Carolyn Scruggs | |
|---|---|
 at a Maryland cabinet meeting in 2025 | |
| Born | |
| Education | Towson State University, Coppin State University. |
Carolyn Scruggs is an American executive who became the first black woman to lead Maryland's Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
Scruggs was brought up in Oliver, Baltimore. Her father, Calvin Scruggs, ran a funeral home. [1]
In 1995 Scruggs became a correctional officer at Maryland's Central Booking. [2]
Governor-elect Wes Moore appointed Scruggs to lead the Department of Public Safety and Corrections in 2023. She was the first black woman to that department where she had worked for 27 years [1] She has a Master's Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Baltimores's Coppin State University. [2] She was appointed on the same day as Russell Strickland was re-appointed Secretary of Emergency Management, Harold “Bud” Frank became deputy Chief of Staff and Katie Savage became the Secretary of Information Technology. [3]
In May 2025 Parole Agent Davis Martinez was murdered while making a home visit. Three managers resigned and Scruggs said that home visits would not continue until staff had received additional equipment and training. [4]
Scruggs estimated that the Maryland Correctional Institution - Jessup would need $200 million in renovations to bring it up to standard [5] and that its closure would save the state $21 million a year in operational costs. On September 29, 2025, Governor Wes Moore announced that the prison was to close. [6]
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