Baltimore City Detention Center
 | |
| Location |
401 E. Eager Street Baltimore, Maryland |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1801 |
| Managed by | Maryland Department of Corrections |
| Director | Ricky Foxwell |
Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC, also known as the Baltimore City Jail) is a Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services state prison for men and women. It is located on 401 E. Eager Street in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. Despite the name it has been a state facility since July 1991.[1]
Correctional campus
The facility was first established and constructed in 1801, re-built in 1858-59. Architects Thomas and James M. Dixon, won the contract for the building, but elaborate gothic design by Gradley J.F. Bryant was selected by the City Commissioner without authorization, and recended after protest.[2][3] The building was gutted and re-constructed 1959-60. Only a small part of the 1859 building remains.
The Center is one element of a correctional campus that also includes:
- the Baltimore City Correctional Center at 901 Greenmount Avenue, also a state facility
- Maryland's Metropolitan Transition Center at 954 Forrest Street, first established 1811 as the Maryland Penitentiary, site of the state's execution chamber
- the Chesapeake Detention Facility at 401 East Madison Street, formerly known as the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center
The BCDC ranks among the top 20 largest detention facilities in the United States.[4] With a working capacity of 4,000 prisoners, the five buildings of the BCDC also represent one of the oldest prisons in the country. About 90% of detainees are awaiting trial for the offense they are being held for (and therefore technically innocent).[5]
Conditions
In April 2013, and in a subsequent action in November 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicted 27 correctional officers and 17 others for racketeering, conspiracy, distribution of drugs and money laundering inside BCDC.[6] According to the FBI, the accused were affiliated with the Black Guerrilla Family.[6]
Among other details in the indictments, one inmate, Tavon White, fathered five children with four of the female guards since 2009. Two of the guards had the inmate's name tattooed on their bodies.[7] White also claimed to earn at least $16,000 a month from drug and other contraband smuggling.[7]
References
- ↑ "Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services". Maryland State Archives. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ↑ Laura Rice. Maryland History in Prints 1743-1900. p. 182.
- ↑ Historic American Buildings Survey (December 1959), Baltimore City Jail, HABS No. MD-I84: PHOTOGRAPHS, WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA, National Park Service, archived from the original on February 22, 2014
- ↑ "Health Care and Humane Conditions". Public Justice Center. 2011.
- ↑ Baltimore Behind Bars (2010), pages 5 and 12
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Nineteen New Defendants, Including 14 Correctional Officers, Indicted on Charges of Federal Racketeering in Baltimore City Jail Investigation, Baltimore, Maryland: U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland, November 21, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Marimow, Ann E.; Wagner, John (April 23, 2013). "13 corrections officers indicted in Md., accused of aiding gang’s drug scheme". The Washington Post.
Coordinates: 39°18′04″N 76°36′29″W / 39.30121°N 76.60806°W