Maryland Pilots Body-Worn Camera Initiative in Correctional Facilities
By Fay Harvey
BALTIMORE — The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) is phasing in a body-worn camera pilot program to enhance transparency and safety within its correctional facilities.
In partnership with Axon Technologies, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based public safety company, the DPSCS will require correctional officers to wear body cameras while on duty. The program has launched at Patuxent Institute in Jessup, Md., and Eastern Correctional Institute in Somerset County, Md., with three additional facilities set to implement the initiative this month. The pilot program precedes an eventual agencywide rollout.
DPSCS aims to improve situational awareness, expedite investigations and support staff adherence to evidence-based programs through the deployment of body-worn cameras. By documenting events in real time, the program promotes accountability and trust within the correctional system.
“Body-worn cameras are a critical tool in modern corrections,” said Carolyn J. Scruggs, secretary of DPSCS, in a statement. “This initiative underscores our commitment to ensuring the safety of our officers, the incarcerated population and the public while also strengthening transparency within our facilities.”
A 2023 study by Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) examined the use of body-worn cameras in correctional facilities, particularly in relation to stationary, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. Over a yearlong period at the Loudoun County Adult Detention (LCADC) in Leesburg, Va., researchers analyzed footage from 46 body-worn cameras to assess the technology’s impact on staff, residents and investigations.
Researchers randomly selected 13 response-to-resistance (RTR) incidents that were documented by body-worn cameras and evaluated the footage for quality, positioning and audio.
Findings showed that body-worn cameras, particularly in tandem with CCTV, provided comprehensive and complete evidence. Because CCTV cameras are placed at a distance and often capture grainy footage, body-worn cameras helped provide clearer images as well as audio and previously unseen details, including faces. Additionally, CCTV cameras do not capture footage in personal areas such as cells and washrooms, whereas body-worn cameras offer an additional vantage point.
Researchers also found that body-worn cameras can help criminal justice agencies assess staff behavior. Jails and prisons can use the footage to de-escalate harmful situations and ensure officer accountability. Though still in its early stages of use in Maryland, the technology is already increasing transparency in correctional facilities nationwide.
In December 2024, video footage from body-worn cameras at Marcy Correctional Facility in Utica, N.Y., showed correctional officers brutally beating a resident, resulting in a fatality. Although the officers had not pressed record, their cameras still captured the incident due to a “video recall” function that automatically records 30-minute clips of silent video. The feature was developed to aid investigators in critical incidents even when an officer does not intentionally activate recording. The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is now working to ensure the video recall function captures both audio and video to further strengthen investigations, according to a statement by the National Criminal Justice Association.