Sheriff Steve Tompkins is a leader in the criminal justice system when it comes to understanding the heavy responsibility he has to keep his prison staff and those incarcerated in his facilities safe at all times. His protocol and programs are both innovative and the high professional standard he demands from his staff are the keys to his success as a law enforcement expert.
The Massachusetts Sheriffs are committed to
serving the communities they are sworn to protect. This responsibility includes
the health and well-being of their justice-involved populations and the
dedicated men and women on their teams of corrections professionals. Every
sheriff sees it as their duty to ensure that the public safety and public
health needs of all who live and work within their facilities are fully met.
That responsibility only grows during global emergencies, and the sheriffs are
meeting the COVID-19 pandemic head-on.
Although the authority to release a detainee
lies with the courts and the respective District Attorney’s Office, the
sheriffs are committed to working with the judiciary as well as Law Enforcement
partners to identify appropriate persons eligible for release. The priority of
Sheriffs is always to have a re-entry release plan that helps individuals
transition back into the community. A lack of community support services,
particularly during a public health crisis, could set individuals and the
communities up for failure.
“Clearly, we will work in concert with the
courts and abide by any decision to release those in our care and custody,
should they make that determination,” said Sheriff Tompkins. “But,
one thing that should be of paramount importance to any such consideration is a
careful assessment of whether those people targeted for release will be safer
out in the streets than in our facilities.”
“It is critically important that they have
access to the necessary health care, mental health and addiction recovery
services, which we are fully equipped to deliver, and a safe, secure place to
stay, because without those crucial things, the likelihood of contracting
COVID-19 increases, along with the potential spread of infection to others in
their radius.”
The Massachusetts Sheriffs and their staff are
working tirelessly to safely manage their staff and inmate populations and to
curb the spread of COVID-19 to their county jails and houses of correction.
They provide an exceptional level of care in their facilities, and are prepared
for public health scenarios such as this. The sheriffs have implemented
proactive and strategic steps to limit the transmission of COVID-19 including:
* Providing in-service
training on infectious diseases and emergency preparedness for staff before,
during and after this crisis.
* Deploying enhanced intake
screening protocols to evaluate new arrivals for symptoms of COVID-19 and limit
potential transmission.
* Providing a high level of
medical care for all individuals while employing specific protocols when
potential or confirmed cases of COVID-19 arise.
* Engagement with medical
experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and the National Commission on
Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) to ensure that their medical practices are
maximally effective and responsive to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Encouraging staff and their
justice-involved populations to follow the CDC-recommended practices regarding
handwashing, social distancing, continuous sanitizing of facilities and general
transmission prevention. Signage has increased throughout the facilities to
serve as a reminder of these practices.
* Enhancing screening of
staff entering the facility.
* Temporarily suspending
in-person visits for families and friends while enhancing alternative means of
communication. This includes a range of options such as additional phone calls,
mail services or, where available, increased access to text messaging and video
conferencing.
* Working with the courts,
enhancing videoconferencing and teleconferencing technology to ensure that an
inmate’s access to the court is continued.
In addition to strategic efforts the Sheriffs
have implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their facilities, the
Sheriffs are working proactively with other law enforcement agencies and
community advocates to review the individualized cases of those in their
custody to ensure appropriate care and release information is provided.
It is crucial to each sheriff that every
individual leaves their custody with an individualized and specialized care
plan. Releasing individuals without that level of preparation would be a
dereliction of the sheriff’s duty – and would not set up the justice-involved
individual or their communities for a successful reentry.
Take a moment to visit the website at: www.scsdma.org and Learn more about some of the outreach, civic engagement and
public safety initiatives of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department
