Bill
SD 1612
Establishes an annual, standardized study of emergency medical care for people in custody in MA, reporting to AG, to inform policy and budgeting, and reduce custodial deaths.
Status: House concurred
Introduced: February 27, 2025
Sponsor: Patrick M. O’Connor (First Plymouth and Norfolk)
Committee action: Referred to The Judiciary (2025-02-27)
Purpose and intent
- This bill would establish a formal, annual study of how emergency medical care is delivered to people in custody (arrested, en route to custody, or incarcerated in jails/prisons) in Massachusetts.
- The aim is to fill critical data gaps that currently hinder understanding of why custodial deaths occur and to inform policy, resource allocation, and cost containment related to custodial health outcomes.
Key provisions
1) Definitions (section wise framing)
- Clarifies terms used in the bill, including:
- Law enforcement officer, officer, or police duties (broadly defined to include various sworn and special officers and constables).
- Correctional officer and correctional agency (including the Department of Corrections, a House of Corrections, or a jail).
- Emergency medical condition (a medical condition with severe symptoms where prompt care is necessary to avoid serious jeopardy or functional impairment).
- Custody (detention of a person under arrest or en route to incarceration, or incarcerated at a correctional facility).
2) Findings
- Argues that custodial deaths are poorly understood and historically not adequately tallied or investigated for timely and adequate medical care.
- Cites limitations of the federal Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) for providing detailed clinical data and understanding pre-mortality factors.
- Emphasizes that current data gaps hinder identifying why emergency medical needs are unmet and complicate budgeting, policy, and litigation costs.
- Notes a 2024 U.S. DOJ Office of Inspector General finding that about 48% of custodial deaths in BOP facilities involved insufficient emergency medical responses, using this as a catalyst to study similar conditions in Massachusetts.
3) Reporting requirements (timeline and process)
- Within 365 days after enactment, the state administering agency for DCRA (RPAD in the Office of Grants and Research, EOPSS) shall, in consultation with a broad network of local and state agencies (344 municipal police departments; 59 college/university law enforcement; 24 county houses of correction and jails; 17 state prisons; state arresting/lock-up agencies; EMS), submit information regarding the delivery of emergency medical care to persons held in custody to the Massachusetts Attorney General.
- The Attorney General, together with the DCRA SAA, must annually acquire, collect, classify, and study the delivery of emergency medical care, reporting details in a uniform manner about when and how care is summoned and provided.
- The annual report is to cover, among other details, the frequency, nature, and timing of care, including but not limited to the number of emergency department admissions and hospitalizations.
Entities affected
- Massachusetts Attorney General and the DCRA administering agency (RPAD/OGR within EOPSS).
- Law enforcement and correctional agencies at the municipal, county, and state levels (police departments, college/university law enforcement, counties’ houses of correction and jails, state prisons, and other arresting/lock-up facilities).
- Emergency medical services (EMS) providers.
- The reporting framework would feed into the annual state analysis of custodial medical care delivery.
Procedural and timeline aspects
- Initial data collection due within 365 days post-enactment.
- Ongoing annual reporting cycle to inform policy decisions and resource allocation.
Overall impact
- Creates a structured, data-driven approach to understanding and improving the delivery of emergency medical care to people in custody.
- Aims to improve health outcomes, strengthen trust in law enforcement and correctional systems, and potentially reduce costs associated with preventable custodial deaths through better data and accountability.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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