NCJ Number
96909
Date Published
1984
Length
38 pages
Annotation
This report presents the recommendations of a committee formed to study prison overcrowding in Maryland and provides a statistical description of correctional populations in the State.
Abstract
The recommendations fall into two general categories: those aimed at reducing prison crowding and those directed at ameliorating the management problems that crowding has created or exacerbated. The committee notes that the current level of overcrowding in some institutions of the Division of Correction (DOC) is intolerable and urges that steps be taken immediately to make space available for the current prison population. Toward this end, the committee recommends that (1) an intergovernmental task force be appointed to identify the best method for integrating short-sentenced offenders into local corrections (2) the Governor should include funds in his fiscal year 1986 budget to renovate significantly or replace the Maryland Penitentiary and replace the House of Correction, (3) mentally ill offenders should be removed from the DOC and (4) certain crimes should be considered for decriminalization. An overview of Maryland's correctional population reveals that a 5.9-percent increase occurred between October 1983 and October 1984. An appendix and 23 references are included.