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State officials said Monday they will close the 44-year-old Maryland Correctional Institution at Jessup, citing the prohibitive cost of renovating the Anne Arundel County facility.
More than 700 inmates and hundreds of staff 鈥� the facility is budgeted for 308 positions 鈥� will be transferred to other facilities ahead of the planned June 2026 closure of MCI-Jessup. Closure of the facility is projected to save roughly $21 million in annual operation costs, according to a statement issued Monday afternoon by Gov. Wes Moore (D).
鈥淢CI-J has long outrun its facility lifespan and we refuse to kick the can further down the road,鈥� Moore鈥檚 statement said. 鈥淥ur plan to close this facility will save taxpayers money, ease strain on our hardworking and dedicated correctional staff, and honor the state鈥檚 commitment to meeting every Marylander with humanity, including incarcerated individuals.鈥�
The facility, opened in 1981, is a medium security facility housing 709 inmates. The prison was an annex of the Maryland House of Correction, which was closed in 2007.
Moore, in the statement announcing the closure, said 鈥減rolonged underinvestment in routine and preventive maintenance have contributed to building and infrastructure degradation across the facility.鈥�
Officials said the buildings at the facility suffer from foundation issues. Others have drainage problems. Renovating the property including grading, asphalt, plumbing and electrical upgrades and roofing could cost $200 million and take years to complete, according to Moore鈥檚 statement.
The decision to close the prison is 鈥渁 fiscally responsible step forward for our state,鈥� according to Maryland General Services Secretary Atif Chaudhry.
鈥淏y closing MCI-J, we鈥檙e saving Maryland taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in avoidable costs over the long term and refocusing our resources on more sustainable correctional solutions,鈥� Chaudhry said in the statement.
Services including adult basic education, high school diploma equivalency, special education, vocational trade programs, job readiness, work release, public safety works and apprenticeship programs will be moved to other facilities, along with post-secondary education programs from the University of Baltimore, Georgetown University, Goucher College, Bowie State University and Wor-Wic Community College.
Consolidation of the facility will allow the state to redeploy staff to other prisons.
The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has long struggled with understaffing, leading to increased overtime for the department and safety issues. The Jessup prison is budgeted for 308 staff.
鈥淎dequate staff is proactive security,鈥� said Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs. 鈥淏y shifting staff to surrounding facilities, we will not only provide coverage needed to deter incidents and make our facilities safer, but we can minimize the costly, constant and exhausting cycle of mandatory overtime, improve morale and reduce burnout.鈥�
Moore said the state will work with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents staff at the prison, during the closure process.
As part of the effort to close the prison, those incarcerated there will be transferred in phases. In the first phase, older prisoners serving life sentences as well as those with disabilities who require housing under the Americans with Disabilities Act will be moved first.
After that, others will be transferred to other state prisons including the Maryland Correctional Institution at Hagerstown, the Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, and the North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland. Individuals will be transferred based on individual security needs, according to the statement.
Once closed, the buildings will be 鈥渟huttered and winterized鈥� at a cost of about $1.5 million. Moore said the state will decide the future of the property later.
