Overview
The Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office’s (BCSO’s) “BCSO-111R(2)” policy should contain guidelines that, in the event of the death of an inmate in custody, cover the disposition of the body or the investigation of the cause of death. These are required by Section 932.17 of Title 103 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR).
By not establishing guidelines related to the disposition of the body of a deceased inmate, BCSO may take on a higher-than-acceptable risk of incorrectly handling the disposition of a deceased inmate’s body. Without guidelines for investigating the cause of an inmate’s in-custody death, BCSO may not be able to identify the circumstances that led to the inmate’s death.
Authoritative Guidance
According to 103 CMR 932.17(2),
Written policy and procedure shall establish guidelines in the event of death of an inmate or employee of the facility to include, but not be limited to the following:
(a) internal notification to include medical and administrative staff;
(b) procedures when discovering body;
(c) disposition of the body;
(d) notification of next of kin;
(e) [Criminal Offender Record Information] notification [sent to victim(s) of an inmate] as soon as practicable [when such notification is necessary];
(f) investigation of causes;
(g) reporting and documentation procedures;
(h) procedure for review of incident by appropriate designated staff with a final report submitted to all appropriate parties.
Reasons for Issue
When we inquired with BCSO officials regarding the cause or causes of this finding, they stated that it was an oversight. Because BCSO had guidelines regarding any deaths of its employees, BCSO officials thought they were in compliance with the requirement to have guidelines regarding any deaths of its inmates.
Recommendation
BCSO should update its policy to establish guidelines related to the disposition of an inmate’s body and the investigation of the cause of death.
Auditee’s Response
Upon being notified of the finding, the BCSO immediately updated [its policy] to include language for the disposition of the body for an inmate in-custody death. This was then sent to the audit team, but has no mention in the audit findings or recommendations.
Auditor’s Reply
BCSO did send us its updated policy before the creation of our draft report. However, the policy was developed after the audit period (July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024), which is why it was necessary to include the finding in this report. We acknowledge that a change has been made to the policy, but we were unable to test it because it was adopted after our audit period. Based on its response, BCSO is taking measures to address our concerns regarding this matter. As part of our post-audit review process, we will follow up on this matter in approximately six months.
| Date published: | November 25, 2025 |
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