Council to examine deal that sends people arrested by Boston police to county jail
A 2023 agreement lets the Suffolk sheriff hold people Boston police arrest until they see a judge, at $150 a day per person. Councilors want to know how it works, what it costs and how detainees are treated.
When Boston police arrest an adult, that person may spend the night not at a district station but at the Nashua Street Jail or the South Bay House of Correction. On Oct. 21 the City Council sent to committee an order for a hearing on the agreement that makes that possible.
The order (docket 1965) was filed by City Councilor Miniard Culpepper, with Councilors Ed Flynn and Henry Santana added as co-sponsors. It went to the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, which Santana chairs. It arrives days before that committee's Oct. 26 hearing on deaths in Suffolk County custody, which we previewed.
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What the agreement does
According to the hearing order, the Boston Police Department and the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department signed a memorandum of agreement on Oct. 31, 2023. Under it, the sheriff may hold adults arrested by Boston police until their first court appearance, gives police space for up to two booking stations at Nashua Street, and may house some detainees at South Bay.
The order says police must do a medical pre-screening, record visible injuries and known medical, mental health or substance-use concerns, and hand over paperwork before the sheriff accepts custody. After that, the sheriff is responsible for intake, suicide-risk screening, food, phone access and transport to court. The order says the agreement requires the police department to pay the sheriff $150 per detainee for each day or part of a day in custody.
When the arrangement began, GBH reported that advocates for people experiencing homelessness questioned the new lockup for people arrested near Mass. and Cass. A sheriff's spokesperson told GBH that Nashua Street offers trained supervision and on-site medical care, and that consolidating booking keeps more police on patrol.
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What councilors said
Culpepper said families and attorneys have had trouble finding out where people are being held, and that questions remain about medical screening, mental health care and civil rights protections (watch at 1:40:17). He tied the urgency to deaths in Suffolk County custody in recent years, including a December 2025 death the medical examiner ruled a homicide (1:40:47).
Flynn said concerns remain about limited public notice, inconsistent booking locations and difficulty locating detainees. He said he spent a lot of time at the jail and the House of Correction as a former probation officer (1:41:50). He said he wants the hearing to cover booking and transfer procedures, demographics and access to custody information (1:42:21).
Santana echoed concerns about the agreement's cost and the recent deaths, and said people arrested by Boston police deserve the same civil rights protections as anyone else (1:42:51).
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What our records show
The council has voted three times this year on matters tied to the December 2025 death at the House of Correction. It called for an independent investigation 11-0 in April, rejected a call to suspend the staff involved, and in August voted 11-0 to ask the sheriff to adopt administrative leave standards after critical incidents. We laid out each roll call in our hearing preview.
The new order says a 2024 council hearing order recorded advocates' reports that people arrested near Mass. and Cass were taken straight to county facilities without first going to a district station, and that the change happened without adequate public notice. The council's record lists 11 sponsors on the new order; City Councilors Sharon Durkan and Erin Murphy are not listed.
What's next
The Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee meets Monday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m. on in-custody deaths (hearing notice). No date has been set for the central booking hearing. Check the meetings calendar for both.