Audit of the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office

This is a state performance audit of the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office covering July 1, 2016 through December 31, 2018.

“In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) has conducted a performance audit of certain activities of the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) for the period July 1, 2016 through December 31, 2018.”

Auditors checked how the office handled non-payroll spending, contracts for goods and services, and staff overtime.

“In this performance audit, we examined DCSO activities related to the administration of its non-payroll expenses, the contracting process for goods and services, and staff overtime.”

The office runs local jail operations and receives state funding, so its spending and controls matter to taxpayers.

“For its operations, DCSO received state appropriations of $2,886,788 in fiscal year 2017, $2,944,524 in fiscal year 2018, and $2,973,969 in fiscal year 2019.”

For residents, this concerns services tied to public safety, including jail services and regional emergency communications in Dukes County.

“In addition, DCSO provides jail services to all the municipal police departments on Martha’s Vineyard.”

For each audit question, the auditors concluded that the office followed its policies and procedures.

“Were non-payroll administrative expenditures made in accordance with DCSO’s policies and procedures, and did they directly support DCSO’s mission?”

The report does not list corrective actions because it did not identify significant reportable noncompliance.

“Our audit revealed no significant instances of noncompliance by DCSO that must be reported under generally accepted government auditing standards.”

The audit gives the public a check on whether the sheriff’s office properly handled reviewed spending, contracts, and overtime during the audit period.

“Below is a list of our audit objectives, indicating each question we intended our audit to answer and the conclusion we reached regarding each objective.”

“Performance audit” means auditors reviewed whether selected activities were handled properly, using accepted government audit standards.

“We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.”