PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The Somerset County Commissioners have formally approved a letter urging Maryland public safety officials to take immediate action over what county leaders describe as a “critical staffing shortage” at Eastern Correctional Institution.
The letter, obtained by WBOC and signed by Commissioners President Charles Laird and addressed to Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Carolyn Scruggs, says the institution-wide shortage threatens the safety of correctional employees, inmates, and the public.
County leaders are asking ECI to stop all non-emergency inmate movements and activities until staffing is restored to a level at which those operations can be conducted safely and professionally.
The commissioners say they previously met with Scruggs and members of her staff in February 2025 to discuss several concerns. Those included returning control of the hiring process to individual correctional facilities and reducing a hiring timeline that the commissioners say can currently take a year or longer.
They also called for background investigations and polygraph examinations to be brought in line with the requirements used by other state and local law-enforcement agencies.
According to the letter, state officials have pointed to new hires, retention bonuses, and job fairs as signs of progress. The commissioners, however, contend those efforts have had “little to no effect” at ECI.
“In fact, it has gotten worse,” the letter states.
The county’s action follows concerns raised by a former ECI assistant warden, who previously told WBOC that staffing conditions inside the prison had reached a dangerous level.
Commissioners also expressed concern about the mental and physical well-being of ECI employees and warned that inadequate staffing could contribute to a large-scale incident at the institution.
“We do not make this request lightly as we realize you have a very difficult job,” the letter reads. “However, we are very concerned about the mental and physical well-being of every staff member at ECI.”
The letter concludes, “Unrest at ECI is unrest in Somerset County and our surrounding neighbors.”
The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services previously told WBOC it acknowledged concerns regarding staffing but had identified solutions to continue addressing them.
The department sent the following statement on Wednesday:
Staffing:
In 2022—right before Governor Wes Moore took office and Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs began her post—the agency vacancy rate was 15.36 percent. However, through targeted recruitment, streamlined hiring processes, and strengthened workforce retention strategies, the vacancy rate has been nearly cut in half to 8.42 percent. This represents the lowest vacancy rate achieved by DPSCS in the past seven years and demonstrates measurable progress in stabilizing the workforce while maintaining public safety operations.
Between January 2015 and January 2023, 1,796 correctional positions were eliminated in the State budget, hampering the ability of the Moore Administration to adequately staff State correctional facilities. Since 2023—in collaboration with the union, correctional experts, budget analysts, and the General Assembly—most of those lost positions have been restored.
The Department has proven its commitment to hiring into the positions it’s budgeted. Despite a statewide hiring freeze, correctional officer hiring has been exempted. As a result, the Department hired 684 correctional officers in 2025—more than in any other year over the last decade—an effort that continues into 2026. In the 2027 budget, no correctional officer positions were eliminated.
DPSCS has invested approximately $6.8 million in workforce incentives to strengthen recruitment, retention, and operational staffing across the Department. At DPSCS, eligible new Correctional Officers may receive a $5,000 hiring bonus if they successfully complete the Correctional Officer Academy, pass the probationary period, and achieve one year of satisfactory service.
Technology and Training Upgrades:
DPSCS employs various scanning technologies, specialized search teams, and trained K9 units to identify and confiscate contraband, the presence of which can lead to incidents.
As of this month, correctional officers at every prison are provided body-worn cameras that can decrease physical confrontations by roughly 40-50 percent, making correctional officers safer, ensuring they are held accountable, and protecting them from false accusations: a win, win, win for our justice system.
DPSCS recently executed a facility camera upgrade project to improve existing technology and to expand the Department's available surveillance options.
DPSCS recently expanded the capacity of the Crisis De-escalation Training (CDT) program to ensure our correctional staff are prepared to safely address the challenges of their job.
