By Josh Davis
Baltimore Sun
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — Eastern Shore lawmakers are urging Gov. Wes Moore to intervene immediately at Eastern Correctional Institution, warning that a staffing shortage at the Somerset County prison has reached a crisis point.
In a July 28 letter, the Eastern Shore delegation asked Moore to stop nonemergency inmate movements and activities, or establish a safer balance, until adequate staffing is restored. The letter, signed by delegation Chair Christopher T. Adams, follows a July 17 appeal from Somerset County commissioners and a packed July 23 public meeting where current and former prison workers described increasingly dangerous conditions.
“We are extremely concerned that the current staffing crisis threatens the safety of ECI personnel, the inmate population, and Somerset County and the surrounding area,” the lawmakers wrote.
Rhyan Lake, Moore’s senior communications strategist, said the governor takes the safety of all Marylanders extremely seriously, including those who work and reside in the state’s correctional facilities.
“The Governor has directed the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to look into the issues raised in this letter and evaluate the appropriate actions to address these concerns,” Lake said. “He looks forward to continued cooperation with our public safety partners and local elected officials.”
State Sen. Mary Beth Carozza said she visited ECI on July 27 and met with prison leaders and Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services central-office officials. Carozza said the administration could take one immediate step without waiting for lawmakers: Direct the department to allow local prisons to lead hiring, in coordination with the central office.
Local officials would have a stronger incentive to follow applicants through each stage and prevent applications from becoming stalled, she said. Some prospective officers report waiting months without hearing from the department, then accepting other law-enforcement jobs, leaving the region or moving into unrelated fields.
The delegation’s letter repeats three requests made by Somerset commissioners: return hiring authority to correctional facilities, shorten a process that can take a year or longer, and bring background investigations and polygraph examinations in line with those used by other state and local law-enforcement agencies.
Carozza said changing polygraph standards may require legislative or regulatory action. Giving local facilities more authority and prioritizing existing applicants for ECI and prisons in Western Maryland could be done now, she said.
“We should not be waiting until January to take action,” Carozza said. “Action can be taken right now by the secretary and by the governor.”
She also suggested that the state consider relocation bonuses or housing assistance to attract workers to facilities at Maryland’s eastern and western ends, where geography makes recruiting more difficult than in the central part of the state.
Carozza said the staffing challenges span the Larry Hogan and Moore administrations. At the time of her interview, she said neither Moore nor Public Safety Secretary Carolyn Scruggs had formally responded to the delegation.
In a prior statement, the department said it had identified staffing solutions and would continue working with the correctional officers’ union.
The delegation warned that adequate staffing is essential not only for prison employees, but also for incarcerated people and the surrounding community.
Would relocation incentives or housing assistance help recruit officers to hard-to-staff prisons? Why or why not?
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