- Office of the State Auditor
Media Contact for Audit Recommends Improvements in Administration of Civil Process at Nantucket County Sheriff’s Department
Samantha Ormsby, Director of Communications
BOSTON — In an audit released today, the Office of State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump (OSA) found several administrative deficiencies at the Nantucket County Sheriff’s Department (NCSD) in its documentation and managerial oversight of the civil process, a function of the NCSD Civil Process Division to serve documents such as summonses, complaints, subpoenas, and notices to appropriate parties. While the audit did not identify any issues with NCSD being able to fully execute the civil process during the audit period, the audit notes that NCSD needs to improve the way it is administering certain aspects of this process. The audit reviewed the period of July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020, during which time 924 civil processes were administered.
Specifically, the audit found that NCSD’s civil process lacked segregation of duties, defined roles and management oversight, as the current process allows for one individual of the Civil Process Division to perform the recording and collecting of information for civil processes without any management oversight.
The audit also found that NCSD did not ensure that all data fields were completed in its civil process records as required by its own policies. The audit found several instances where the fee information recorded in one record did not match the information recorded in another. In addition, NCSD did not always record and collect fees for services provided.
The audit recommends that NCSD update its policies pertaining to the civil process to define in detail the information staff are required to record and how fee information should be documented, and implement an accounting system to help record this information. It also recommends NCSD define and segregate duties and implement closer supervision of civil process transactions. Based on its response, the auditee is taking action to address these recommendations.
“I’m pleased that the Division is taking seriously the recommendations from our report and is moving forward with enacting processes to ensure stronger controls over its administration of the civil process,” Bump said of the audit. “This goes to how our audits can lead to stronger accountability in the systems that people rely on and better results for the Commonwealth as a whole.”
The NCSD became a state agency on January 1, 2010 pursuant to Chapter 61 of the Acts of 2009. According to its website, NCSD provides public safety on the island of Nantucket by enforcing laws “enacted for the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the people” and “assisting the public with landlord/tenant issues.” NCSD received $773,001 in funding for fiscal year 2019 and $780,731 in funding for fiscal year 2020 for its operation.
The full audit report is available here.
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