see all DPSCS web features here

DPSCS Inmate Crews Help Storm Cleanup Effort in State’s Hardest-hit Areas

(November 2, 2012) --- The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services’ Public Safety Works initiative has come to the aid of Maryland’s two hardest-hit areas in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Today, inmate crews from the eastern and westernmost prisons in the state hit the streets of Somerset and Garrett counties.

Nine low-security inmates from Western Correctional Institution in Cumberland helped the massive snow removal efforts in Oakland and Keyser’s Ridge, where more than two feet of blizzard snow paralyzed the far western corner of the state. The two crews helped State Highway Administration operations in both locations.

At the other end of the state, two inmate labor crews from Eastern Correctional Institution Annex and one from Poplar Hill Pre-release Unit helped out in Crisfield and Princess Anne. Crisfield was among the state’s hardest-hit areas, with severe damage caused by flooding and wind-driven debris.

The Department will continue to send inmates wherever there’s a need as part of its highly successful Public Safety Works program, which has in the past helped towns like Port Deposit recover from severe flooding; cleared tons of storm-driven debris from the beach at Sandy Point State Park; and plowed tons of snow from the Ravens’ stadium after a blizzard to allow a playoff game to take place that faced potential cancellation.