The state corrections department is planning to imminently transfer all detainees out of the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center — an aging facility in downtown Baltimore that had numerous maintenance issues last year.

In a statement, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said the “decision is in the interest of the safety and well-being of the facility’s staff and incarcerated individuals.”

The statement cited an independent engineering consultant that “identified concerns regarding the facility’s physical structure” at some point this week. The department then determined that the “continued occupancy of the facility is not consistent with public safety.”

“Today, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services is executing an urgent, comprehensive strategy for the immediate and orderly depopulation of the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center,” said department Secretary Carolyn Scruggs. “We are prioritizing the health and security of every individual under our care and employment.”

Last year, conditions at the center, an adult facility, drew the attention of the public defender’s office when water and plumbing issues caused sewage backups and detainees were forced to remain in cells with “unflushed excrement.” Later that year, an HVAC breakdown led to triple-digit temperatures at the same Baltimore facility.

The facility, which houses pretrial detainees, opened in 1981 and currently holds 393 incarcerated individuals. It has 260 budgeted staff positions.

In a statement Thursday, the union representing correctional officers at the facility said it “has been sounding the alarm about hazardous and dangerous conditions in state facilities, but particularly at MRDCC for years.”

“Concerns about the facilities failures, asbestos, black mold as well as other serious health and safety concerns have been brought up continuously at Labor-Management Committee meetings in the central region with little or no action from the administration,” said Dorian Johnson, the president of AFSCME Local 1427, which represents city correctional officers.

Johnson went on to say: “While we are pleased that the administration has suddenly acknowledged many of our long-held complaints and concerns, we were blindsided by their sudden action.”

He described the decision to “depopulate” the facility as “dangerous and rushed.”

“We are very concerned that this depopulation and transfer could also lead to increased violence and further overcrowding of other facilities throughout the system,” Johnson said. “Our members and incarcerated individuals have already been subject to enormous spikes in violence and assaults over recent years. Hastily moving close to 400 individuals in 72 hours further puts people at an unnecessary risk.”

Most detainees from the facility will be transferred to the Metropolitan Transition Center in Baltimore. Women will be moved to the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup. The department announced the move as “an emergency transfer, and not a final closure.”

In September, Gov. Wes Moore announced plans to shut down the Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup, a medium-security facility built in 1981, saying it needed $200 million worth of upgrades and renovations to bring it up to standards.

The corrections department is dealing with a massive maintenance backlog in its facilities across the state.

This story has been updated.