Middlesex County Sheriff's Office

Operating the Middlesex Jail and House of Correction in Billerica, about 45 minutes north of downtown Boston, is the largest job of the Middlesex Sheriff's Office. The facility, accredited by the American Correctional Association and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, holds men awaiting trial or serving sentences of up to two and a half years, as well as women classified to the office's pre-release center, and offers classes in education, vocational skills, addiction recovery and anger management to prepare people for re-entry. A Family Support Services Unit, described as the first of its kind in Massachusetts, answers questions and concerns from relatives of people in custody. The Civil Process Division, an independent Commonwealth agency insured by the state, uses uniformed and plainclothes deputies to serve any type of judicial paper for attorneys and self-represented litigants across the county's 54 cities and towns. Community Affairs runs a Youth Public Safety Academy for children ages 8 to 12, a Special Citizens Academy and the L.E.A.R.N. presentations on scams and senior safety, and the office co-hosts scenario-based training with local departments such as Groton and Littleton police.