Maryland Inmate Search

The online search for inmates in Maryland has been made easier with the development of an inmate tool locator. The tool is a free online service that allows the public to search for information on an inmate in the custody of the Maryland Public Safety and Correctional Services.  

Procedure for Searching for an Inmate in Maryland  

1. Visit the inmate tool locator website.  
2. Provide the required details of the inmate you are searching for; the most important is the first and last name.  
3. Scroll through the list that will be provided of inmates with information similar to the one you submitted.  
4. Identify the inmate you are interested in and click on their name. Personal data about the inmate will be displayed on the screen. The information will include their name, date of birth, holding facility, and other relevant inmate information.  

You may as well use the same Maryland offender lookup tool to figure out the inmate's release date. Suppose you do not come across such information, it could be due to security issues, and the information is only available to close family members, attorneys, and authorized law officials. However, the inmate's release month or years could be displayed for the public.  

Maryland Inmate Roster 

The inmate roster contains detailed information about inmates in the custody of Maryland correctional institutions. Maryland's Public Information Act has ensured that the government and other third-party organizations have made these records available to the public.  

The inmate's records are first obtained by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, which then shares the information with the public and other third-party organizations that would like to pass the same data to the public or other interested parties as well. Inmates' data is considered public records that can be accessed in compliance with Maryland's Public Information Act (PIA). 

Even though third-party organizations have no geographical limitations when it comes to searching for an inmate data, most of them often provide an inmate's personal information at a fee. Their information may also vary from website to website, depending on how often they obtain data from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to update their records. 

To use a nongovernmental search tool, you will require the inmate's name, including state, county, and city. The search provides most of the inmate's data unless it is a juvenile.  

Maryland Inmate Rosters contains general information about an inmate; the data includes: the inmate's name, date of birth, race, sex, booking number, current location, and status. 

Difference between Maryland Prison Inmate search and County Jail Inmate Search 

While searching for an inmate in a Maryland prison, you may use the above procedure in which you access the inmate locator website, provide the required details of an inmate, and the system will display all the inmate's personal information. You will gain access to all inmates' information apart from those that have escaped, been released, sentenced for a short time, or are juveniles.  

However, while accessing inmates' information in a Maryland County Jail, you may use the inmate locator tool provided by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services or contact the local sheriff's office or police department. For instance, the Baltimore County Department of Corrections for the Baltimore county jail.  

The main difference between Maryland prisons and county jails is the kind of inmates they hold. The severity of the offenses committed by the offender will determine whether they will be held in prison or county jail. Inmates held in jail are those given short sentences due to minor crimes, while those in prison have committed more serious crimes and are sentenced to longer terms.  

Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services 

The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services oversees the operations of state prisons and county jails in Maryland. The department has two divisions: Correction and Pretrial Detention and Services. 

• Division of Pretrial Detention and Services 

It oversees all operations in all county jails in Maryland. It is divided into three regions: Central, Eastern, and Western.  

• The Division of Correction 

The Division of Correction runs all the affairs of the state prisons in Maryland's five regions. They include Central, Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern regions. 

The department has divided Maryland prisons into levels as seen below: 

• Minimum security prisons- they hold non-violent inmates.  
• Low-security prisons- they hold non-violent inmates serving longer sentences.  
• Medium security prisons- they hold violent inmates with longer sentences  
• High-security prisons- they hold violent inmates with longer sentences, including those that have been sentenced to death.