Locate Pre-release Center Inmates

Essex County Pre-release and Re-entry Center Overview

The official ECSD facility page places the Essex County Pre-release and Re-entry Center at 165 Marston Street in Lawrence. It is operated by the Essex County Sheriff's Department and serves a different role from Middleton Jail & House of Correction. Middleton is the secure intake and jail center. Lawrence is a lower-security step in the custody continuum for people who have earned transfer through classification, program participation, sentence progress, and institutional conduct.

The facility has a long local history. ECSD research notes state that the site opened under the City of Lawrence in 1869 as a reform school for boys and has been part of sheriff operations since 1976. Current ECSD material emphasizes lower-risk inmates, people nearing sentence completion, work assignments, community-service crews, work release, and additional responsibilities. That is why this page should be read as a pre-release and reentry page, not as a new-booking jail page.

The official Lawrence facility page is the source for the facility's location and role.

The facility screenshot supports the lower-security and reentry focus, which is the main distinction from the Middleton secure jail page.

Lawrence Capacity and Population

The July to December 2025 Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association operational capacity report lists the Essex County Pre-release and Re-entry Center at 230 all units. ECSD's 2024 Annual Report lists ECPRC average daily population at 103, including nine people on electronic monitoring. Older Mass.gov audit material listed 336 beds and an average inmate census of 294 during the audit period, but the 2025 operational capacity report is the current capacity source identified in the project research.

These numbers should not be read as a live roster. The 103 ADP figure is an annual-report average. The 230 capacity figure is an operational-capacity entry from a later reporting period. Together they explain the facility's scale and role inside ECSD, but they do not tell whether a specific person is there today.

How to Look Up an Inmate at the Pre-release Center

Official sources reviewed did not locate a separate online roster for the Essex County Pre-release and Re-entry Center. They also did not locate a public searchable Essex County jail roster for the sheriff's department. Use the ECSD main phone, 978-750-1900, for custody routing. Use Records at 978-750-1900 ext. 3400 for bail amount questions when the person is still in a bail posture, and use Gretchen Grosky, Public Information Officer and Records Access Officer, at 978-750-1900 ext. 3361 or ggrosky@essexsheriffma.org for nonurgent public-records requests.

1. Start with ECSD if the person was arrested on an Essex County state or local case.
2. Explain that you are trying to determine whether the person has been transferred to Lawrence pre-release or remains at Middleton.
3. Prepare full name, date of birth, approximate arrest or sentencing date, court, and arresting agency.
4. If the person received a state-prison sentence, check Massachusetts VINELink because DOC custody is separate from ECSD.
5. If a federal or immigration agency is involved, use the BOP locator or ICE ODLS as a separate fallback.

Pre-release Center Address and Contact

Use the Lawrence facility address for visiting, facility correspondence that ECSD specifically directs there, and local facility questions. Personal nonprivileged mail follows the ECSD Securus scanning system rather than the physical facility address. If you are not sure whether the person is in Lawrence, Middleton, Salisbury, Barnstable, DOC, federal, or ICE custody, confirm custody before sending mail or money.

Visiting Someone at Lawrence Pre-release

ECSD research distinguishes Lawrence from Middleton on appointments. Lawrence visits do not require an appointment according to the ECSD FAQ captured in the research, but first-time visitor forms for Lawrence and Salisbury must be completed and submitted at least 24 hours before the visit. Forms may be emailed to prereleaserevisits@essexsheriffma.org or dropped off at the facility. That first-time form requirement is easy to miss because it is different from a scheduled appointment.

General ECSD visitor limits still matter: two adults and two children per visit, minors must remain supervised by a parent or legal guardian, and birth certificates or guardianship documents may be required. The dress code bars bare tops, bare shoulders, bare feet, halter, tank, tube, cropped, see-through tops, bathing suits, headgear, and clothing with holes, rips, or tears. The visit officer may enforce clothing suitability, so conservative clothing is the safest practical choice.

Mail, Phone, and Money at Lawrence

ECSD's personal mail route applies to people held in Essex sheriff custody, including Lawrence, unless a specific legal-mail or facility exception applies. Personal mail should use the inmate name, ID number, and housing unit, care of Securus Digital Mail Center/Essex County, PO Box 20527, Tampa, FL 33622. The Tampa address is a mail-scanning address, not the Lawrence facility. Originals are retained for 60 days before destruction unless the sender requests return with a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Deposits for Essex sheriff custody use ConnectNetwork GTL, lobby kiosks, the ConnectNetwork mobile app, and phone deposits through 888-988-4768. ECSD identifies Aramark Correctional Services as commissary provider and Site ID 262 for Trust and Pin Debit telephone payments. Do not use the Barnstable Access Corrections instructions for Lawrence; those are for Essex female inmates routed to Barnstable under the ECSD female-inmates page.

Programs and Reentry at Lawrence

The Lawrence center is one of the strongest program-focused parts of the ECSD facility map. Official descriptions emphasize increased class participation, responsibility, work assignments, community service, and work release. ECSD annual-report notes also identify farm and community-service activity tied to ECPRC: the farm produced or donated 21,360 pounds in 2023 and 35,155 pounds in 2024, and crews provide services such as painting, landscaping, trash removal, and other work for municipalities and nonprofits.

The facility belongs to a broader ECSD reentry model that includes education, workforce training, clinical care, substance-use treatment, and STAR community offices in Lynn and Lawrence. That does not mean every person in Lawrence has the same program status. A caller should ask ECSD which facility and program status apply before planning visits, mail, deposits, or release expectations.

About the Pre-release Center

Because ECPRC is a lower-security facility, it should not be used as a shortcut for all Essex custody searches. New arrests, bail questions, and secure housing questions usually begin with Middleton and ECSD Records. Lawrence becomes relevant when classification, sentence progress, program participation, or reentry status points to a lower-security placement. The best public-records request for Lawrence should identify the person, facility believed to be involved, approximate dates, and the specific record sought, such as custody commitment, release, housing route, or nonexempt booking material.

For state-prison sentences, Massachusetts DOC and VINELink replace county facility instructions. For federal sentenced custody, use the BOP locator. For immigration custody, use ICE ODLS. None of those tools is a Lawrence roster, and none should be used to assume someone is physically in Essex sheriff custody.