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SD 3970

Electronic Control Weapons (ECW) 2023 Annual Report

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

Requires annual publicly accessible reporting on Massachusetts ECW use, incidents, warnings, demographics, and agency data to increase transparency and accountability.

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Bill Summary · SD 3970

Overview

  • Bill: SD 3970 (Electronic Control Weapons (ECW) 2023 Annual Report)
  • Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
  • Session: 194th
  • Status: Summary based on the 2023 ECW annual reporting requirements and related legislative language; publication appears in June 2026 material from EOPSS.

Purpose: To require reporting and provide transparency on the use of Electronic Control Weapons (ECWs) by Massachusetts law enforcement and public safety agencies, including incident counts, deployment types, warnings, demographics of subjects, and agency-level characteristics. The annual report is prepared by the Office of Grants and Research (OGR) within EOPSS.

Main purpose and intent

  • Document ECW usage in calendar year 2023 by all ECW-using agencies in Massachusetts (municipal and non-municipal).
  • Track and analyze trends in ECW incidents, warnings, and deployments.
  • Provide demographic breakdowns of subjects involved in ECW contacts.
  • Establish data collection standards and reporting procedures to inform policy discussions and accountability.

Key provisions and changes

  • Legislative framework:

    • Reiterates Section 131J of Chapter 140 and related regulations governing ECWs, including safety standards, safe storage, training, and tracking of ECW usage (number of firings).
    • References updates to 501 CMR 8.00 et seq. (ECW sales, training) including adjustments reflecting changes in Massachusetts law (Chapter 170, Acts of 2020) on equity and accountability in law enforcement.
    • Requires uniform data collection on ECW firings and subject characteristics (race, gender) with data submitted to OGR for annual reporting.

  • 2023 ECW reporting highlights (as guidance for stakeholders and future policy review):

    • Total agencies reporting ECWs: 300 (286 municipal, 14 non-municipal), a 0.7% increase from 2022.
    • New adopters in 2023: Bunker Hill Community College Police Department and Goshen Police Department.
    • Total ECW incidents in 2023: 1,257 (municipal: 1,147; non-municipal: 110); up 13.1% from 2022.
    • Agencies with at least one ECW incident: 197 (65.7%); 103 agencies reported zero ECW incidents.
    • Deployments: 488 ECW deployments across 130 agencies with deployments (43.3% of agencies with ECWs had at least one deployment).
    • Warnings: 1,237 ECW contacts (90.6% of human contacts) involved at least one warning; verbal warnings most common, laser warnings had higher compliance when used alone.
    • Demographics: Data collected on gender, race/ethnicity, and age of subjects; majority of contacts involved male, White and Black populations, with a notable share of non-Hispanic vs. Hispanic individuals.
    • Outcomes: Subjects submitted to ECW deployments in about 67% of deployment incidents.
    • Deployment types: Probe-only (about 51%), Stun-only (about 39%), and both (about 10%), with submission rates differing by deployment type.

  • Data elements covered:

    • Agency characteristics: number of sworn officers, ECW-trained officers, ECW-owned devices, and officers carrying ECWs.
    • ECW incidents, warnings, submissions, and deployment details (including probe, drive-stun, and combined deployments).
    • Subject demographics: gender, race/ethnicity, age, and ethnicity.
    • Warnings and compliance data, including types of warnings and their relationship to subsequent deployments.

  • Definitions and glossary: Clear terms for ECW, ECW contact, ECW deployment (probe, drive-stun, etc.), ECW incident, and ECW warning, with specifics on what constitutes each category.

Who/what is affected

  • Law enforcement and public safety agencies in Massachusetts that own or use ECWs (municipal and non-municipal).
  • Officers carrying ECWs and ECW-trained personnel within those agencies.
  • Timely submission of ECW data to the OGR for annual reporting (compliance with reporting requirements).
  • The general public and policymakers seeking transparency about ECW usage and demographics of individuals encountered by ECW-equipped officers.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Reporting cadence: Annual ECW report detailing calendar year 2023 data, with historical comparisons to prior years.
  • Data collection framework: Standardized data fields and definitions provided to agencies; data includes incidents, warnings, deployments, and subject demographics.
  • Data source: Agencies with ECWs submit to the OGR; the RPAD (Research and Policy Analysis Division) within OGR analyzes and compiles the annual report.
  • Publication: The 2023 ECW report is prepared by RPAD, with acknowledgments of participation from 300 agencies and funding support from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Notable 2023 findings (highlights)

  • 300 ECW agencies (286 municipal, 14 non-municipal).
  • 1,257 ECW incidents in 2023; 197 agencies reported at least one incident.
  • 1,356 human ECW contacts (including non-human contacts), with 1,237 involving warnings.
  • 488 ECW deployments across 130 agencies; majority were probe or stun deployments.
  • Deployment rate: ECW deployments occurred in about 36% of human contacts.
  • Demographics indicate predominant representation by White and Black individuals; age distribution skewed toward 20–44 years.

This summary conveys the bill’s purpose, substantive content, affected entities, and key procedural timelines with concrete 2023 data points where available.

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

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