Plymouth County Release Meanings
A person who leaves the Plymouth County Correctional Facility has left that facility's custody, but the event is not always freedom in the community. A pretrial detainee may leave on bail, personal recognizance, dismissal, or another court order. A sentenced county inmate may complete a sentence or leave on parole. Someone held for the state, federal government, a warrant, or immigration authority may instead be transferred. Massachusetts classifies community discharge, parole, court release, bail, recognizance, death, transfer, and release to another criminal justice authority as distinct outcomes.
The legal custodian controls the next record. Plymouth County Sheriff's Department records concern the local jail event. The Massachusetts Department of Correction holds state sentence and discharge records. The Federal Bureau of Prisons covers federal sentences, while ICE handles immigration detention. A court docket records the order that may have caused the move. This distinction prevents a common error: treating departure from one building as proof that all custody ended.
- Discharge
- Release when the custodial sentence or other governing term ends.
- Parole
- Conditional release from confinement while the sentence remains active under Parole Board supervision.
- Personal recognizance
- A court-authorized pretrial release without posting money bail.
- Detainer
- A request or legal hold that may send the person to another authority instead of the community.
Plymouth County Release Types
The label on a Plymouth County release record should be preserved exactly. “Released,” “transferred,” and “paroled” do not mean the same thing. The source used next depends on both the facility and the legal basis for departure.
| Release type | What it means | Best next record |
|---|---|---|
| Bail or recognizance | A court permits a pretrial person to leave custody. | Criminal docket and PCCF transaction |
| Sentence expiration or time served | The custodial term has ended or the court counts confinement already served. | Release sheet, court disposition, or discharge certificate |
| Parole | The person leaves confinement under conditions. | Parole Board decision and supervision record |
| Probation | The court imposes community supervision, sometimes after a custodial term. | Court docket and relevant probation department |
| Transfer or detainer | One agency ends custody because another takes control. | Transfer entry and the receiving agency's locator |
| Dismissal or court order | The court directs release or ends the charge at issue. | Certified court docket plus jail processing record |
Bridgewater State Hospital and the Plymouth Substance Abuse Center add another layer. Those locations can hold civilly committed people as well as people tied to criminal custody. The end of a hospital or treatment placement must be read under the correct court order. It should not be labeled an inmate discharge without proof.
Plymouth County Release Record Fields
A focused request identifies the existing release sheet or log entry rather than asking the sheriff to write a new account. Plymouth County's internal Offender Management System contains release date and release type, according to the State Auditor. PCSD warns, however, that identifiable incarceration and release information is CORI and cannot be supplied through its ordinary public-record process. Existence does not equal public access.
| Requested field | What it can establish |
|---|---|
| Committed name and aliases | The identity connected to the custody event |
| Date of birth and booking number | A way to distinguish people with similar names |
| Admission date and time | When the recorded custody began |
| Committing court and docket | The case and court tied to detention |
| Release date and time | When the custodian processed the departure |
| Release type and authority | Why the person left and which order allowed it |
| Destination or supervision | Community, parole, probation, transfer, warrant, federal, or immigration path |
A court docket is parallel evidence. It may show bail, dismissal, sentence, time already served, probation, or a warrant. The docket proves the court action, while the custodial record proves the physical transaction. Keep both dates when they differ.
Request Plymouth County Release Records
The PCSD public-records page identifies Jessica Kenny, General Counsel, as Records Access Officer. The page gives 24 Long Pond Road, Plymouth, MA 02360, 508-830-6200 extension 867, fax 508-830-6234, and jkenny@pcsdma.org. PCSD's linked guide also lists 508-732-1867 and publicrecords@pcsdma.org. If one route fails, call the main number and ask which contact is current.
- Give the person's full committed name, known aliases, date of birth, booking number if known, and a narrow date range.
- Name the existing release sheet or log entry and request any reasonably segregable public part.
- Ask the agency to cite the exact exemption in writing for any material withheld as CORI or under another rule.
- State any authority that changes access, such as a request for one's own record, counsel authorization, or a court order.
- Request a booking photograph separately because a photo by itself is not CORI under 803 CMR 2.00, though other exemptions may still apply.
For state prison custody, submit the request to the MA DOC Records Access Officer, not PCSD. Ask for the certificate of discharge or release, actual custody-release date, release type, release institution, and public parts of the release order or date-computation record. MA DOC states that it does not process county jail requests.
Note: A request may obtain an exemption-specific response, but PCSD does not promise public access to another person's identifiable release entry.
Plymouth County Release Record Law
Massachusetts General Laws chapter 66, section 10 permits delivery to a records access officer by hand, first-class mail, or email. A response is ordinarily due within ten business days. If records are withheld or production cannot then be completed, the response must address the records, exemptions, expected production, fees, delay, help narrowing scope, and appeal rights.
Black-and-white copies are capped at five cents per page. State agencies cannot charge labor for the first four hours and ordinarily cannot exceed $25 per hour after that. Municipal rules differ, so the state labor rule should not be assumed for PCSD without its determination. Chapter 4, section 7, clause Twenty-sixth defines public records and exemptions. CORI, sealed or expunged files, juvenile material, privacy, investigations, security, and medical records can limit a reply.
Plymouth County Release Court Search
MassCourts can show events, docket entries, and dispositions, yet most criminal cases are remotely searchable only by docket number. A name-only search therefore moves to a courthouse public terminal. Plymouth County District Court cases are divided among Brockton, Hingham, Plymouth, and Wareham based on the municipality. Superior Court criminal sessions operate in both Brockton and Plymouth.
Start with paperwork that may show the docket number. In MassCourts, select the court department, division, and location, then use the Case Number tab. If no number is known, ask the proper clerk or use a public terminal under court access rules. Obtain an official copy from the Clerk's Office that holds the matter. A missing remote result can reflect the docket-number rule, wrong court, sealing, expungement, impoundment, juvenile confidentiality, or a data problem.
Note: A court order may support release, but only the custodian's transaction establishes when the person physically left custody.
Find Plymouth County Released Inmates
There is no official PCSD current-inmate name search, 24-hour release feed, or 72-hour release feed. Absence from an unofficial list cannot confirm release. Use a source chain built around the person's known facility and case.
- Identify whether the person was held by PCCF, MA DOC, BOP, ICE, a secure hospital, or a treatment authority.
- For possible PCCF custody, call 508-830-6200 with the full name and date of birth or booking number, and ask whether staff can confirm current custody or route the inquiry.
- Read the correct court docket for bail, recognizance, dismissal, time served, sentence, probation, warrant, or transfer events.
- For a state prisoner, use the official MA DOC path to Massachusetts VINE by full name or commitment number.
- Use Parole Board records for parole, BOP for a federal sentence, and ICE ODLS for immigration detention.
- Seek a lawful, scoped agency record when the online trail is missing, archived, or unclear.
Plymouth County State Release Search
Massachusetts does not offer a separate permanent search of all released state prisoners. Its official “Find someone housed” page directs users to VINELink and states that only MA DOC participates in Massachusetts VINE. PCCF does not. Search by full first and last name or by DOC commitment number, then preserve the exact agency, facility, status, ID, and date labels shown.
| Search field | Use | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Full first and last name | Basic MA DOC person search | Exact identity still needs checking |
| Commitment number | Separates common names | Applies to the DOC record |
| Custody status | Shows the label supplied to VINE | May not remain as a permanent history |
| Location | Shows the reporting institution when available | A changed location may be transfer, not release |
| Date label | May identify a supplied release or projected date | Do not relabel or infer an absent date |
The official MA DOC locator instructions show where the state search begins.
This screen applies to Massachusetts state custody. It is not a Plymouth County Correctional Facility roster or a durable record of every former state prisoner.
Plymouth County Release Times
PCCF's visitor booklet says sentenced and parole releases commence after 9 a.m. Monday through Friday. The physical processing point is the Release Lobby. The word “commence” matters. It identifies the start of processing, not a promised pickup time, and the booklet does not establish that all other lawful releases are barred on weekends or holidays.
Bail follows a different clock. It occurs when a bail commissioner is available and averages one to two hours under the published procedure. Court paperwork, identity checks, another hold, and transport status can affect what happens next. Call before arranging pickup, and treat the stated schedule as operating guidance rather than a legal release deadline.
Plymouth County Bail Release Steps
The published PCCF booklet requires exact cash for bail, a separate $40 bail-commissioner fee, an adult surety, and valid photo identification. It recommends calling first to confirm that the person is bailable and to verify the amount. Because that booklet is dated April 2021, confirm the fee and procedure before travel.
Bail means the court permits a pretrial release under set terms. It is not a dismissal and does not resolve the case. The docket should show the court action, while PCCF processes the physical exit. Another warrant or authority can prevent a community release even after bail is set in the Plymouth County case.
Plymouth County Release Planning
PCCF's reentry structure includes a manager, three advocates, and a community specialist who works in PCCF and Brockton. Exit planning begins 60 days before release. The documented work can address transportation, identification or license issues, food, medical and behavioral-health care, treatment referrals, and other needs tied to a safe return.
The PCSD programs page shows that this support is part of the local handoff, not a public person locator.
Contact with the reentry team may help a person leaving PCCF, but it does not replace a court docket or custodial release record for verification.
Plymouth County Release Medication
PCCF publishes a specific medical handoff. Prescribed medication may be available as a 30-day supply. A person released directly from court may need to return for the blister pack or contact Medical so it can be held for a short time. That court-release path can bypass the usual gate sequence, which makes advance coordination important.
The instruction concerns continuity of care after a Plymouth County release. It is not proof that a named person was released. The court record and facility transaction still answer that separate question.
Plymouth County Transfer Releases
PCCF houses county, state, federal, and ICE-related populations. Two people leaving its Release Lobby may therefore have opposite next statuses. One may return to the community, while another moves under state, federal, warrant, or immigration authority. Ask which agency controlled the person at departure and whether the local transaction was coded as a community release or a transfer.
ICE's Online Detainee Locator can show current detention and, under current guidance, people released from ICE custody during the prior 60 days. A missing result can mean release, transfer, removal, exact-match failure, another custodian, or aging out of that limited window. BOP results may show a federal release date, but “Not in BOP Custody” does not rule out state, county, ICE, or supervised status.
Plymouth County Facility Release Changes
MA DOC ended custody operations at the separate Old Colony Correctional Center minimum-security modular unit in 2024 and transferred its population. The medium-security Old Colony institution remained open. An older reference to “OCCC Minimum” should not be read as a current release site, and disappearance from that unit is not proof of community discharge.
The same caution applies across Plymouth County's mixed facility cluster. Massachusetts Treatment Center includes criminally sentenced and civilly committed populations. Bridgewater State Hospital has a forensic mission, while the Plymouth Substance Abuse Center can involve a criminal sentence or a Section 35 civil commitment. Each departure must be matched to the controlling legal authority.
Plymouth County Release Status Sources
Use the status source that matches the custody system. None of these channels substitutes for all the others.
| Situation | Where to look | What it can establish |
|---|---|---|
| Possible current PCCF custody | Call PCCF | Any confirmation or routing staff may lawfully provide |
| County court release | MassCourts and clerk | Bail, dismissal, time served, sentence, probation, warrant, or transfer order |
| MA DOC custody or recent status | Massachusetts VINE | Supplied DOC status, location, ID, and date labels |
| Historical state discharge | MA DOC records | Certificate and public release or computation material |
| Federal sentence | BOP Inmate Locator | Federal custody or release-date result, subject to its limits |
| Immigration custody | ICE ODLS | Current detention or limited recent-release result |
Can a missing name prove release? No. It may be a lead, but data timing, spelling, transfer, the wrong system, restricted access, or archive limits can also explain the absence.
Plymouth County Release Facilities
Plymouth County has one primary county jail and four state-operated secure sites that require different release records. Follow the facility name, not just the town.
- Plymouth County Correctional Facility: county jail releases, court-ordered exits, parole, and transfers are confirmed through PCSD, the court, or the next custodian.
- Old Colony Correctional Center: use MA DOC, Parole Board, and state discharge records for its sentenced population.
- Massachusetts Treatment Center: distinguish a criminal sentence from an independent civil commitment.
- Bridgewater State Hospital: use the ordering court and responsible agency to distinguish hospital discharge, return, or transfer.
- Plymouth Substance Abuse Center: separate MA DOC sentence status from a Section 35 civil treatment placement.
The local search is complete only after the controlling agency and the legal reason for departure agree.