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Prisons Official Says Assaults Are Down

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- The secretary of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services says serious assaults by inmates on staff at state prisons are down.

Gary Maynard, speaking to the Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday, said the assaults have declined 50 percent over four years. There were 10 such assaults in fiscal 2010.

He says serious inmate-on-inmate assaults have also dropped.

Maynard attributed the drops to better security and less contraband. The department has spent more than $1 million on new and upgraded entrance-scanning equipment. Cell-phone-sniffing dogs have helped cut down on phone being available to gang members.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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