Maryland Inmate Records

While an average of 5,149 individuals are sentenced to incarceration under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities in Maryland annually, about 15,637 are housed in state-run correctional facilities each year. Similarly, local jails hold an average of 12,000 inmates, while federal prisons house an estimated 4,000 offenders within the same period. The state's incarceration rate of 252 per 100,000 residents is lower than the national average of 355 per 100,000 total population.

A Maryland inmate record is any document or file containing details of any individual who is currently housed in a prison/jail facility or was previously confined in any of the state's correctional facilities. Each correctional authority in the state maintains records of all the inmates under their jurisdiction. A typical Maryland inmate record has the following details:

• Inmate's Personal Information - This includes full name, date of birth, age, race, physical descriptors, and a unique number assigned by the prison/jail authority.
• Arrest Information - This includes the time of the arrest, the date of the arrest, charges, the arrest warrant, the location of the arrest, and details of the arresting agency.
• Court Details - These typically include case numbers, proceeding details, court orders, judgments, and fines.
• Sentencing Information - The length of imprisonment, sentencing outcome, eligibility for parole, and probation status.
• Incarceration Facility Details - These include the name, address, and contact information of the inmate's holding facility.
• Details of Disciplinary Actions - These relay information about an inmate's behavior in custody and any disciplinary actions taken against them.

Are Inmate Records Public in Maryland?

Inmate records are public in Maryland under the state's Public Information Act (PIA). The Act grants members of the public the right of access to public records in the custody of government agencies, including records of inmates. However, the PIA prohibits the public disclosure of juvenile arrest records and details such as medical information, financial information, and investigative details in an arrest record. Similarly, sealed arrest records are restricted from public access.

What Agencies Are Responsible for Inmate Records in Maryland?

The following agencies maintain inmate arrest records in Maryland:

• The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) - The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) protects public safety by housing sentenced criminals through its Division of Correction. It oversees 18 prisons, including 15 correctional facilities and 5 detention facilities, and keeps records of all inmates incarcerated in these facilities. The state-run prisons typically hold inmates for longer periods and for more serious offenses.
• The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) - Offenders arrested for committing federal crimes in Maryland and convicted of their offenses are sentenced to any of the 3 federal prisons in the state. These correctional facilities are under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), whose duty includes maintaining the records of incarcerated offenders.
• County Sheriff's Offices - Maryland has about 29 local jails, which are operated by county sheriff's offices across the state. Each jail authority (assigned county sheriff's office) maintains records of all inmates housed in their correctional facility. Typically, local jails in the state hold offenders convicted of misdemeanors and some less serious felony crimes. They also house offenders who are awaiting trial.
• Police Department - The arrest records maintained by local police departments of inmates incarcerated in Maryland generally form a part of inmate records. While police departments do not incarcerate offenders, they help keep records of arrests leading to their conviction and, consequently, incarceration.

How To Search for an Inmate's Information in Maryland

To avoid a futile search, it is best to determine where an inmate is held in Maryland before setting out to locate them or retrieve important information about them.

Find an inmate in Maryland State Prisons

To search for an inmate incarcerated in a Maryland state-run prison under the supervision of the DPSCS, interested persons can use the DPSCS Incarcerated Individual Locator. It enables the public to learn about the housing of incarcerated persons and obtain certain information about them using their first and/or last names as the search parameters. The search result typically includes an inmate's full name, SID, date of birth, DOC ID, and details of the holding facility.

The DPSCS incarcerated Individual Locator may not have information about inmates serving short sentences in Maryland state prisons even though they are committed to the Commissioner of Correction and held at detention facilities. In addition, the information provided by the Inmate Locator about inmates is usually not detailed. Hence, it becomes crucial for anyone looking to obtain comprehensive records on an inmate housed in a state prison or an offender serving a short sentence whose information is not listed in the Inmate Locator to visit the inmate's holding correctional facility to obtain the sought records. The custodian will generally require them to provide the inmate's full name or DOC number (if known) to facilitate the search.

Find an Inmate in Local Jail

Local county jails under the supervision of county sheriff's offices in Maryland have online inmate search resources that enable members of the public to access information about inmates in their custody. Interested individuals will largely be able to search with inmates' names, dates of birth, or unique inmate IDs assigned to each inmate. These inmate search tools are usually maintained on the county sheriff's office websites.

Alternatively, an individual may visit the local jail where an inmate is physically housed in Maryland to obtain the inmate's records. Usually, records obtained while visiting a correctional facility are more detailed than what may be retrieved from online inmate search tools. The records custodians at the local jails will generally ask finders to provide basic information about the inmates whose records they seek to help them search and locate the offenders' files.

Find an Inmate in Federal Prison

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has an Inmate Locator that allows the public to locate and obtain basic information about any inmate incarcerated in Maryland federal prisons. Interested persons may search for such inmates using their names or BOP register numbers as the search criterion in the appropriate fields of the BOP Inmate Locator. Generally, the Inmate Locator has information about federal offenders incarcerated in the Cumberland FCI, Mid-Atlantic RO, and Baltimore RRM from 1982 to the present.

How Can I Access Old Inmate Records?

Inmate locators provided by each correctional authority in Maryland generally have information about offenders who are currently in custody. Anyone looking to find records of old or former inmates in the state may begin their search from the State Archives (MSA). They may contact the MSA at (410) 260-6400 or toll-free at (800) 235-4045 to inquire about its record search service. For old inmates who served time in the state's federal prisons, anyone may check the National Archives for the possibility of finding information on them or submit a FOIA request to the BOP.

Third-party sites like Marylandpublicrecords.us have public records, including inmate records, stored in their database. Typically, they collate these records periodically and save them over the years in their database, enabling interested persons to access old or legacy records for a small fee.

If someone needs detailed records of an old inmate in Maryland, they should consider visiting the correctional facility where the inmate was housed before release. Generally, correctional facilities keep physical and/or digital files of all inmates who have passed through the state's prison system and can make them available to the public upon request, although the service may come at a fee. Alternatively, interested persons may retrieve old inmate records in Maryland by completing the Public Information Act Request Form and submitting it to the DPSCS by email or mail to:

Can I Find a Maryland Inmate Record for Free?

Yes. Each prison/jail authority in Maryland provides free access to inmate records through their online inmate search tools. However, they may only provide records of offenders incarcerated in their facilities and do not have information about inmates housed in correctional facilities outside their jurisdiction. With third-party sites like Marylandpublicrecords.us, anyone may obtain information about inmates housed in any correctional facility, regardless of the prison/jail authority in charge of the facility. These sites are centralized databases that offer one-stop access to records of inmates in local, state, and federal correctional facilities in the state.

Jails and Prisons in Maryland

Maryland classifies all correctional facilities operating in the state into the following categories based on the type of authority in charge of facility administration:

• State Prisons - The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) manages 18 prison facilities, which include detention facilities and correctional facilities.
• Local Jails - These correctional facilities are managed by county sheriff's offices, and there are about 29 of them around the state.
• Federal Prisons - The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) oversees the correctional facilities operated by the three federal prisons in Maryland.

State Prisons in Maryland

Some of the state-operated prisons in Maryland are listed in the table below:

Private Prisons in Maryland

No private prisons are operating in Maryland.

Maryland Inmate Statistics

• Maryland Incarceration Rate - 252 per 100,000 residents
• Male Incarceration Rate - 500 per 100,000 males
• Female Incarceration Rate - 17 per 100,000 females
• Youth Custody Rate - 31 per 100,000 youths
• Number of Prisoners in Private Prisons - 0
• Black/White Imprisonment Disparity - 5:1
• Latino/White Imprisonment Disparity - 0.8:1
• Number of offenders under community supervision - 1,399 per 100,000 people
• Number on probation - 1,169 per 100,000 people
• Number on parole - 170 per 100,000 people
• Felony Disenfranchisement Rate - 0.4%

* Source: United States Bureau of Justice Statistics