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SD 3124

Berkshire County Sheriff's Office Q1 2025 Population Report

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

Requires MA sheriffs to publish quarterly, anonymized jail-population reports using Cross-Tracking data, standardizing metrics to boost transparency and oversight.

Placed on file
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Bill Summary · SD 3124

Summary of SD 3124 — Berkshire County Sheriff's Office Q1 2025 Population Report

Status: Placed on file
Introduced: August 14, 2025
Bill Type: Proposed bill (Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association filing)
Context: Version content centers on a Quarterly Population Report requirement under Chapter 126, Section 40 of the Massachusetts General Laws, applied to sheriffs’ offices.

Purpose and Intent

  • Establish and standardize a quarterly, aggregate population report for each jail or house of correction operated by Massachusetts sheriffs’ offices, including Berkshire County.
  • Improve transparency and data-driven oversight of jail populations while protecting individual privacy.
  • Utilize data from the Commonwealth’s Criminal Justice Cross-Tracking System to compile statewide statistics for policy review by executive and legislative branches.

Key Provisions

  • Each sheriff must record a defined set of data for every person committed to a jail or house of correction (no identifying information in the public reports):
    • Probation Central File (PCF) number
    • State Identification Number (SID), if 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 outcomes during incarceration
    • Case disposition
    • Bail amount or reason if no bail set
  • The aggregate data must cover the entire quarterly period and be delivered each quarter to:
    • Secretary of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS)
    • 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 and Senate
  • Reports are to be generated in partnership with EOPSS and use Cross-Tracking System data.

Data Elements, Definitions, and Limitations

  • Data elements are defined (PCF, SID, OBTN) with explanations of when and how they are generated (e.g., SID created upon fingerprinting; potential lag in data availability).
  • Important caveat: three data points—case disposition, bail amount, and reason if no bail set—originate with the Trial Court and may not be populated by Sheriffs’ Offices yet. The Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (MSA), Trial Court, and EOPSS are coordinating to refine retrieval and reporting of these fields electronically.
  • Data will be reported in aggregate form; no individual inmate identifiers are included in the published reports.

Who Is Affected

  • All Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Offices, including Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office, which would be responsible for compiling and submitting quarterly population data under the statute.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Quarterly reporting cycle; the bill references Q1 2025 data for Berkshire County.
  • The bill is currently “Placed on file,” indicating no immediate further legislative action required to move forward at this stage.

Potential Impact

  • Enhances consistency and comparability of jail population metrics across counties.
  • Improves legislative and executive visibility into jail admissions, releases, and program outcomes.
  • Highlights ongoing data-sharing and integration efforts with Trial Court and Cross-Tracking systems, and clarifies data gaps that may affect completeness of certain fields.

Notes: This summary reflects the bill text and accompanying commentary from the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association.

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

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