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HD 5805

A communication from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (see Section 2 of Chapter 170 of the Acts of 2004) submitting the Massachusetts Electronic Control Weapons annual report for calendar year 2023

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

Massachusetts ECW use rose in 2023 with 1,257 incidents and 488 deployments across 300 agencies, driven by more frequent deployments and warnings, underscoring growing law enforcem

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Bill Summary · HD 5805

Summary of Bill: HD 5805 (194th Session, Massachusetts)

This bill is a communication from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) submitting the Massachusetts Electronic Control Weapons (ECW) annual report for calendar year 2023, as required by law. It presents findings, data, and analysis from the 2023 ECW reporting cycle and provides context for statewide ECW use by law enforcement agencies.

Purpose and Intent

  • To fulfill legislative requirements by informing the Legislature and public about ECW usage in 2023.
  • To provide a comprehensive accounting of ECW incidents, deployments, warnings, and demographic details of subjects involved.
  • To support oversight, policy discussion, and potential future reforms related to ECWs in Massachusetts.

Key Provisions and Content (Substantive Elements)

  • Overview of ECW program scope:
    • Total ECW-using agencies: 300 (286 municipal and 14 non-municipal) as of end-2023 (a 0.7% increase from 2022).
    • Newly reporting agencies in 2023: Bunker Hill Community College Police Department and Goshen Police Department.
  • Incidents and deployments:
    • Total ECW incidents in 2023: 1,257 (a 13.1% increase from 2022).
    • ECW deployments (probes and/or stuns) in 2023: 488 incidents with deployments; 768 total deployments by agencies (including probe and stun cycles; total deployments reflect multiple types).
    • Distribution of incidents per agency ranged from 0 to 83; 197 agencies (65.7%) reported at least one ECW incident.
    • Among agencies with deployments, 82 agencies (63.1%) reported 1–3 deployments; a minority had higher deployment counts.
  • Agency staffing and equipment trends (2020–2023):
    • Sworn officers at ECW agencies decreased by 0.4% from 2022 to 2023.
    • ECW-trained officers decreased by 2.1%.
    • Agency-owned ECW devices decreased by 9.5% (after 2022 spike in devices).
    • Overall ECW agency count grew modestly (0.7% in 2023).
  • ECW contacts and demographics (year 2023):
    • Total ECW contacts with human subjects: 1,356 (12 involved animals/fowl).
    • Gender: 1,228 male (90.6%), 125 female (9.2%), 3 unknown.
    • Race/ethnicity: White non-Hispanic 650 (47.9%), Black non-Hispanic 226 (18.3%), White Hispanic 202 (14.9%), Unknown/Other categories also reported.
    • Ethnicity: 899 Non-Hispanic (66.3%), 269 Hispanic (19.8%), 188 Unknown/Not Reported.
    • Age: average 34.3 years; 71.2% aged 20–44.
  • Warnings and compliance:
    • Warnings issued in 1,237 of 1,356 human contacts (91.2%).
    • Compliance rate following warnings: 41.1% of warnings resulted in a submission (warning and deployment data).
    • Laser warnings yielded higher compliance (55.9% where only laser warnings were used); verbal warnings had lower immediate compliance.
    • 64.3% of contacts involved multiple warnings; verbal plus laser warnings were the most common combination.
    • In 8.8% of contacts, no warning was issued prior to deployment; in 5.0%, deployment occurred with no warning due to sudden subject actions.
  • Deployment specifics:
    • Types: probe deployments (dart probes) and stun deployments (drive-stun/immediate contact).
    • Of 488 deployments: 48.6% probe-only, 40.8% stun-only, 10.7% both.
    • Submission/subject compliance after deployment: 67.0% of deployments led to submission.
  • Subject characteristics and deployment patterns:
    • Data broken out by gender, race/ethnicity, age show varying trends in warnings vs. deployments across groups, with higher deployment rates among certain age ranges and demographics.
    • Age groups 40–44 and 65+ show notable patterns in warnings vs. deployments.
  • Regional and agency distribution:
    • Density charts show most agencies reporting low ECW activity, with a minority accounting for a large share of incidents and deployments.
    • Appendix tables provide detailed by-agency incident counts (municipal vs. non-municipal), and deployment counts by agency.
  • Definitions and methodology:
    • Provides terms and definitions for ECW, ECW incident, contact, deployment types, warnings, and related data collection methodology.
    • Data collection requires uniform reporting by all ECW-using agencies and is analyzed by OGR RPAD (Research and Policy Analysis Division).

Who/What is Affected

  • Massachusetts law enforcement agencies that use ECWs (municipal and non-municipal).
  • Officers carrying ECWs and trained on ECW use.
  • The public, as ECW deployment data includes information on the demographics of individuals subjected to ECWs.

Procedural/Timelines and Legal Context

  • The report fulfills a statutory requirement tied to Section 2 of Chapter 170 of the Acts of 2004 (and later amendments), requiring the Secretary of Public Safety and Security to collect ECW usage data and provide an annual report.
  • Regulation updates reflected changes to Section 131J (Chapter 140) and Chapter 253 (2020 reforms), with 2023 regulatory alignment noted in the report.
  • The annual report covers calendar year 2023 data; the next report will similarly cover the following year.

Notable Observations

  • The overall number of ECW incidents rose significantly in 2023 after several years of slower growth, indicating a continuing exposure of more incidents or increased reporting by agencies.
  • While the number of agencies slightly increased, agency-owned ECW devices continued to fluctuate, with a net decrease in 2023 after a 2022 rise.
  • The majority of ECW contacts involve warnings, and a minority culminate in deployment, with a substantial portion of deployments resulting in subject submission.

If you need, I can extract specific figures (e.g., tables or per-agency deployment counts) into a concise data appendix.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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