Most Franklin County residents will never visit anyone at the 320-bed Franklin County Jail and House of Correction on Elm Street in Greenfield. Yet vital work takes place there under Sheriff Lori Streeter’s direction, with staff largely working behind the scenes and receiving little recognition.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office primary mission is “the protection of the public.” The public order that created the Sheriff’s Office defined its mission to “demonstrate its commitment to the community” by providing services, including a regional correctional system, a correctional reentry program, and community policing/crime prevention programs for senior citizens. Inmate programs include behavioral health support, education and vocational training, reentry support after incarceration, substance abuse disorder treatment, and medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Our jail became the first in the state and one of the first in the nation to offer suboxone treatment for addiction.
Sheriff Streeter would be the first to say that the office’s success reflects the hard work and dedication of employees who care deeply about those they serve and the community they call home. I saw this firsthand as a state representative and Franklin County commissioner while working with the sheriff on budget matters and on the needs of people in custody. The Sheriff’s Office also provides programs outside the House of Correction.
In downtown Greenfield, for example, the Sheriff’s Office has assigned a business district officer to help the Greenfield Police support community members and maintain a visible presence downtown and at the Greenfield Public Library. The Sheriff’s Office coordinates with the Franklin County Community Justice Support Center on Main Street. Officers are also assigned to support the police departments in Montague and Erving.
Friends, neighbors, and my family members have relied on the sheriff’s TRIAD program. In 2025, the program provided Franklin County seniors with more than $600,000 in free equipment, including wheelchairs, transport chairs, walkers, and hospital beds. Sheriff Lori Streeter’s TRIAD deputies also support the SHINE health education counseling program by delivering food to homebound seniors, providing emergency supplemental heating oil, organizing social activities to reduce isolation, and helping raise funds for this vulnerable community. As of March 26, 2026, TRIAD staff had responded to 500 requests for medical equipment and provided meals for major holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.
The Sheriff’s Office also provides animal control services for injured or aggressive animals and animal shelter program services. These programs protect residents and animals and are an important, often overlooked component of public safety and community health. Area towns first asked the Sheriff’s Office to provide animal control services in 2012. Today, it provides animal control services to 21 towns seven days a week and animal shelter services to 24 towns. These programs work closely with the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office on reported animal abuse cases.
Sheriff Lori Streeter is central to this work; Gov. Maura Healey appointed her in February 2025. The governor oversaw a competitive process and vetted several candidates. Lori’s long-term experience in the sheriff’s office was impressive, along with her deep understanding of Massachusetts’ correctional system and its goals. Streeter’s leadership has been grounded in honesty, transparency, and ethical decision-making. She told me: “Public office is a responsibility, not a privilege, and it must always be exercised in the best interest of the community and the employees who serve it.”
To this sheriff, the deputies, correctional officers, and civilian staff are the backbone of public safety. Sheriff Streeter has been committed to leadership development, fair advancement, and creating an environment where every worker is respected and heard. That’s why she believes the Sheriff’s Office’s success belongs to the employees who, with diligence and dedication, make the organization work. Lori Streeter served three sheriffs, each adding responsibility to her resume and preparing her to apply for the top job in the office.
I have come to know and deeply respect Lori Streeter, the first woman to serve as Franklin County sheriff. She is a proven leader with the right values for this important job. Please join me in voting to retain her as our county sheriff and in supporting her continued dedication to our community’s well-being.
Bill Benson served as the elected state representative for the 2nd Franklin District and as Franklin County Commissioner. He lives in Greenfield.