit -

, Somerset County (capacity 180) *

Maryland Correctional Institution - Hagerstown The Maryland Correctional Institution - Hagerstown is a medium-security state prison for men located in Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland. First opened in 1942 as the Maryland State Penal Farm, it was expanded and assumed its current na ...

(constructed mid-1930s as third institution and initially served as penal farm) *

Jessup Correctional Institution Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI) is a maximum security prison operated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in Jessup, Maryland. It was formerly called the Maryland House of Correction-Annex. Prisoners In ...

- Jessup *

Maryland Correctional Institution - Jessup The Maryland Correctional Institution - Jessup is a medium security state prison for men located in Jessup, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. It opened in 1981, first as an Annex to the state House of Correction and then as a separate facility, an ...

, Jessup *

Maryland Correctional Institution for Women Maryland Correctional Institution for Women (MCI-W) is a multi-level security prison operated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in Jessup, Maryland. Prisoners Diane Sawyer visited the prison in 2015 for a sp ...

- Jessup * Maryland Correctional Training Center - Hagerstown (capacity 2800) *

Metropolitan Transition Center The Maryland Metropolitan Transition Center (MTC), formerly known as the historic "Maryland Penitentiary", is a maximum pre-trial security Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services prison located in Baltimore facing Greenmo ...

(formerly historic Maryland Penitentiary, established 1811) *

North Branch Correctional Institution North Branch Correctional Institution (NBCI) is a high-tech, maximum security prison or "hyper-max prison" operated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in Cresaptown, unincorporated Allegany County, Maryland, ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

, opened 2003 (capacity 1399) * Patuxent Institution - Jessup * Poplar Hill Pre-Release Unit (capacity 180) * Roxbury Correctional Institution - Hagerstown * Southern Maryland Pre-Release Unit (capacity 180) * Western Correctional Institution -

(adjacent to

, opened in the early 1980s)

Associated Facilities

* Central Booking and Intake Center -

(1995 expansion adjacent to old historic

- now

)

Closed Facilities

* Herman L. Toulson Correctional Facility - Jessup * Jessup Pre-Release Unit - Jessup *

Maryland House of Correction The Maryland House of Correction, nicknamed "The Cut" or "The House", was a Maryland Department of Corrections state maximum security prison in an unincorporated area in Maryland. The prison opened in 1879 and became infamous for the high level ...

- Jessup

Proposed Facilities

* New Youth Detention Facility (Baltimore City) * New Women's Detention Facility (Baltimore City)

Death row

The "Death Row" for men was in the

in Western Maryland's Cumberland area. The execution chamber is in the

(the former Maryland Penetentiary). The five men who were on the State's "death row" were moved in June 2010 from the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center.Calvert, Scott and Kate Smith.
Death row inmates transferred to W. Maryland
." ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

''. June 25, 2010. Retrieved on September 22, 2010. In December 2014, former Governor

Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as the 61st Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. O'Malley ...

commuted the sentences of all Maryland death row inmates to life sentences.

Black Guerrilla Family

In 2009, a federal indictment under the RICO Act charges that the

Black Guerrilla Family The Black Guerrilla Family (BGF, also known as the Black Family, the Black Vanguard, and Jamaa) is an African-American black power prison and street gang founded in 1966 by George Jackson, George "Big Jake" Lewis, and W. L. Nolen while they were ...

gang was active in a number of facilities including, North Branch Correctional Institution, Western Correctional Institution, Eastern Correctional Institution, Roxbury Correctional Institution, Maryland Correctional Institution – Jessup, Maryland Correctional Institution – Hagerstown, Baltimore City Correctional Center, and Metropolitan Transition Center, and the Baltimore City Detention Center (formerly and also known as the Baltimore City Jail). The gang had a statewide "supreme commander" as well as subordinate commanders in each facility. These leaders were assisted by other gang officials dubbed ministers of intelligence, justice, defense and education. These organizations enforced a code of conduct and smuggled contraband into the facilities. Another prison gang, this one of mostly white prisoners, known as "D.M.I."

Dead Man Incorporated Dead Man Inc. or DMI is a predominantly white organized crime enterprise. It was founded in prison and has members in many correctional facilities and streets throughout Maryland, as well as other states in the U.S. Origins DMI was founded by ...

was founded in Maryland prisons in 2001 or 2002 as an offshoot of the Black Guerrilla Family.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, five officers have died while on duty.The Officer Down Memorial Page
/ref>

References

External links

* {{authority control State law enforcement agencies of Maryland State corrections departments of the United States