Audit of the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office (November 25, 2025)
November 25, 2025 · Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office · Read the full official report on mass.gov ↗
Published November 25, 2025 Audit covers July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2024 Under Diana DiZoglio · 2023–present
source
“Below is a summary of our findings, the effects of those findings, and our recommendations, with hyperlinks to each page listed.”
Read the plain-English breakdown
This is a state performance audit of selected Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office activities, mainly covering July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024.
“In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of certain activities of the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) for the period July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024.”
Auditors checked whether the Sheriff’s Office followed rules and its own policies for inmate health care, deaths in custody, sick-call requests, mental health screening, and employee settlement agreements.
“The purpose of our audit was to determine the following:”
The findings matter because weak procedures can affect inmate safety, healthcare decisions, public accountability, and how employee settlements are handled.
“By not submitting quarterly reports regarding the healthcare environment during the audit period, BCSO may increase the risk of not identifying patterns in inmate illnesses or injuries and not receiving key information to make decisions regarding inmates’ healthcare.”
For an ordinary resident, this audit is about whether a public jail is meeting basic standards for safety, healthcare, documentation, and transparency.
“The primary mission of the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office is to “Protect the public from criminal offenders by operating a safe, secure and progressive correctional facility while committing to crime prevention awareness in the community.””
The Auditor concluded BCSO fell short on five audit questions and met the standard for initial and follow-up mental health assessments.
“Below is a list of our audit objectives, indicating each question we intended our audit to answer; the conclusion we reached regarding each objective; and, if applicable, where each objective is discussed in the audit findings.”
The Auditor plans to check back in about six months to see whether the Sheriff’s Office has addressed the problems.
“As part of our post-audit review process, we will follow up on this matter in approximately six months.”
This is not a tiny operation: during the audit period, the Sheriff’s Office handled more than a thousand inmates and had hundreds of employees, with an annual budget of about $21 million.
“During the audit period, BCSO had 1,133 inmates in its custody.”
A “qualified healthcare professional,” or QHP, means medical or mental health staff legally allowed to evaluate and care for patients, such as nurses, doctors, physician assistants, dentists, or mental health professionals.
“In an email BCSO send us on July 9, 2025, BCSO defined QHPs as “physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, mental health professionals and other who by virtue of their education, credentials and experience are permitted by law to evaluate and care for patients.””
What the Auditor checked
- Did not comply Did BCSO have policies that complied with the requirements of Section 932.17(2) of Title 103 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) regarding the death of inmates in its custody?
- Did not comply Did BCSO hold internal quarterly meetings and review quarterly reports regarding healthcare services for inmates as required by its “BCSO-095R” policy in accordance with 103 CMR 932.01(3)?
- Did not comply Did BCSO provide its inmates with medical screenings upon admission and physical examinations within 7 to 14 days after admission in accordance with 103 CMR 932.06 and 932.07, BCSO’s “BSCO-100R” policy, and BCSO’s “BCSO-101R” policy?
- Did not comply Did BCSO ensure that inmates received medical care after the submission of sick call requests in accordance with BCSO’s “BCSO-103R” policy and 103 CMR 932.09?
- Complied Did BCSO provide initial mental health screenings and, if necessary, follow-up mental health assessments, to all within its custody in accordance with BCSO’s “BCSO-107R” policy and 103 CMR 932.13?
- Did not comply Did BCSO have internal policies and procedures in place for (a) the review and approval of employee settlement agreements, including the language used, and (b) the reporting of employee settlement agreements to the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth (CTR)? For employee settlement agreements entered into from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2024, did BCSO follow these policies, and did it refrain from using non-disclosure, non-disparagement, or similarly restrictive clauses as part of employee settlement agreement language?
What the Auditor found
Why it matters: BCSO may incorrectly handle a deceased inmate’s body and may not identify the circumstances that led to an in-custody death.
Standard: 103 CMR 932.17(2) ( 103 CMR 932.17(2) )
1 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.agency: already implemented
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "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."
Auditor: "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."
Why it matters: BCSO may miss patterns in inmate illnesses or injuries and may lack key information for inmate healthcare decisions.
Standard: 103 CMR 932.01(3)(a) and BCSO’s “BCSO-095R” policy ( 103 CMR 932.01(3)(a); BCSO’s “BCSO-095R” policy )
1 recommendation
- BCSO should establish policies and procedures, including monitoring controls, to ensure that all quarterly reports are generated and submitted in a timely manner.
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "On Monday May 13, 2025, BCSO supplied the audit team with copies of reports on the health care system for the audit period of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024."
Auditor: "However, these do not constitute reports on the healthcare system as required by 103 CMR 932.01(3) and BCSO’s “BCSO-095R” policy."
Why it matters: Inmates’ mental health concerns may not be identified and treated as early as possible, creating health and safety risks.
Standard: BCSO’s “BCSO-100R” policy ( BCSO’s “BCSO-100R” policy )
1 recommendation
- BCSO should update its Medical Intake Screening form to ensure that it includes the inquiry of past and present treatment or hospitalization for mental health concerns or risk of suicide.
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "The BCSO Medical intake screening form includes the fields “have you ever attempted suicide” and “do you have any suicidal ideations currently” “if yes, please notify the mental health team and shift commander immediately”."
Why it matters: Inmates’ healthcare issues may not be resolved within the required 24 hours or at all.
Standard: BCSO’s “BCSO-103R” policy ( BCSO’s “BCSO-103R” policy )
1 recommendation
- BCSO should ensure that its QHPs follow up on all sick call requests, and that they do so within 24 hours of receipt of the request.agency: already implemented
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "Procedure has been updated to reflect that a face to face encounter is conducted by a qualified health care professional within 24 hours of a health request by health staff if deemed clinically necessary."
Why it matters: Without a written process, employee settlements may not be handled consistently in an ethical, legal, and appropriate manner.
Standard: 815 CMR 5.09 and best practice for written settlement policies ( 815 CMR 5.09 )
1 recommendation
- BCSO should develop, document, and implement a written policy related to employee settlement agreements, including prohibiting the use of non-disclosure, non-disparagement, or similarly restrictive clauses in its agreements, as recommended in the Governor’s “Executive Department Settlement Policy,” issued January 27, 2025.agency: partially agreed
Agency response & Auditor reply
Auditor: "We acknowledge that BCSO implemented an employee settlement policy in response to our finding."
More audits of this entity
Other Office of the State Auditor reports on Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office .
- Audit of the Berkshire County Sheriff’s OfficeSheriff · December 12, 2018