| Organization: | Office of the State Auditor |
|---|---|
| Date published: | March 15, 2023 |
Executive Summary
In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) for the period July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021. The objectives of this audit were to determine the following:
- whether PCSD complied with the requirements of Section 932.17(2) of Title 103 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) and PCSD’s Policy 622 (Serious Illness, Injury & Death) regarding the deaths of inmates in its custody1
- whether PCSD held quarterly meetings with its healthcare vendor and reviewed the vendor’s quarterly reports in accordance with 103 CMR 932.01(3) for inmates’ healthcare services
- whether PCSD provided medical receiving screenings to its inmates upon arrival and intake physical examinations in accordance with Sections IV and VI of PCSD’s Policy 630 (Medical Services)
- whether inmates at PCSD’s correctional facility received medical care after submission of a sick call form in accordance with Section VIII of PCSD’s Procedure 630 (Medical Services).
Our audit revealed no significant instances of noncompliance by PCSD that must be reported under generally accepted government auditing standards.
Our audit of PCSD identified one other issue, which has been omitted from this report in accordance with Exemption (n) of the Commonwealth’s public records law, Section 7(26)(n) of Chapter 4 of the General Laws, which allows for the withholding of certain records, such as confidential and sensitive information, if their disclosure is likely to jeopardize public safety.
In accordance with Paragraphs 7.61–7.62 of the Government Accountability Office’s Government Auditing Standards, as well as the policies of the Office of the State Auditor, for reporting confidential and sensitive information, we have given a separate, complete report to PCSD, which will be responsible for acting on our recommendations.
1. PCSD told us that if an inmate is in custody, it means that PCSD has the authorization from a court to incarcerate an inmate until the court orders their release. A death in custody is one that occurs during this period of incarceration.