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SD 1371

Norfolk County Sheriff's Office Q3 2024 Population Report

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

Mandates quarterly, aggregate jail-population reports from Massachusetts sheriffs (via CJCTS) to state leaders, elevating transparency and cross-county accountability.

Placed on file
0
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Bill Summary · SD 1371

Summary: SD 1371 — Norfolk County Sheriff's Office Q3 2024 Population Report

SD 1371, titled Norfolk County Sheriff's Office Q3 2024 Population Report, was introduced on January 21, 2025 and placed on file. The bill appears to codify and standardize quarterly population reporting requirements for Massachusetts sheriffs’ offices, aligning with existing statutory language in Chapter 126, Section 40, and leveraging data from the Commonwealth’s Criminal Justice Cross-Tracking System.

Purpose and intent

  • Establish a formal, quarterly reporting obligation for each sheriff’s office to document population data for individuals committed to jails or houses of correction.
  • Promote transparency and data-driven oversight of jail populations by providing aggregated, non-identifiable data to state and legislative leadership.

Key provisions

  • Quarterly Population Reports: Sheriff’s offices must compile and deliver an aggregate quarterly report covering the entire reporting period, with no identifying information about individual inmates.
  • Required data elements (for each person):
    • 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
  • Reporting recipients: The report must be delivered to the Secretary of Public Safety and Security, the chairs of both the House and Senate Joint Committees 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: Reports rely on data from the Commonwealth Criminal Justice Cross-Tracking System (CJCTS); produced in partnership with the Executive Office of Public Safety & Security.

Data definitions (context)

  • PCF number: Probation Service identifier, not linked to fingerprint data.
  • SID: Ten-character state ID from the AFIS system, tied to fingerprinting.
  • OBTN: Unique event identifier linking fingerprints/arrest/custody events.

Data limitations and notes

  • The statute requires three data points (case disposition, bail amount, and bail-logic when no bail is set) that originate with the Trial Court. Sheriffs do not own these fields, so early implementation may require refinement and coordination with the Trial Court and EOPSS to enable electronic retrieval via CJCTS.
  • The bill acknowledges privacy by restricting reports to aggregate, non-identifying data.

Timeline and procedural aspects

  • The bill frames a continuous, quarterly cycle and reporting cadence aligned with existing statutory requirements, with data to be compiled and sent after each quarter.

Affected entities

  • Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Offices (including Norfolk County)
  • Commonwealth agencies: Secretary of Public Safety and Security; Trial Court; EOPSS
  • Legislative bodies: Joint Committees on the Judiciary and on Public Safety and Homeland Security; clerks of the House and Senate

Potential impact

  • Improves consistency and comparability of jail population data across counties.
  • Enhances oversight and accountability by providing standardized metrics on admissions, releases, sentencing, program outcomes, and bail-related factors.
  • May require interagency data coordination to address gaps in data ownership (notably case disposition, bail details).

Status: Placed on file (2025-01-21).

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

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