State Leaders Say Body Cameras Cut Prison Assaults at ECI

Westover, MD - The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services showed off its body worn camera system this week at the Eastern Correctional Institution.

All Maryland correctional officers now wear the cameras as part of a statewide rollout that finished in July of 2026.

State leaders say the cameras help keep officers and incarcerated individuals safe. They are meant to lower physical confrontations, boost accountability, and protect staff from false claims.

During the visit, officers showed reporters how the cameras work day to day. They explained how officers turn the cameras on and dock them, how the footage gets stored, and how staff pull up recordings for investigations.

The camera rollout follows a larger camera upgrade project at Maryland prisons. That project expanded the department's surveillance tools across the system.

Deputy Secretary for Operations David C. Greene spoke about the new technology. "Body-worn cameras give our staff and the individuals in our custody an added layer of protection and transparency," he said. "This technology helps de-escalate situations before they become dangerous, provides an objective record when incidents do occur, and reinforces the accountability our officers and the public both expect from this Department. This technology also has a track-record of success as we've already seen a significant reduction in prison assaults at ECI, in Eastern Maryland, and across the state-enabling us to better protect the public, our staff, and those within our care."

The numbers back up his point. As of August, monthly assaults across the department are the lowest they have been since November 2023.

Eastern Maryland has seen the biggest safety gains of any region so far. Assaults there have dropped 45 percent since the end of May.

At ECI itself, the change has been even bigger. Assaults at the facility have fallen 49 percent since March.

Summer usually brings higher assault numbers across the department because of the heat. This past August broke that pattern, with year over year rates the lowest they have been in four years statewide.

ECI saw the sharpest drop of all. The facility recorded half as many physical assaults in August 2026 as it did in August 2025, making it the lowest level of assaults at ECI since September 2023.