Massachusetts Sheriffs Association

This is a state performance audit of the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association covering July 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015.

“This report details the audit objectives, scope, methodology, findings, and recommendations for the audit period, July 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015.”

The Auditor checked whether MSA handled certain spending properly and whether it submitted and posted required reports and data.

“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 Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (MSA) for the period July 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015.”

When required reports are late or missing, the public, lawmakers, and state agencies have less information for oversight and budgeting.

“Thus MSA did not provide the public with sufficient transparency about inmate populations in various counties, and the Legislature and other state agencies had to expend time and resources to obtain information.”

As a citizen, this affects your ability to see basic public information about county inmate populations and how sheriff-related data is reported to state decision-makers.

“Thus MSA is not providing sufficient transparency regarding inmate populations and trends in those populations, information about which could be used by lawmakers to inform budgetary and policymaking decisions.”

MSA met the audit’s tested requirements for non-payroll spending, but failed several reporting and public-posting requirements.

“MSA did not post monthly Inmate Populations by County reports to its website.”

The audit recommended that MSA fix its technology access and create clear procedures with sheriffs’ departments so required data gets collected and reported on time.

“MSA, in conjunction with each sheriff’s department, should develop a formal process and uniform policies and procedures as well as monitoring controls to ensure that it receives the necessary data to compile and submit information on recidivism, federal inmate populations, and grant awards to the appropriate legislative bodies and government agencies within the required timeframes.”

Late or missing inmate data could affect how state leaders judge funding needs and respond to overcrowding concerns.

“The absence of timely information concerning the federal inmate population in county facilities could have a negative effect on the Legislature’s ability to determine appropriate funding levels for sheriffs’ departments and to make timely, informed decisions about how to handle any potential inmate overcrowding issues.”

MSA means the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association, which coordinates information from the state’s 14 county sheriffs’ departments.

“The Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (MSA) was established by Chapter 26 of the Acts of 2003 (the Commonwealth’s fiscal year 2004 appropriation/budget act) to coordinate the information reported by the Commonwealth’s 14 independent county sheriffs’ departments.”