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HD 4343

A communication from the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (see Section 40 of Chapter 126 of the General Laws) submitting the aggregate data on the population of the Plymouth County Correctional Facility for the second quarter of calendar year 2024

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

Formalizes quarterly, aggregate jail-population reporting from PCCF and sheriffs to state agencies, boosting transparency and standardized data, while noting current data gaps.

Placed on file
0
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Bill Summary · HD 4343

Summary of HD 4343 — Quarterly Population Reporting for Plymouth County Correctional Facility (Q2 2024)

Overview and purpose

  • HD 4343 is a proposed bill framed as a communication from the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (MSA) under Section 40 of Chapter 126 of the General Laws.
  • Purpose: to present aggregate quarterly population data for the Plymouth County Correctional Facility (PCCF) for the second quarter of 2024, and to outline the data reporting framework used by Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Offices (MSA) in compliance with state law.
  • Status: Placed on file (introduced February 3, 2025).

What the bill would do

  • Formalize the collection and reporting of specified jail population data to state officials on a quarterly basis.
  • Ensure quarterly, aggregate (non-identifying) data from PCCF and other sheriffs’ offices are compiled and shared with designated legislative and executive branch entities.

Key provisions and data elements

  • Data to be recorded for each person committed to a jail or house of correction (non-identifying at the individual level):
    • Probation central file number (PCF)
    • State Identification number (SID), when available
    • Race and ethnicity
    • Offense-based tracking number (OBTN)
    • Type of release
    • Type of admission
    • Length of sentence
    • Jail credit from pretrial incarceration
    • Earned time
    • Program participation and outcome during incarceration
    • Case disposition
    • Bail amount or reason if no bail set
  • The aggregate quarterly report must cover the entire calendar quarter and exclude any identifying inmate information.
  • Reports to be delivered each quarter to:
    • Secretary of Public Safety and Security
    • House and Senate Chairs, Joint Committee on the Judiciary
    • House and Senate Chairs, Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security
    • Clerks of the House and Senate
  • Data collaboration: produced in partnership with the Executive Office of Public Safety & Security (EOPSS) using data from the Commonwealth’s Criminal Justice Cross-Tracking System.

Data definitions highlighted

  • PCF Number: Probation identification number; not linked to fingerprint data.
  • SID: Ten-character identifier created via fingerprinting (AFIS) by the Department of State Police.
  • OBTN: Unique event identifier linking arrest/custody to fingerprints.
  • Note: The statute requires data points (case disposition, bail amount, reason for no bail) that originate with the Trial Court, which means sheriffs currently cannot populate these fields. The MSA, Trial Court, and EOPSS are working to refine retrieval from the Cross-Tracking System.

Who is affected

  • Massachusetts sheriffs’ offices, with PCCF as a specific example, and the state agencies involved in criminal justice data (EOPSS, Trial Court, and the Department of State Police).

Timeline and procedural aspects

  • The bill is a proposed communication and, as introduced, has been placed on file. No enactment timeline is provided; the document outlines data reporting requirements and interagency coordination.

Potential impact and considerations

  • Enhances transparency and consistency in reporting jail/population data.
  • Promotes standardized data elements while acknowledging current data limitations (disposition, bail, and bail-justification fields) that require cross-agency collaboration.
  • May inform policy discussions on justice-system transparency, resource allocation, and oversight.

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

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