Overview
Established in 1692, the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (MSO) is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States. MSO became an independent state agency on July 11, 1997, after the Middlesex County government was abolished and its debts and obligations transferred to the Commonwealth by Chapter 48 of the Acts of 1997. Chapter 127 of the Acts of 1999 amended the Massachusetts General Laws by adding Chapter 34B. This law made the Sheriff an employee of the Commonwealth, but the Sheriff remained an elected official and retained administrative and operational control of MSO. At the close of calendar year 2018, MSO had 647 employees, 471 of whom were full-time correction officers, who supervised and cared for the inmates in MSO’s custody.
MSO operates the Middlesex County House of Correction, located at 269 Treble Cove Road in Billerica. This facility is used for the care and custody of people who are sentenced or awaiting trial. As of December 31, 2018, MSO reported that 790 inmates lived at the House of Correction. In addition, MSO houses 41 female county inmates at the MCI–Framingham medium-security reception and diagnostic center. The facility provides programs for women who are serving criminal sentences, are awaiting trial, or have been involuntary committed by courts because of mental health issues. Additionally, MSO operates a training academy in Chelmsford, administrative offices in Medford, and Civil Process Division offices in Cambridge and Lowell.
MSO’s website lists the following mission statement:
The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office improves the quality of life by providing a safe and secure environment for staff, offenders and communities, working with our partners in law enforcement and criminal justice. . . .
We accomplish our mission by empowering our highly-trained staff, through our core beliefs of: trust . . . respect . . . innovation [and] professional excellence.
For its operations, MSO received state appropriations totaling $67,670,864 in fiscal year 2017, $69,237,216 in fiscal year 2018, and $69,933,318 in fiscal year 2019.
| Date published: | February 21, 2020 |
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