The Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association has launched an online public dashboard that lists charges and convictions for offenders serving time in state and county correctional facilities.
As part of the 2018 Criminal Justice Reform Law, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security in consultation with the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security, created a standardized data collection and cross-tracking system for criminal justice agencies and the Trial Court.
Similar to the state’s Sex Offender Registry, where individuals can search by county and community for sex offenders in their vicinity, according to Mass.gov, this cross-tracking dashboard allows the public for the first time to see organized aggregated data, download data sets for independent study, and increase their understanding of the commonwealth’s criminal justice system.
These information management tools enable users to view the charges and convictions for criminally sentenced individuals across all Massachusetts custodial agencies. The displays use data snapshots from Jan. 1 of each year from 2017 to 2023, so users can categorize the data by race/ethnicity, gender, and age.
Respecting the privacy of incarcerated individuals and adhering to the Criminal Offender Record Information laws (CORI), the dashboard excludes any personal information, and efforts have been made to remove any identifying details from the data.
The information displayed aggregates several systems maintained by the project’s contributing partners, including, but not limited to:
• The Department of Correction Inmate Management System;
• The county sheriffs’ 12 independent Offender Management Systems and Hampden County’s Jail Management System;
• The Massachusetts Trial Court MassCourts system.
Recognizing that the participating agencies submitted data that predates the standardized definitions of charges and convictions, data not recorded consistently in an electronically retrievable manner prior to the recent standardization efforts will not appear to ensure the dashboard’s integrity.
According to the “Charges and Convictions for Sentenced Offenders” dashboard, murder/manslaughter claimed the number-one offense in Massachusetts for 2023, with a total of 1,816 incarcerated individuals, followed by 1,022 in custody for sex offenses – part of the total 37,621 convictions and 47,729 charges recorded in that year.
“Increasing transparency and providing accessible information to the public are paramount in fostering trust and accountability within our justice system,” said Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi, president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association. “The launch of this public dashboard underscores our commitment to openness and collaboration in serving our communities.”
The dashboard for charges and convictions of offenders awaiting pre-trial is expected to be available by June 30.
For those interested in exploring the layers of Massachusetts’ justice system, the dashboard can be accessed at Mass.gov on the criminal justice data page.
It’s best not to satisfy that itch to steal Scratch tickets
Consider this a public service announcement for criminals contemplating the theft of state Lottery scratch tickets – or anyone else trying to cash them in for a quick score.
Don’t bother.
It appears that a recent rash of incidents on both sides of the N.H.-Mass. border suggests a coordinated effort to steal the prizes these purloined ducats may contain.
In Windham, N.H., masked burglars broke into the Windham Variety Store the morning of March 29 and stole a case of scratch tickets, the latest in a string of similar thefts across the area.
WMUR reported that Richdale Convenience Store in Seabrook was robbed on March 19. Seabrook police say three people wearing masks smashed the front window and stole the case of scratch tickets on the counter.
Authorities said that in the past month, six stores have reported similar robberies, and other incidents have been reported on the Massachusetts North Shore.
Massachusetts law enforcement reported two incidents in which three masked men broke into convenience stores and stole scratch-off Lottery tickets.
The first incident happened shortly before 2:45 a.m. on March 27 at Salem Variety in Wakefield. Police there said three people broke a storefront window and stole several rolls of scratch tickets.
And Peabody Police said that shortly before 3:55 a.m., three masked men smashed a side window at A-One Market on Central Street, and that two of the three entered the store and stole scratch tickets.
Police in Wakefield and Peabody have not said if the two thefts are connected.
So, will these thieves reap the benefits of their smash and grabs?
Not likely in New Hampshire and definitely not in Massachusetts.
The New Hampshire Lottery Commission previously said that if stolen tickets are flagged, winners can’t be cashed.
In Massachusetts, tickets are voided immediately after a store reports them stolen.
“The Lottery is able to flag stolen tickets to prevent them from being cashed and assists law enforcement and store owners in resolving these cases,” Massachusetts State Lottery executive director Mark William Bracken said in a recent statement.
For example, Prakash and Durga Simkhada, the owners of Salem Variety, told NewsCenter 5 that the 10 rolls of scratch tickets thieves stole, worth more than $6,000, were voided shortly after the theft occurred.
The odds of buying a winning scratch ticket are long enough, but chances of cashing in a stolen one are slim and none.
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