Resolved, there shall be a special commission which shall make an investigation and study of technology to monitor and protect the health and safety of people in custody; during arrest, transport, detention and incarceration. The commission shall study (i) technology that continuously monitors vital signs and motion of individuals in custody to detect potential danger; (ii) the ability of technology to detect common causes of injuries and deaths in custody, including but not limited to positional asphyxia, excited delirium, suicide, drug overdoses, and falls; (iii) situational uses of such technology, including use of force arrests and mental health crises; (iv) during which processes such technology may be applicable, including arrest, transport, booking, detention, and incarceration; (v) using technology to monitor and report on in-custody health or safety incidents; (vi) safeguards to protect the privacy and rights of individuals being monitored; (vii) cost assessments of the implementing the technology and of the civil liability and social impacts of in-custody injuries or deaths in the Commonwealth.
The special commission shall be comprised of the following members: the chair of the municipal police training committee, or a designee, who shall serve as chair; the commissioner of the department of corrections, or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts sheriff’s association, or a designee; the attorney general of Massachusetts, or a designee; the executive director of prisoner legal services of Massachusetts, or a designee; the executive director of ACLU Massachusetts or a designee; and two members appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be a medical professional with experience treating individuals in custody, and one of whom shall be an expert on prisoner mental health.
The commission shall submit its findings and recommendations to the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, the joint committee on public safety and homeland security, the executive office of public safety, and the municipal police training committee, no later than January 1, 2024.
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