Maryland’s biggest prison complex is about to get bigger, says The Capital newspaper in Annapolis. The state is planning to add two 560-bed minimum-security prisons at the current complex in Jessup. Mark Vernarelli, department spokesman, said the first $23.2 million dormitory-style facility will house one of the fastest-growing segments of the state’s prison population: non-violent offenders who can benefit from drug programs and other counseling.
“This is community-based corrections,” Vernarelli said. “We’re trying to decrease the likelihood that people who get out of jail end up back in there. The recidivism rate for inmates now is about 50 percent.” Vernarelli said programs will focus on rehabilitation of inmates, though it’s too early to go into details. He said work crews and work release inmates would probably be housed at the facility. That’s fairly new for us (the state),” he said.