September 21st, 2017 by WCBC Radio
Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Stephen T. Moyer announced Thursday, September 21, 2017 that the department is offering new correctional officers $5,000 in financial incentives to join the department.
Those who complete the correctional officer training academy will receive $2,000. An additional $3,000 incentive will be granted after the successful completion of their one year probationary period on the job.
The department already offers $500 to any employee who recommends a successful correctional officer candidate. All of the incentives aim at reducing department vacancies.
In addition, the department has been shutting down older facilities due to a steady drop in its inmate population and transferring hundreds of officers where they are needed most.
Over the past two years, Moyer has closed the decrepit Baltimore City Detention Center, part of the Maryland Correctional Institution in Hagerstown and most recently, the Jail Industries Building in Baltimore, where he made the announcement.
The partial Hagerstown shutdown resulted in 102 officers being transferred to fill vacancies in facilities in the western region. In addition, the department recently temporarily closed the Poplar Hill Pre-Release Unit in Quantico, transferring 23 officers to Eastern Correctional Institution.
“We believe public safety is not just a job,” Moyer said. “We hope these incentives will encourage qualified candidates to join our team to begin a rewarding career in corrections.”
Moyer was able to offer the incentive outside collective bargaining. The department is currently in contract negotiations with union representatives of its remaining employees.
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