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 Hampshire County Correctional Facility for the fourth quarter of calendar year 2024

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

Requires quarterly, non-identifying aggregate inmate data from Hampshire County Correctional Facility to state safety officials, boosting transparency and standardized jail data.

Placed on file

Purpose and Intent

HD 4780 records a communication from the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (MSA) submitting the aggregate, non-identifying population data for Hampshire County Correctional Facility for the fourth quarter of 2024. The filing aligns with the statutory requirements in Section 40 of Chapter 126, ensuring quarterly reporting of jail and house of correction populations to state safety officials and legislative leadership.

Key Provisions

Reporting obligation: The Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office must compile and deliver a quarterly aggregate population report for the entire quarterly period, based on the requirements of Chapter 126, Section 40.

Data elements (non-identifying): Each inmate/detainee entry includes:

Probation Central File (PCF) number
State Identification (SID) number
Offense-Based Tracking Number (OBTN)
Race and Ethnicity
Additional fields related to admission and release

Data source and privacy: Reports rely on data from the Commonwealth’s Criminal Justice Cross-Tracking System. Reports are prepared without any personally identifying information.

Submission recipients: Each quarter, sheriff reports must be delivered to:

Secretary of Public Safety and Security
House and Senate chairs of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary
House and Senate chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security
Clerks of the House of Representatives and the Senate

Data Scope, Definitions, and Limitations

Defined identifiers:

PCF: Probation Central File number (identification, not fingerprint-based)
SID: State Identification number (10-character alphanumeric, fingerprint-supported)
OBTN: Offense-Based Tracking Number (links fingerprints to custody events)

Important limitations: Three data points required by statute—case disposition, bail amount, and bail rationale if no bail set—are not owned by Sheriff’s Offices and originate with the Trial Court. The MSA, with Trial Court and EOPSS, is working to refine methods to retrieve these metrics electronically from the Cross-Tracking System.

Disclaimer: Some SID/PCF/OBTN data may be missing due to lag times in data availability.

Who Is Affected

Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office

Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association

Executive Office of Public Safety & Security (EOPSS)

Trial Court (for data points derived from court disposition, bail, and related reasons)

Legislative chairs and clerks (Joint Committee on the Judiciary and Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security)

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

Frequency: Quarterly population reports corresponding to each calendar quarter.

Current status: Introduced and placed on file on June 4, 2025.

Purpose of placement on file: To acknowledge receipt and maintain record of the quarterly data submission without enacting new requirements beyond those already defined by statute.

Potential Impact

Enhances transparency and consistency in reporting jail population characteristics.

Provides legislators and public safety officials with standardized, aggregate demographic and administrative data for Hampshire County’s correctional facility.

Highlights data gaps (notably court-derived fields) and fosters interagency collaboration to improve electronic reporting through the Cross-Tracking System.

This summary reflects the bill’s stated content and its relation to existing statutory reporting requirements.

Bill