Find Women in Transition Custody

Women in Transition Center Overview

The official Women in Transition Center page identifies WIT as an Essex County Sheriff's Department facility at 197 Elm Street in Salisbury. It is a minimum-security and pre-release facility dedicated to women, with programming tied to counseling, education, employment, community service, drug and alcohol recovery, and reintegration. Research notes state that ECSD described WIT as the first facility of its kind in the county.

The key lookup nuance is that WIT is not the universal answer to "where is a female Essex County inmate?" ECSD's official female-inmates page says Essex County female pretrial and sentenced inmates formerly housed at Suffolk County House of Correction are now housed at Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne. That means Salisbury can be the right answer for minimum-security or pre-release programming, while Barnstable may be the official route for current female pretrial or sentenced custody.

The official WIT facility page is the source for the Salisbury address and program description.

The screenshot supports the facility's pre-release and women-specific role, which is different from both Middleton secure custody and Barnstable female detention routing.

Women in Transition Capacity and Population

The July to December 2025 Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association operational capacity report lists Women in Transition Center at 24 beds. ECSD's 2024 Annual Report lists WIT average daily population at 17, including three people on electronic monitoring. Older audit material listed 24-bed capacity and an average inmate census of 40 including electronic monitoring, but the current facility capacity figure in the research is 24 beds.

WIT's small scale is important. A low number does not mean all women from Essex County are absent from custody; it reflects WIT's minimum-security and pre-release function. ECSD's 2024 Annual Report also listed 75 ECSD female inmates held at Barnstable, and the female-inmates page separately routes current female pretrial and sentenced inmates to Barnstable County Correctional Facility.

How to Look Up a Woman Connected to WIT

Official sources reviewed did not locate an online WIT roster or a public searchable Essex County jail roster. Start by deciding what kind of custody question you have. If the person is a woman who may be in current pretrial or sentenced Essex custody, ECSD's female-inmates page directs callers to Barnstable County Sheriff's Office at 508-563-4300. If the question is minimum-security/pre-release placement at Salisbury, use ECSD at 978-750-1900 ext. 3728 or the main sheriff line. If the question is bail amount, ECSD's bail page names Records at ext. 3400.

1. For a new arrest or current detention question involving a female Essex inmate, call Barnstable at 508-563-4300 first.
2. For WIT placement, visit, or pre-release questions, call 978-750-1900 ext. 3728.
3. For bail amount, call ECSD Records at 978-750-1900 ext. 3400.
4. For nonurgent booking or custody records, request public records from ECSD PIO/RAO Gretchen Grosky at ggrosky@essexsheriffma.org.
5. For state-prison custody after a sentence, use Massachusetts VINELink; for federal or immigration custody, use BOP or ICE.

ECSD's official female-inmates page is the source for the Barnstable routing note.

That page is why WIT copy must stay precise: Salisbury is an ECSD women's transition facility, while Barnstable is the current official phone route for many female custody lookups.

Women in Transition Address and Contact

Use the Salisbury address for WIT facility-specific visit, placement, and program questions. Do not send personal nonprivileged mail to the physical address unless ECSD has instructed you to do so for a specific item. Essex personal mail uses the Securus Digital Mail Center format described by the official ECSD inmate-mail page.

Visiting Someone at WIT

Salisbury visits require an appointment 48 to 24 hours ahead by calling 978-750-1900 ext. 3728. ECSD research also notes that first-time visitor forms for Lawrence and Salisbury must be submitted at least 24 hours before a visit by email to prereleaserevisits@essexsheriffma.org or dropped off at the facility. WIT has a practical weather caveat: visits may be outside and can be canceled because of weather.

General ECSD visitor rules still apply. Visits are limited to two adults and two children. Minors under 18 must be supervised, birth certificates are required for minors with both parents' names, and guardians must provide court documents. The dress code prohibits bare tops, bare shoulders, bare feet, halter, tank, tube, cropped, body T-shirts, see-through tops, bathing suits, headgear, and fashion jeans with holes, rips, or tears.

Mail, Phone, and Money at WIT

For Essex sheriff custody, personal nonprivileged mail uses Securus Digital Mail Center/Essex County, PO Box 20527, Tampa, FL 33622, with inmate name, ID number, and housing unit. The Tampa address is a scanning vendor address, not the Salisbury facility. Privileged legal mail and certain publications follow separate rules, so verify those before mailing.

Essex deposits use ConnectNetwork GTL, phone trust deposits at 888-988-4768, lobby kiosks, and the ConnectNetwork mobile app. ECSD names Aramark Correctional Services as the commissary provider and identifies Site ID 262 for Trust and Pin Debit telephone payments. If the woman is actually housed at Barnstable under the ECSD female-inmates route, use the Barnstable Access Corrections instructions instead of Essex ConnectNetwork.

WIT Programs and Oversight

WIT's official role is program-heavy. Research describes individual and group counseling, education, employment, community-service assignments, drug and alcohol recovery, and reintegration support. The facility should be understood as part of the ECSD reentry continuum, along with Middleton secure custody, Lawrence pre-release, and STAR community offices. The department-wide education partnership with Northern Essex Community College served more than 1,100 unique students in 2024 across Middleton, ECPRC, WIT, and STAR.

Oversight records should be dated. A Massachusetts Department of Public Health inspection on January 23, 2024 listed WIT inmate population at 14 and documented violations, including one repeat violation and a required plan of correction within 10 working days. That is an official inspection finding from a specific date, not a live statement about later conditions.

About Women in Transition Center

WIT is useful for families and record searchers only when its role is kept narrow. It is a small minimum-security and pre-release facility in Salisbury. It is not the main Essex secure jail, not the first stop for most new arrests, and not the default location for all women in Essex County custody. For a newly arrested woman, for an active pretrial detention question, or for a sentenced female inmate routed under the ECSD female-inmates notice, Barnstable County Correctional Facility may be the official route.

Public-records requests should be specific. Ask for nonexempt booking sheet, custody commitment or release record, booking photograph, or facility-related custody record by full name, date of birth, approximate date, and facility believed to be involved. ECSD cannot provide DOC prison records, federal BOP records, ICE records, or court dockets that belong to a clerk's office.