Crime & Safety

Middlesex Sheriff Announces New Crime-Fighting Tool

Local police agencies will now have access to more information on prison inmates.

Middlesex County law enforcement agencies now have an additional tool to fight crime—more and easier access to information about prison inmates. 

The Middlesex County Sheriff's office recently unveiled MIDNet, the Massachusetts Inmate Data Network, which allows police officers to access information on inmates in hopes of bolstering public safety, according to the Sheriff's office. 

MIDNet allows officers to find information on an inmate's status, charges, identifying marks, aliases and other information from other correctional facilities, including state Department of Correction facilties.

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As of Dec. 19, 39 out of 54 Middlesex County communities had enrolled in the program.

“We, as police officers, have known for years that there is a wealth of information contained in the various Sheriffs’ offices and the Department of Correction related to their inmate populations,” Medford Police Chief Leo Sacco Jr. said in a press release. “This is information that is vital to law enforcement. Until MIDNet, this information was not easily accessible. MIDNet now puts this valuable info at our fingertips in minutes, if not seconds. In this period of budget and staffing shortages, MIDNet is an incredible public safety tool that allows us to work smarter and not harder.”

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Prior to the program, police officers had to request the information.


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