Evening star., 1955-02-28
Inspector Lauds
Jail Conditions
In nMontgomery
No Maryland Lookup
Meets National
Standards, However

NiCStS t\OtiOItUl
Standards, However
The Montgomery County jail
at Rockville has been singled
out as one of the best in Mary
land in the State jail inspectors
annual report.
Nevertheless, said the report
of Inspector Wallace Reidt to
the Board of Correction, not a
single county lookup in the
State meets all of the require
ments Of the National Jail Asso-
citation.
Mr.. Reidt also had praise for
improvements at the Prince
Georges and Howard County
jails. He called Calvert County's
the worst in the State. The old
Howard County lookup at Eli
colt City. labeled worst in the
State" in 1889. has been COM
pletely remodeled and improved,
the Associated Press account of
Mr.. Reidt's report said.
Montgomery Needs More Room.
OF the Montgomery County
facilities, Mr.. Reidt warned that
that areas booming population
will soon make it necessary to
provide more room. When that
time comes, he said, it would
be better to put up an entirely
new building rather than ex-
pand the present one.
'"This Jail reflects credit on
the county," he said, land it is
interesting to note that the 81
prisoners serving terms there at
the time of the inspection in
June, 1854, half were at work
on county roads"
He called the Rockville Jail
clean and well-maintained and
said "the morale of staff and
inmates is very high"
Mr.. Reidt found conditions at
the Prince Georges County Jail
in Upper Marlboro improved
greatly during the tenure of
Sheriff Carlton Beall, who took
Office in 1850. Mr.. Beall recently
was appointed United States
Marshal for the District of CO.
lumbia.
No Kitchen or Dining Room.
Although the Prince Georges
County Commissioners have au-
thoriZed a bond issue to build a
new jail, Mr.. Reidt expressed
disappointment that they had
not made arrangements to pro-
vide a kitchen and dining room
In it.
He praised the morale of staff
and prisoners and repairs to the
heating, plumbing and lighting
systems at the jail. He found
the quarters for women prison.
ers poorly arranged, however,
and the quarters for juveniles
rather crowded"
The Baltimore County jail,
however, held the No. spot as
mot only the cleanest and most
orderly county Jail in the State.
but an outstanding example
of what can be done with COM
petent personnel in an outmoded
institution"
The Calvert County Jail, oper-
ated by clearinghouse keeper,
Mrs. Mae King, who gets rs cents
per prisoner each day to feed
her charges, was called fairly
clean" but flunked other tests.
''There is no doubt the sit
uation at this Jail is the worst
in the State" said Mr.. Reidt.
Men and women are locked up
here and no one is in attendance
most of the time. Mrs. King
cannot handle the prisoners and
the cleaning and feeding is gen.
orally left to her servants"
Contract Suggested.
The inspector suggested CAL
vert contract with st. Marys
County for the boarding of pris-
oners at Leonardtown, where
there is plenty of room"
Mr.. Reidt said the Jail was
not secure ''in any way" He
repeated previous suggestions
that Charles. Calvert and st.
Marys Counties establish a
regional Jail.
Mr.. Reidt noted that all county
jails have met at least one
MIA requirement - abolishment
of the fee system and lookup
charge method Of paying for
the services of the jailer or
sheriff.
He added that the old meal-fee
system, criticized by the MIA,
still obtains in II Maryland
counties.
They are Calvert, Caroline,
Charles, Garrett, Kent, Prince
Georges, Queen AnneS, st, MaryS,