North Branch Correctional Institution
| Location | Cumberland, Maryland 21502 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°36′09″N 78°49′04″W / 39.60254°N 78.81779°WCoordinates: 39°36′09″N 78°49′04″W / 39.60254°N 78.81779°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Maximum adult males |
| Population | 1,396 (daily average) (as of 2010) |
| Opened | 2003 |
| Managed by | Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services |
| Warden | Frank Bishop |
North Branch Correctional Institution (NBCI) is a high-tech, maximum security prison or "hyper-max prison" operated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in Cresaptown, unincorporated Allegany County, Maryland, near Cumberland.
NBCI initially opened in January 2003 as an extension of the earlier adjacent Western Correctional Institution, with full independent operation beginning in the summer 2008 with the completion of housing unit construction. Final construction costs amounted to more than $175 million. In 2011, operating costs totaled $50,613,215 for 1,471 inmates, equating to approximately $34,407 per inmate per year. With 555 employees as of 2011, NBCI is the eighth-largest employer in Allegany County.
Since the closure of the Maryland House of Correction in Jessup, Maryland in 2007 NBCI has housed the most serious offenders within the state of Maryland, including death row inmates (before the death penalty sentences were commuted to LWOP following Maryland's abolition of the death penalty). At the time of its construction, NBCI was one of the most technologically advanced prisons in the world.
The prison was constructed using an “inverted fortress” style of building placement, with a master control tower sitting in the middle of a complex that is ringed with housing units and support structures. The control tower is designed for maximum oversight with minimum staffing, requiring only two officers to maintain the entire security system. It has an unobstructed view of the entire grounds, as well as a complete surveillance of every area accessed by inmates. Additionally, the tower has control over all security doors, cameras, and even the flow of water into individual cells. Instead of one large cell block, the prison features separate housing blocks all zoned and protected so the movement of inmates is eased reducing the risk of riots and violence.
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