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Census data reveals the burden of incarceration on Baltimore

A re-entry services fair at Dorsey Run Correctional Facility in Jessup, Maryland, informs returning citizens about resources related to housing and employment. Credit: MD DPSCS Twitter.
A re-entry services fair at Dorsey Run Correctional Facility in Jessup, Maryland, informs returning citizens about resources related to housing and employment. Credit: MD DPSCS Twitter.

While people in state prison come from all over Maryland, new Census data reveal the lopsided burden on some communities - the southern Eastern Shore, Hagerstown, and most acutely, Baltimore City.

The report, produced by the Justice Policy Institute and the Prison Policy Initiative, is titled, "Where people come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Maryland."

Keith Wallington of the Justice Policy Institute says the findings cast doubt on what is being done to prevent incarceration and reduce recidivism, "In many cases, individuals are going back to these same neighborhoods they come from, which are neighborhoods that have seen sustained investments in the justice system at the expense of other investments."

Check out data on the number of people in prison in 2020 from each Maryland county and from Baltimore City neighborhoods.

Then, Michael Harris of the Baltimore re-entry program, Face Inc. - Freedom Advocates Celebrating Ex-Offenders - talks about the challenges that confront returning citizens. Harris is a recipient of a 2022 Weaver Award. Learn more here.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.