State Records on Mentally Ill Detainees Destroyed, ACLU Claims

BALTIMORE – The Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center, a key pretrial detention facility, is under scrutiny for its treatment of detainees with severe mental illnesses. Many individuals are forced to wait for extended periods, often months, for transfers to state-run psychiatric hospitals for necessary evaluations and treatments. This situation has raised significant concerns among advocates and legal representatives regarding the adequacy of mental health care provided within the facility. Attorneys from the ACLU's National Prison Project have described the living conditions in the facility's inpatient mental health unit as "extremely harsh." The unit, part of an aging infrastructure, has been the subject of ongoing monitoring due to a longstanding health care lawsuit. The ACLU's involvement highlights the systemic issues faced by individuals with mental health challenges in the pretrial detention system. During a recent tour of the mental health unit, ACLU attorney Corene Kendrick observed troubling documentation practices, including handwritten logs that tracked the amount of time detainees spent outside their cells. These logs serve as a stark reminder of the restrictive environment and the lack of adequate recreational or therapeutic opportunities for those incarcerated. The situation in Baltimore's detention facility underscores the urgent need for reform in the treatment of mentally ill detainees, as advocates continue to call for improved conditions and timely access to appropriate mental health care.