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SD 1365

Essex County Sheriff's Department Q3 2024 Population Report

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

Codifies quarterly population reports for Essex County jails with standardized, aggregate, non-identifying data; shared with EOPSS and lawmakers to boost transparency.

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Bill Summary · SD 1365

Summary: SD 1365 — Essex County Sheriff's Department Q3 2024 Population Report

Bill Number: SD 1365
Title: Essex County Sheriff's Department Q3 2024 Population Report
Status: Placed on file
Introduced: January 21, 2025
Classification: Proposed bill

Purpose and intent

SD 1365 appears to codify and formalize the quarterly population reporting requirements for Essex County’s jails and houses of correction in line with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 126, Section 40. The bill emphasizes collecting and publishing aggregate, non-identifying data about inmates and detainees for transparency and oversight, with quarterly submissions to the secretary of public safety and security and relevant legislative committees.

Key provisions

  • Establishes quarterly population reporting for Essex County Sheriff’s Department (Q3 2024 data in this bill’s title) and aligns with existing reporting obligations for all sheriffs’ offices.
  • Requires collection of a standardized set of data elements for each person admitted to a jail or house of correction, including:
    • Probation Central File (PCF) number
    • State Identification Number (SID), when available
    • Race and ethnicity
    • Offense-based tracking number (OBTN)
    • Release type and admission type
    • Length of sentence
    • Jail credit and earned time
    • Program participation and outcomes during incarceration
    • Case disposition
    • Bail amount or reason if no bail is set
  • Mandates that aggregate data be assembled into a quarterly report covering the entire period, with no identifying information about individuals.
  • Requires distribution of the quarterly reports to the secretary of public safety and security, chairs of the judiciary and public safety homeland security committees, and the clerks of both houses.
  • Indicates the reporting is produced in partnership with the Executive Office of Public Safety & Security (EOPSS) and uses data from the Commonwealth’s Criminal Justice Cross-Tracking System.

Data definitions and sources

  • Defines PCF, SID, and OBTN as used identifiers in the reporting system.
  • Notes that three fields (case disposition, bail amount, reason if no bail set) are not owned by sheriffs’ offices and originate with the Trial Court; these fields may require refinement and cross-agency retrieval via the Cross-Tracking System.

Data limitations and important notes

  • Important Data Note: The three Court-derived data points cannot be populated by sheriffs using current practice; efforts are underway (MSA, Trial Court, EOPSS) to enable electronic retrieval and reporting.
  • Emphasizes privacy by restricting inclusion of any identifying information in the published reports.

Affected parties

  • Essex County Sheriff’s Department (primary subject)
  • Other Massachusetts sheriffs’ offices (context for standardized reporting)
  • Commonwealth agencies: EOPSS, Trial Court, and legislative committees
  • Clerks of the House and Senate (receiving copies of the report)

Procedural timeline and next steps

  • Introduced and placed on file on January 21, 2025.
  • If enacted, the bill would codify the quarterly reporting framework and ensure ongoing data reporting to specified state offices and legislators.
  • Ongoing refinements anticipated for data fields sourced from cross-system tracking.

This bill primarily formalizes existing reporting practices, with an emphasis on standardized, privacy-conscious data publication and interagency data sharing.

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

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