# Massachusetts

Massachusetts has no state certification for correction officers: the Department of Correction and the county sheriffs hire and train their own staff, and the POST Commission certifies deputy sheriffs only when they perform police duties. Since 2023 the State has made phone calls free in state prisons and county jails, capped commissary prices and banned commissary commissions, and, through the 2026 PROTECT Act, barred sheriffs’ departments from holding people on immigration detainers alone.

Source: https://uscli.org/corrections-tracker/massachusetts

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** None for correction officers. The POST Commission certifies law enforcement officers under G.L. c. 6E; that definition reaches special sheriffs and deputy sheriffs only when “performing police duties and functions” ([c. 6E, § 1](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter6E/Section1)), so jail and prison correction officers are not POST-certified as such. POST is covered on the [Massachusetts Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/massachusetts). The Commissioner of Correction sets training programs for Department of Correction (DOC) employees and, by agreement, other corrections personnel (c. 124, § 1(h)); county sheriffs employ and train county correction officers.
- **Statute:** G.L. c. 124 (Commissioner of Correction), c. 125 (definitions and facilities), c. 126 (county jails and houses of correction), and c. 127 (officers and inmates of penal institutions), including restrictive housing in c. 127, §§ 39 to 39H and pregnant inmates in c. 127, § 118 ([c. 124, § 1](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVIII/Chapter124/Section1)).
- **Minimum standards:** No statewide statutory hiring standard for correction officers was found. DOC and each sheriff set hiring standards; civil service rules may apply to some positions. DOC regulations in 103 CMR were not reviewed.
- **Basic training:** No statute fixes basic training hours for state or county correction officers. The Commissioner may set training programs (c. 124, § 1(h)) and must adopt regulations on the training and qualifications of correction officers, supervisors, and managers assigned to restrictive housing (c. 127, § 39C). Academy hours were not verified from an official source.
- **In-service training:** No statutory in-service hour requirement for correction officers was found. Training for restrictive housing staff is governed by the regulations required under c. 127, § 39C.
- **Decertification:** None, because no state body certifies correction officers. POST decertification under c. 6E, § 10 applies to certified law enforcement officers, including deputy sheriffs only when performing police duties ([Officer Ledger](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/massachusetts)).
- **Jail standards:** The Commissioner of Correction sets and revises minimum standards for the care and custody of everyone in county correctional facilities, after consulting the sheriffs (c. 124, § 1(d)). At least every 6 months the Commissioner or a delegate inspects each county facility, with results in the annual report to the General Court. For noncompliance, the Commissioner notifies the sheriff and county commissioners, who may be heard and get a reasonable time to fix it, with further enforcement under § 1B ([c. 127, §§ 1A, 1B](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVIII/Chapter127/Section1B)).
- **Probation and parole officers:** Adult probation officers are Trial Court employees under the Office of the Commissioner of Probation, and parole officers work in the Parole Board’s field services. No statute requiring state certification or fixed training hours for either was found.
- **Restrictive housing:** Restrictive housing may be used only for discipline or when general population poses an unacceptable risk to others, property, or operations. Units must provide meals equal to general population, showers at least 3 days a week, visits and communication (which may be cut for discipline for up to 15 days per offense in state facilities or 10 in county facilities), reading and writing materials, radio or television after 30 days, and mental health oversight. A qualified mental health professional screens before placement. People with serious mental illness, or for whom restrictive housing is clinically contraindicated, may not be held there without written certification within 72 hours. “A pregnant inmate shall not be placed in restrictive housing,” and placement may not rest on LGBTQI status. Reviews run every 72 hours, 15 days, or 90 days depending on the basis. People within 120 days of release may be held no more than 5 days absent a substantial and immediate threat. Monthly and quarterly public reports go to the Restrictive Housing Oversight Committee ([c. 127, §§ 39 to 39F](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVIII/Chapter127/Section39A)).
- **Corrections use of force:** In the second and third trimesters and in post-delivery recuperation, a pregnant or postpartum inmate may be transported only in a vehicle with seatbelts and only with handcuffs in front. No restraints at any stage of labor or delivery, including transport. No restraints in post-delivery recuperation except in extraordinary circumstances (an immediate and serious threat or a credible escape risk that cannot otherwise be curtailed). Leg and waist restraints may never be used, and the correction officer must document the reasons and the restraints used. An officer present for exams, labor, or childbirth should be female if possible ([c. 127, § 118](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVIII/Chapter127/Section118)). No general corrections use-of-force statute was found.

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Sep 4, 2026 — **PROTECT Act: sheriffs’ departments may not hold people on immigration detainers alone; 287(g) agreements limited** — St. 2026, c. 163, § 7, adding G.L. c. 147, § 64 · Approved August 5, 2026 (emergency preamble); § 7 takes effect 30 days after the act (§ 24): September 4, 2026 (computed) — “Law enforcement agency” includes a sheriff’s department, and “officer” includes any officer or employee. Except as federal or state law requires, under a judicial warrant, court order, or treaty, or (for resource use, information sharing, and transfers to immigration custody) as allowed by a 287(g) or other valid intergovernmental service agreement, agencies and officers may not use state or local resources for federal civil immigration enforcement; may not knowingly give federal immigration authorities nonpublic personal information, custody status, court dates, or advance release notice; may not question people for civil immigration enforcement; may not “detain or continue to detain an individual based solely on an immigration detainer beyond the time the individual would otherwise be eligible for release from custody”; and may not transfer a person into immigration custody without a judicial warrant or court order. Release notice at the end of a sentence is allowed for listed violent, sex, serious drug, firearm, and abuse offenses, only on a written request naming the person within the prior 30 days and with written authorization of the on-duty officer in charge. No agency may execute, renew, or materially expand a 287(g) agreement for civil immigration enforcement; the Department of Correction may keep the agreement it had in effect on June 8, 2020, but must apply to the Governor to renew or expand it (§ 64(c)(1)). Notwithstanding that bar, an agency, including a sheriff’s department, may apply to the Governor for a time-limited 287(g) agreement limited to criminal law, with no enforcement of Title 8 of the U.S. Code. Approval requires a written determination after notice and comment and a legal analysis by the Attorney General; the agreement lasts no more than 12 months and requires quarterly reports (§ 64(c)(2)). The [Officer Ledger entry](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/massachusetts#c163-2026) covers the act’s other sections. — **For corrections staff:** Do not extend custody for an ICE detainer, and share custody or release information with ICE only within the act’s exceptions and with the on-duty officer in charge’s written approval. — [St. 2026, c. 163](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2026/Chapter163)
- Jul 1, 2024 — **Commissary price caps and a ban on commissary commissions** — St. 2023, c. 28 (FY2024 budget), § 51, adding G.L. c. 127, § 171; amended by St. 2024, c. 140 (FY2025 budget), §§ 134 and 135 · § 171 effective July 1, 2024 (c. 28, § 112); the 95% cap effective October 31, 2024 (c. 140, § 249) — Section 171 took effect July 1, 2024 with a cap of 3% over purchase cost for commissary items in state prisons, state and county correctional facilities, and their contractors. DOC and the sheriffs must maximize bulk-purchase discounts and may not receive commissions, revenue, or other financial incentives from commissary contracts, and commissary must include gender-affirming items (consistent with c. 127, § 32A) and culturally appropriate items. The FY2025 budget replaced the 3% cap: from October 31, 2024, DOC, the facilities, and their sellers, suppliers, and vendors may charge no more than 95% of the market price at non-correctional major retail stores in Massachusetts. — **For corrections staff:** Commissary and business-office staff must price against the retail benchmark and may not accept vendor commissions. — [G.L. c. 127, § 171](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVIII/Chapter127/Section171)[St. 2023, c. 28](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2023/Chapter28)[St. 2024, c. 140](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2024/Chapter140)
- Dec 1, 2023 — **Free phone calls for everyone held in state prisons and county jails** — St. 2023, c. 64, inserting G.L. c. 127, § 87A · Approved November 15, 2023; § 87A effective December 1, 2023 (§ 3) — DOC and the sheriffs must provide voice communication services, including phone calls, free to both parties for anyone committed to a state prison or county correctional facility, including jails and houses of correction. Services must be maximized and may not fall below what was offered on July 1, 2023. Video and other electronic services may supplement calls but not replace them, and must also be free. The section does not prohibit in-person contact visits. Commissions on communications contracts go to the General Fund. — **For corrections staff:** Facilities may not cut phone access below July 2023 levels or replace voice calls with video or electronic messaging. — [St. 2023, c. 64](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2023/Chapter64)[G.L. c. 127, § 87A](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVIII/Chapter127/Section87A)

## Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass

- **Legal access in correctional facilities (from November 3, 2026, computed):** St. 2026, c. 163, § 6 inserts G.L. c. 127, § 87B for every state prison, county correctional facility, house of correction, and prerelease center. It requires written intake notice of the right to counsel and to decline interviews by law enforcement or consular officials; confidential, unmonitored attorney phone calls; a verified-counsel line allowing at least 1 confidential inbound call a day, or a callback within 24 hours; free video conferencing for legal meetings; and an electronic custody record updated within 6 hours of intake. It takes effect 90 days after the act (§ 23). [St. 2026, c. 163](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2026/Chapter163)

Not enacted: S.1723 (194th General Court), to create a correctional officer accountability and standards training commission that would certify and decertify correction officers of DOC, houses of correction, and jails. It was referred to the committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security and later accompanied a study order (S.2798). [S.1723](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1723)

The c. 163 dates are computed from the August 5, 2026 approval and §§ 23 and 24; no official notice of them was found. Only one bill search was run (correction officer certification, 194th session), and restrictive housing bills were not searched.

## Checked and unchanged

- G.L. c. 6E, § 1 (deputy sheriffs certified only when performing police duties); c. 124, § 1(d), (h), (m); c. 127, §§ 1A, 1B, 39 to 39F, and 118: checked against the posted text; no 2023 to 2026 change credited.
- Not counted: St. 2024, c. 140, § 133 removed MCI Concord from the c. 125, § 1 facility list after its closure; its effective date was not confirmed. St. 2023, c. 28, § 50 also inserted a § 87A into c. 127; how it relates to c. 64 was not reconciled.
- Limits: enacted session laws were reviewed by title, plus the FY2024 to FY2027 budgets and selected omnibus acts, for amendments to c. 6E and cc. 124 to 127; other changes inside omnibus acts may have been missed. DOC regulations (103 CMR) were not reviewed.