Introduction
The Criminal Justice Reform Act (CJR) requires the establishment of data collection and reporting standards for all Massachusetts criminal justice agencies. Accordingly, data collection and reporting standards for criminal justice agencies were established by 501 CMR 18. In compliance with these standards, criminal justice agencies are required to report data to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) to be analyzed and published in Cross-Tracking dashboards.
About the Information Displayed Below
This dashboard presents snapshots of the Massachusetts Criminal Offender population of the Department of Correction (DOC) and the Sheriffs’ Offices from 2017 through the present on the first day of any individual month. The dashboards empower users to distinguish between pre-trial and sentenced populations and visualize demographic subsets by sex, race, ethnicity, and age.
The data displayed in these charts stems from several systems across the contributing partners, including:
- The DOC Inmate Management System (IMS)
- The county Sheriffs’ Offices’ 12 independent Offender Management Systems (OMS) and Hampden County’s Jail Management System (JMS)
Given that data submitted by the participating criminal justice agencies predates the CJR data reporting standards outlined in the new governing regulations, EOPSS has taken great care to standardize values as needed. The most common example of standardization is the consolidation of dozens of demographic classifications used by different agencies into a more concise and standardized list. To standardize data collection moving forward, EOPSS and the custodial agencies worked together to create the Data Collection Policies and Procedures for Custodial Booking and Admission.
As a user, you can hover over any data point to see more detailed information and view different snapshot years or months to see how the populations change over time. Additionally, users can select different Sheriffs’ Offices to view data specific to that office. You can also download the data behind any visualization through a link at the bottom of each display.
For more information about the dashboard, you can access FAQs here.
For any other questions, please write to CJ360help@mass.gov
State and County Populations
Percent Population in the custody of the Department of Correction and County Sheriffs' Offices on yearly basis from 2017-2025. Includes the pre-trial and sentenced populations. Download the data
This section displays the total number of Offenders in the care of state and county correctional facilities on the first day of each month from January 1, 2017 through the present month (pre-trial and sentenced).
Population in the custody of the Department of Correction and County Sheriffs' Offices on a monthly basis for the years 2017-2025. Includes the pre-trial and sentenced populations. Data won't be displayed for future months. An Offender can be under the jurisdiction of one agency while in the custody of another. The offender will be counted in the snapshot count of the custodial agency. Due to business and operational processes historical counts may be subject to change. Download the data
Total offender population in the custody of the Department of Correction and County Sheriffs' Offices by month and by year from 2017-2025. Includes the pre-trial and sentenced populations. Data won't be displayed for future months. Download the data
Pre-Trial and Sentenced Populations
This section displays Offenders in the care of state and county correctional facilities who are classified as either sentenced or pre-trial. Sentenced refers to Offenders who are criminally sentenced by a judge after pleading guilty or found guilty of a criminal offense and committed to a period of incarceration, whether directly or after a violation of probation or parole. Pre-trial refers to those Offenders who are in custody and have been charged with a crime but whose cases have not yet been adjudicated. The charts below show the distribution of the two groups within the state and county populations.
Pre-trial and sentenced populations under the custody of the Department of Correction and County Sheriffs' Offices. See snapshot data on the 1st of selected month for the years 2017-2025. Data won't be displayed for future months. Download the data
Pre-trial and sentenced populations under the custody of the Department of Correction and County Sheriffs' Offices. See snapshot data on the 1st of every month for a selected year (2017-2025). An Offender can be under the jurisdiction of one agency while in the custody of another. The offender will be counted in the snapshot count of the custodial agency. Due to business and operational processes historical counts may be subject to change. Download the data
Pre-trial and sentenced offender populations under the custody of the County Sheriffs' Offices. See snapshot data on the 1st of selected month of a particular year. Data won't be displayed for future months. An Offender can be under the jurisdiction of one agency while in the custody of another. The offender will be counted in the snapshot count of the custodial agency. Due to business and operational processes historical counts may be subject to change. Download the data
Pre-trial and sentenced offender populations under the custody of the County Sheriffs' Offices. See snapshot data on January 1 for the years 2017-2025. Filter to see the data for a specific Sheriff’s Office. An Offender can be under the jurisdiction of one agency while in the custody of another. The offender will be counted in the snapshot count of the custodial agency. Due to business and operational processes historical counts may be subject to change. Download the data
State and County Populations by Demographics
This section displays the state and county correctional populations by the demographic characteristics of sex, race, ethnicity, and age. This information is available for each snapshot (2017 through the present month) of state and individual county agencies and is distinguishable by sentenced and pre-trial offender status.
Offender populations by race, ethnicity, sex at birth, and age on the selected snapshot date. Data won't be displayed for future months. An Offender can be under the jurisdiction of one agency while in the custody of another. The offender will be counted in the snapshot count of the custodial agency. Due to business and operational processes historical counts may be subject to change. Download the data
The tables below allow users to view the count of Offenders by race or ethnicity housed in each agency on the selected date. Users can also filter the data for just male or female Offenders only. Users should note that select agencies house male Offenders only. Users can also choose to view just pre-trial or sentenced Offenders.
Populations by criminal justice agency, race and ethnicity. View raw counts or counts adjusted by the state or county population. Data won't be displayed for future months. An Offender can be under the jurisdiction of one agency while in the custody of another. The offender will be counted in the snapshot count of the custodial agency. Due to business and operational processes historical counts may be subject to change. Download the data
The following tables compare the number of Offenders in custody to Massachusetts' total population as well as the population of the Offender's race and ethnicity demographic groups. Each total population figure used in the calculation is estimated with information from the U.S. Census Bureau. For the purposes of this analysis, population data for individuals aged 18 years old and older were used.
E.g., For 4,700 white Offenders incarcerated on a particular date and a total population of 4,000,000 white individuals within Massachusetts, the incarceration rate is estimated to be 117.5 per 100,000 individuals.
Census data is referenced from the link https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates/2020-evaluation-estimates/2010s-county-detail.html.
Admission and Release
The following charts display the total admission and release counts per year, distinguishable by criminal justice agency and by admission/release type; and the admission/release trends distinguishable by criminal justice agency and by month, respectively. For reference, the definitions for each displayed admission or release type are available here.
Admission and Release Event counts across the Department of Correction and County Sheriffs' Offices. May filter by agency and/or a subset of different event types. Download the data
Two types of trends to analyze from this dashboard:
1. Yearly Trend: Select any one Year from the year filter and Select All the months from the Month filter to view the yearly Trend for the selected year.
2. Seasonality Trend: Select All the Years from the Year filter and select any one month to view the Monthly trends through all the years. Download the data
Downloads
Revision History
| Details | Date |
|---|---|
| Updated On | 06/04/2025 |
| Published On | 08/11/2022 |