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 Sharing Our Stake in Maryland's Public Safety | January 2012 |
The Public Safety Stakeholder
 An E-publication of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for our Criminal Justice and Community Partners |
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Did You See Us
In The News?
Recent sightings of our public safety efforts in your local media are updated daily on the DPSCS homepage
Recent headlines:
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DPSCS' mission is to protect the public, our employees and those under our supervision.
Governor Martin O'Malley Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown
DPSCS Secretary Gary D. Maynard |
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Thanks to a grant from Baltimore's Abell Foundation, work that began in 2008 on the historic Mt. Auburn Cemetery can continue |
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New K-9 Graduates Keeping Maryland Prisons and Local Communities Safe
Four-legged graduates joined their handlers at the Randolph Millholland National Guard Armory in Hagerstown this month, after completing the rigorous Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) K-9 training program. The eleven graduates included two Washington County Sheriff's deputies and nine DPSCS employees who will be deployed to institutions across the state.
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DPSCS Victim Services Staff Observes Stalking Awareness Month
In recognition of Stalking Awareness Month, the DPSCS Office of Victim Services (OVS) not only educated staff on the issues surrounding stalking so they could better serve victims, but also headed out into the community to bring awareness to citizens. Launched in 2004 by a conglomeration of stalking and victim organizations, Stalking Awareness Month is recognized nationally to spotlight the dangerous crime that affect 3.4 million adults in the United States each year according to the National Center for Victims of Crime.
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Abell Grant Ramps-Up DPSCS Restoration of Mt. Auburn Cemetery
One of the most historic African-American burial grounds in Maryland continues to be blessed by the efforts of DPSCS and its inmates. Mt. Auburn Cemetery in South Baltimore---once known as "the Great City of the Dead For Colored People"--- will have a fulltime Public Safety Works crew for a year thanks to a grant from the Baltimore-based Abell Foundation. DPSCS initiative
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New K-9 Graduates Keeping Maryland Prisons and Local Communities Safe continued 
"It's a credit to Major Shumake and his team that so many handlers and their dogs made it through the rigorous training. In the past few years, our K-9 unit has done a phenomenal job intercepting contraband, often finding it before it enters our institutions," said Tina Stump, Director of Security Operations for DPSCS.
The DPSCS K-9 Unit is internationally recognized for its dog breeding and training programs. The Department was the first correctional K-9 unit in the nation to breed and train its own cell phone detector dogs. The unit trains and assists many local jurisdictions' law enforcement and correctional agencies in K-9 practices, as well as other states and nations.
This month's graduates are a mix of detector and patrol handlers. Detector dogs are called upon to search for drugs and contraband, while patrol dogs help with crowd control.
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DPSCS Victim Services Staff Observes Stalking Awareness Month continued
"We have found that the most effective way to help the public protect themselves against new or continued victimization is through outreach and education," stated DaShawn Cabbagestalk, Assistant Director of Victim Services for DPSCS. "Being visible in the community lets people know DPSCS staff is here and available to assist them."
The Department's OVS routinely participates in community outreach events geared towards education, resources, awareness, and prevention. OVS works with various community partners statewide to both organize and facilitate a host of projects which include trainings, seminars, workshops and resource information sharing and distribution. Generally, these efforts include providing the community with knowledge on topics such as Domestic Violence, Sexual Abuse/Assault, Child Abuse, Stalking, Youth Violence, Bullying, Gangs, Vicarious Trauma, etc.
Cabbagestalk added "giving people information empowers them to help themselves."
OVS staff headed to two popular Markets - Lexington and North East - in downtown Baltimore during January to hand out stalking awareness materials. Making prevention materials free and available in the community eliminates some of the barriers that often prevent people from receiving the information. It was also an opportunity to educate people about what services the Department can provide, either directly or via referral.
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Abell Grant Ramps-Up DPSCS Restoration of Mt. Auburn Cemetery continued
The grant will allow DPSCS to continue its three-year effort to rehabilitate the sprawling 32-acre burial ground, which until recently had gone decades without being visible to the surrounding neighborhoods due to severe overgrowth.
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Mt. Auburn Graves are almost impossible to locate prior to DPSCS crews starting the process to remove overgrowth in 2008 |
Morgan State University's Center of Museum Studies and Historical Preservation will work to locate unmarked graves and document historical finds, and inmates will be specially trained in not only landscaping, but eventually, in headstone-setting and other cemetery preservation efforts as well.
Thanks to the Abell Foundation, the partnership between Mt. Auburn's owners, the City of Baltimore, DPSCS, and Morgan State is an outstanding example of Secretary Gary Maynard and DPSCS' restorative justice programs, which allow inmates truly meaningful opportunities to pay society back.
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