Maryland considers enhanced prison escape alerts

Maryland prison officials say they may enhance their system for alerting nearby residents of escapes from the state prison complex near Hagerstown.

The announcement by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services follows the escape on Jan. 17 of a convicted murderer who eluded capture for five days.

The agency says it is considering adding a telephone notification process to alert local residents of prison breaks. Such a system is already in place at a prerelease unit on the Eastern Shore.

The department says it sounded a siren after the escape from the medium-security Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown, but some neighbors told The Hagerstown Herald-Mail they didn’t hear it.