Downloads
Overview
Physical locations were verified from the websites of the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MADOC), Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association (MSA), Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and individual facilities, and verbal communication with many of the facilities. Ancillary support facilities - treatment centers, process divisions, resource centers, etc. - are not included because there were no inmates living at these facilities.
This layer was modified from its previous version, which was developed by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) GIS Program based on database information provided by the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) (the state agency responsible for maintaining the Commonwealth's criminal justice information system), part of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). The EOPSS is also the parent agency of the MADOC, which operates the Commonwealth's state prison system.
The layer is named PRISONS_PT.
Production
MassGIS staff compared the previous version of the data to the latest lists of facilities using ArcGIS. Data sources included MADOC Locations, MSA Locations, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Closed facilities were removed. MassGIS staff used the most current ortho imagery to verify the locations of all points and place them atop a building or within the center of the property. Location source attributes were dropped. Facility populations and capacity were omitted in this version since they fluctuate frequently.
Attributes
The Prisons datalayer's point attribute table contains the following items:
| PRISON_ID | Unique identifier assigned by MassGIS |
| NAME | Facility name according to MADOC, MSA or Federal BOP |
| ADDRESS | Facility address according to MADOC, MSA or Federal BOP |
| TOWN | City or town in which facility is located |
| ZIP | ZIP Code of the facility |
| MAIL_ADDR | Facility mailing address according to MADOC, MSA or Federal BOP |
| TYPE | Jurisdiction of facility: S = State (MADOC) C = County (MSA) F = Federal (BOP) |
| MALE_FEMAL | Gender of inmates |
| SECURITY | Facility security level: Max = Maximum Med = Medium Min = Minimum Pre = Pre-release AT = Awaiting Trial |
| NOTES | Notes |
Maintenance
MassGIS maintains this datalayer. One facility - Bridgewater State Hospital - is part of this layer and not the Non-acute Care Hospitals layer because in all cases, the patients that are admitted to this facility may be charged with or convicted of crimes ranging from misdemeanors to major felonies.