Bill
SD 3371
Requires sheriffs to report quarterly, aggregated jail population data (no identifying info) to EOPSS and lawmakers, standardizing data to boost transparency and interagency analysis.
Purpose and intent
- SD 3371, titled “Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office Q2 2025 Population Report,” would establish and formalize a quarterly population reporting requirement for the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office (and, by reference, other sheriffs’ offices) in compliance with Massachusetts law.
- The bill emphasizes aggregate, non-identifying data on jail and house-of-correction populations, produced quarterly and shared with state safety agencies, legislators, and clerks.
Key provisions and substantive provisions
- Required content (data elements) for each person committed to a jail or house of correction:
- Probation Central File (PCF) number
- State Identification Number (SID), when 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 the reason if no bail is set
- reporting format: quarterly aggregated data for each jail/house of correction, with no identifying information about individual inmates or detainees.
- Data sharing: quarterly reports must be delivered to the Secretary of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), the chairs of relevant joint committees (Judiciary; Public Safety and Homeland Security), and the clerks of the House and Senate.
- Source system: the data are produced using the Commonwealth’s Criminal Justice Cross-Tracking System.
Data definitions, limitations, and context
- PCF: probation identification number (not fingerprint-based)
- SID: a unique, fingerprint-based ten-character identifier created via AFIS
- OBTN: a unique identifier linking fingerprints/arrest/custody events
- Lag and completeness: SID, PCF, and OBTN may lag behind initial intake; officers may enter data manually when available; some identifiers may be missing at the time of extraction.
- Important data note: three data points—case disposition, bail amount, and reason if no bail set—originate with the Trial Court and are not owned by sheriffs’ offices. The MSA, Trial Court, and EOPSS are coordinating to refine retrieval from the Cross-Tracking System for electronic reporting.
Scope and alignment
- While the example focuses on Plymouth County, the document reflects a broader framework for quarterly population reporting required of sheriffs’ offices under Chapter 126, Section 40 of Massachusetts General Laws (data on population, releases, admissions, etc.).
- The accompanying report is identified as a 32-page document for Plymouth County, illustrating the format and data elements intended for quarterly reporting.
Status and procedural timeline
- Legislative action: Placed on file on November 6, 2025.
- As a placed-on-file measure, the bill does not currently advance to enactment but signals intent to codify quarterly reporting and data standards for sheriffs’ offices, with ongoing coordination among sheriffs, EOPSS, and the Trial Court.
Impact and considerations
- Aims to improve transparency and consistency in jail population data across sheriffs’ offices.
- Enhances interagency data sharing and policy analysis by providing standardized quarterly reports.
- Ongoing challenges include data completeness for fields controlled by the Trial Court and ensuring timely data due to data-lag and cross-system integration.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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