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Updated July 2026 Powered by

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See the civilian-oversight record for a place: type a county, state, or ZIP, or use your location.

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Massachusetts sheriff oversight

Suffolk County

Steven Tompkins, Sheriff

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Suffolk County has no independent civilian oversight body for its Sheriff's Office. Massachusetts has no statewide statute establishing county-level civilian oversight of sheriffs, and county government has been eliminated across most of the Commonwealth, leaving no county legislative body to create one. The Suffolk County Sheriff is elected to a six-year term under M.G.L. c.37, § 1, primarily operating the county jail or house of correction and serving civil process, with no general law-enforcement patrol mandate. Since 2010, all 14 Massachusetts sheriff's departments have been funded by the Commonwealth rather than by county government, under Chapter 61 of the Acts of 2009 and the earlier county government abolition acts.

Staffing and budget data for Suffolk County will appear in a future update.

sheriffoversight.org
A public reference for civilian oversight of county sheriffs.

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