Prince George?s County officials have beefed up the county?s police force, leading to a swelling inmate population that is in dire need of additional supervision, services and infrastructure.
“When you go from 8,500 arrests to almost 15,000, guess who has to process them all,” Barry Stanton, director of the Prince George?s County Department of Corrections, said in a recent interview.
Up until August, the Police Department had helped at the county?s three regional processing centers, but police officers were shifted to patrol duty. Stanton has requested 30 new correctional officers to help with the influx of inmates and additional duties. County Executive Jack Johnson has proposed funding this and other needs with a 17 percent increase for the department?s operating budget. The total request, which must be approved by the County Council, is $59 million.
Stanton also said the number of inmates with diagnosed mental illnesses has jumped from 3 percent to 19 percent since he became director almost nine years ago, requiring a significant boost in mental health services. Montgomery County Director of Corrections Arthur Wallenstein said he has experienced the same problem among his inmates.
“Community-based programs have not kept up with the growth of the deinstitutionalized mental population, so more mentally ill people are on the streets,” Wallenstein said. In addition, the daily inmate population in Prince George?s is about 1,400, almost 70 more than normal bed capacity, according to a report by the county?s Office of Audits and Investigations. The department is requesting two major new construction projects that will help accommodate the rising numbers: an expansion of 192 beds for $9 million and a work-release detoxification center with 195 beds for $7 million. Stanton was optimistic this would be his year.
Top three preliminary recommendations
1. Ensure state-funded health care benefits are reinstated within 24 to 48 hours of release.
2. Expand case management services to be available to mentally ill inmates not only while they are incarcerated, but also after release.
3. Provide mentally ill individuals in jail with assistance obtaining federal health care benefits upon release.
Source: Letter to state lawmakers date Jan. 18.
