MARYLAND (WBFF) — The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Maryland Judiciary have banned the state’s two largest private home detention monitoring agencies from soliciting business in any state district court.
The actions follow months of complaints from court personnel and the legal community about misconduct from workers at A1 Trusted Monitoring Services and WatchTower Alcohol & Home Monitoring Services, who are each vying for the same home electronic monitoring client base.
Private home detention monitoring agencies (PHDMAs) receive millions in state funds each year to subsidize indigent clients participating in Maryland’s pretrial home detention programs. In fiscal year 2025, the state distributed about $3.4 million to seven agencies, according to Nick Cavey, spokesman for the Maryland Judiciary. Today, five agencies are eligible.
A Jan. 21 letter from John P. Morrissey, chief judge of the District Court of Maryland, outlines “unacceptable” behavior by A1 and WatchTower employees, including engaging “in physical or verbal aggression against one another in the courtroom” and toward the legal community.
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