Steven W. Tompkins, a member of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department since 2002, was appointed to serve as the Sheriff of Suffolk County on January 22nd, 2013 by Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, and was elected in November of 2014.As the Sheriff of Suffolk County, Tompkins manages all operations at the Suffolk County House of Correction, the Nashua Street Jail and the Civil Process Division. In addition to providing care, custody and rehabilitative support for inmates and pre–trial detainees, Tompkins also oversees a management, security and administrative staff of over 1,000.
Nationally, 1 out of every 4 women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Eighty–five percent of domestic violence victims are women. Having served within the Department for nearly two decades, I have witnessed firsthand the rise in the number of female offenders coming into the system, many of whom carry with them the physical and emotional scars of trauma as the underlying root of the illegal activity that has led them to incarceration. In an effort to address both the victims as well as the perpetrators of domestic violence, we are bolstering our existing programming around violence prevention and recovery, and reaching out to community organizations to form partnerships aimed at extending services to these citizens upon return to their communities on and a positive, successful future.