Bill
SD 3368
Requires quarterly, standardized jail population data reporting for Middlesex County, boosting transparency, accountability, and cross-agency consistency in trends and outcomes.
Status: Placed on file (Introduced November 6, 2025)
Official title: Middlesex County Sheriff's Office Q2 2025 Population Report
Purpose and intent
- The bill aligns with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 126, Section 40, requiring systematic recording and quarterly reporting of jail and house of correction population data.
- It focuses on providing a standardized, aggregate quarterly snapshot for Middlesex County, with data intended to improve transparency and accountability in the management of jail populations.
Key provisions and changes
- Data collection requirements (as applicable to each person committed to a jail or house of correction):
- Probation Central File number (PCF)
- State Identification number (SID), when available and tied to fingerprint data
- 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 is set
- Data presentation:
- Aggregate, non-identifying data for the quarterly period
- No personally identifying information included in the published report
- Data sources and collaboration:
- Reports prepared using data from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Criminal Justice Cross-Tracking System
- Data limitations:
- Three data points (case disposition, bail amount, and bail-not-set reason) originate with the Trial Court and may not be populated by the Sheriff’s Office. The Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (MSA), Trial Court, and Executive Office of Public Safety & Security (EOPSS) are jointly working to refine these metrics for electronic reporting.
Data definitions and notes
- PCF, SID, and OBTN definitions are provided to clarify identifiers used in the report and their origins.
- Acknowledges lag times in data availability and that some identifiers may be missing at intake.
- Emphasizes that certain fields depend on cross-agency data sharing (Trial Court and cross-tracking systems).
Reporting, scope, and recipients
- The quarterly report is to be produced for Middlesex County and delivered to:
- Secretary of Public Safety and Security
- Chairs of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary
- Chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security
- Clerks of the House of Representatives and Senate
- The bill reflects ongoing efforts to standardize and electronically retrieve metrics across agencies.
Impact and context
- If enacted, the bill would formalize Middlesex County’s quarterly reporting process, enhance consistency with statewide reporting standards, and support analyses of jail population trends, equity, and program outcomes.
- It acknowledges current data-sharing limitations with the Trial Court and aims to improve data completeness over time.
Legislative status
- Introduced and placed on file on November 6, 2025. As placed on file, the measure does not advance further without future legislative action.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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