Bill
SD 3134
Requires Suffolk County Sheriff to standardize quarterly jail population reporting with key demographics and case data, shared with state leaders to boost transparency.
Status: Placed on file (Introduced August 14, 2025)
Purpose and intent
- Codify and standardize quarterly population reporting for Suffolk County jail/houses of correction in compliance with Massachusetts General Laws (Part I, Title XVIII, Chapter 126, Section 40).
- Enhance transparency and oversight by aggregating inmate/detention data at the county level and sharing it with key state and legislative leaders.
Key provisions
- Data to be recorded for every person admitted to a jail or house of correction:
- Probation Central File (PCF) number
- State Identification (SID) number (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 outcome during incarceration
- Case disposition
- Bail amount or reason if no bail is set
- Quarterly aggregate reports for each jail/house of correction, with no personally identifying information.
- Submission/receipt requirements:
- Reports delivered each quarter to the Secretary of Public Safety and Security, the chairs of the Joint Committee 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 and partnership:
- Reports rely on data from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Criminal Justice Cross-Tracking System; produced in partnership with the Executive Office of Public Safety & Security (EOPSS).
Data definitions, limitations, and disclaimers
- PCF, SID, and OBTN definitions provided to clarify identification, including that the SID is fingerprint-based and may lag at intake.
- 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 the Sheriffs’ Offices. Data availability may lag; efforts are underway (in consultation with the Trial Court and EOPSS) to refine retrieval and electronic reporting.
Data scope and impact
- Focuses on Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office population data; intended to standardize quarterly reporting across jurisdictions and improve data quality and comparability.
- Potential impacts include enhanced transparency for policymakers and the public, while acknowledging operational challenges due to data ownership, integration with the Trial Court, and data timeliness.
Timing and procedural notes
- The bill is a proposed measure and, as introduced, outlines quarterly reporting requirements prospectively, with Q1 2025 as the example period in the accompanying report content.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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