During the 2007 legislative session, Senate Bill 69 - Task Force to Study Prison Violence in Maryland was designed to evaluate violence within Maryland prisons and develop a set of recommendations to address key issues. This is an interim report providing an overview of Task Force activity to date that will be included in the final report. The Task Force has taken the necessary steps to evaluate and understand issues contributing to prison violence. The Task Force membership has proven vital in understanding the full scope of these issues and ultimately influence and inform the final recommendations submitted to the Governor. Within this interim report the four subcommittees (Environment and Health, Mental Health, Gangs, Contraband, and Drugs, and Best Practices) provide a listing regarding those areas that have the potential to drive prison violence. Highlights of these areas identified as driving prison violence include: (1) ensuring the accuracy of inmate medical prescriptions, (2) overcrowding of prison facilities, (3) aging prison facilities, (4) need to invest in adequate cognitive behavioral restructuring programs to manage mentally ill inmates; (5) need to examine policies, procedures, and practices of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services related to self-mutilating inmates, (6) need to investigate models of gang management including methods for renunciation of gang ties in a safe and secure manner, (7) develop stronger prosecutorial practices for inmates and staff in possession of contraband, (8) continued investment in substance abuse programming including community services to assist offenders transitioning home; (9) look to evidence-based practices for handling inmates with undiagnosed or unmanaged mental health problems, and (10) look for models to better control behavior of segregation inmates. Figure