Eighteen-year-olds are guarding inmates at the Prince George’s County jail, a problem that officials should consider changing, according to a report examining the county’s government. The 185-page assessment by County Executive Rushern Baker’s transition team includes the recommendation that officials consider raising the minimum age of county corrections officers from 18 to 21.
The report said those under 21 do not have “the life experience or maturation to handle the jail population,” making the corrections operation less effective.
Mary Lou McDonough, director of the county’s Department of Corrections, said four 18-year-olds have been hired by the county since 2007.
McDonough admitted she would prefer to have the minimum age raised, but said Maryland mandates that local detention facilities allow 18-year-olds to apply for corrections officer jobs. That was primarily put in place to help smaller jails that
were having trouble attracting applicants, she said.
“If you have to be 21 to be a police officer, I really think you should have to be 21 to be a correctional officer too,” McDonough said.
But she said she’s not concerned with the younger officers working in her jail: “We screen thoroughly to get the most mature candidates, whether they’re 18 or 28.”
Applicants for corrections officer positions at state prisons and detention centers are required to be at least 21, said Mark Vernarelli, a spokesman for the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions.
Art Wallenstein, director of the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, said his department follows state standards and accepts job applications from those under 21. But he didn’t hide his distaste for Maryland lowering the required age to 18 in 2001.
“Inmates may have 10 or 20 years of criminal behavior,” Wallenstein said. “So more life experience such as military experience or experience in the world of work is helpful in working with a sophisticated criminal population.”
In the District, the age requirement for corrections officers is 21, spokeswoman Sylvia Lane said.
The American Correctional Association, the largest organization of its type, sets standards for training correctional officers but does not have a recommended minimum age, according to spokesman Eric Schultz.
