There are new concerns regarding the Bay State’s emergency shelters and whether the people entering them have been properly checked.
A new report from the Boston Globe alleges that Governor Healey’s administration acknowledged full criminal background checks have not been happening for people staying in the state shelters.
A spokesperson with Healey’s office confirmed to Boston 25 News that the state has not been conducting CORI checks, however, they said outstanding warrants and sex offense searches are happening.
The spokesperson with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities told the Globe that those warrant checks were conducted at intake on people newly entering the shelter until July when they started doing them every 30 days.
This all comes as Governor Healey ordered inspections of all Massachusetts emergency shelters following the arrest of an undocumented immigrant found with an assault rifle and ten pounds of fentanyl at a Revere shelter.
There’s been at least one other instance where an arrest was made.
Last March a shelter resident allegedly raped a 15-year-old at a Rockland shelter.
At that time, the Governor said that person had been vetted by the state.
The Globe also reports that between January 2023 and August 2024, records show more than 1,000 serious incidents at state shelters, including at least 170 incidents of domestic violence and nearly a dozen allegations of rape or sexual assault.
“Warrant checks are done when people apply and again every 30 days while they are in EA,” a spokesperson for Healey’s office told Boston 25 News.
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