Bristol County Jail eliminates nearly $3 million

In an effort to prioritize jail operations, Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux has eliminated nearly $3 million in non-jail positions within the Bristol County Sheriff’s Department. 

The units that saw positions eliminated or left vacated are COVID dogs, comfort dogs, bomb detection dogs, full time community work crews, the homeland security program, Project Lifesaver, RUOK program, task force and true course. 

In the past three years, the monetary total was $1,952,520 through positions that have been eliminated and $1,090,092 from positions that were vacated and remain empty with no plans to fill them. This is a total of $3,042,612 going toward jail improvement rather than police positions. 

This money is not a savings or a surplus, but went toward correctional positions such as casework, and stipends for correctional officers.