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SD 1328

Barnstable County Sheriff's Office Q2 2024 Population Report

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

The bill requires quarterly, non-identifying data on Barnstable County jail populations to be systematically collected and shared with state safety partners and legislators.

Placed on file
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Bill Summary · SD 1328

Summary: SD 1328 — Barnstable County Sheriff's Office Q2 2024 Population Report

Purpose and Intent

SD 1328, titled Barnstable County Sheriff's Office Q2 2024 Population Report, is a proposed Massachusetts bill introduced on January 21, 2025 and placed on file. The bill codifies and clarifies the quarterly population reporting requirements for Barnstable County’s jail population as part of the statewide framework established in General Laws Chapter 126, Section 40. The goal is to provide aggregated, non-identifying data on jail and house of correction populations to state safety partners and legislators to inform policy and public accountability.

Key Provisions and Data Elements

  • Data for each person admitted: The sheriff must record for each inmate the following:
    • Probation Central File (PCF) number
    • State Identification (SID) number (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
  • Aggregate reporting: A quarterly, non-identifying aggregate report must be assembled for the entire quarter.
  • Recipients: The sheriff’s quarterly report must be delivered to the Secretary of Public Safety and Security, the chairs of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, the chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, and the clerks of the House and Senate.
  • Data source and integration: The report is produced in collaboration with the Executive Office of Public Safety & Security (EOPSS) using data from the Commonwealth’s Cross-Tracking System (mass cross-agency data sharing).

Data Definitions and Limitations

  • PCF Number: Identification number assigned by the Massachusetts Probation Service; not fingerprint-based.
  • SID: Ten-character alphanumeric ID produced by fingerprinting via the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).
  • OBTN: A unique identifier for a fingerprint/arrest/custody event.
  • Important limitation: Three data points—case disposition, bail amount, and reason if no bail set—originate with the Trial Court and are not owned by the Sheriff's Offices. The Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (MSA), Trial Court, and EOPSS are working to refine methods to retrieve these metrics from the Cross-Tracking System for electronic reporting.

Who is Affected

  • Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office (data collection and reporting responsibilities)
  • Massachusetts Trial Court (provides disposition and bail data)
  • Executive Office of Public Safety & Security (data partnership and system integration)
  • Legislature and clerks (receivers of the quarterly reports)

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Status: Placed on file as of January 21, 2025.
  • Frequency: Quarterly population reporting, with the example data labeled as Q2 2024.
  • Reporting window and delivery: Reports cover the entire quarterly period and must be delivered to the specified state and legislative offices.

Notable Context

  • The bill reinforces standardized, privacy-preserving reporting (no inmate-identifying information in the published report) and highlights ongoing efforts to harmonize data across agencies, given that some key fields depend on Trial Court inputs.

Overall, SD 1328 aims to ensure Barnstable County’s jail population data are systematically collected and shared in a consistent, government-wide reporting framework.

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

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