Executive Team

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. In November of 2014, he was elected to the office and he was reelected in 2016 and in 2022.

As the Sheriff of Suffolk County, Tompkins manages all operations at the Suffolk County House of Correction, the Suffolk County 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 nearly 1,000.

Special Sheriff Abiezer “Abe” Ayuso joined the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department in July of 1993. With nearly three decades of service to the Department, Major Ayuso has worked in a wide variety of stations, locations and capacities within the Suffolk County Jail, bringing his trademark dedication and high-level of professionalism to all of them, including the Sheriff’s Escort and Response Team (SERT), Transportation, Booking, Central Control, detainee housing units, the Back Gate, and several others.

Superintendent Sweeney is a Nationally Certified Jail Manager and a 31 year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department.  As the Superintendent of the House of Correction, Bill oversees the eight-building Suffolk County House of Correction facility with a daily population of nearly 700 inmates and more than 500 trained correction officers. He also represents the Department in many liaison roles with external law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, state and city administrators, and various legislators. 

In over 28 years of service, Michael Colwell has served in a variety of ranks and roles with the Sheriff’s Department. Superintendent Colwell joined the Department in 1991 as a Jail officer and, throughout his career, served as a front-line supervisor in the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain and Shift Commander.

The Office of the General Counsel represents the Sheriff’s Department in legal matters including, but not limited to those brought in state and federal trial and appellate courts, as well as state administrative agencies such as the Labor Relations Commission and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. It also reviews and drafts contracts involving the Department, including those for the procurement of goods and services. The Office of the General Counsel also represents the Sheriff in all arbitration proceedings.

Lakia Jones is the Chief of Staff and the Chief of Operations and Planning for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD).

Joining the SCSD in July of 2003 as an Employee Relations Manager, Lakia held oversight of Detail Administration, Internal and External Deputizations, the Tracking Personnel Division Hotline, and assisted the Department with the Worker’s Compensation process.

With almost 30 years of service with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, Superintendent of Human Resources McLaughlin brings a wide breadth of experience to Sheriff Tompkins’ management team. With his expertise in the financial operations of the agency, in addition to years of work in the field of labor relations, John brings both experience and knowledge of the institutional history of the Department.

Assistant Superintendent Rachelle Steinberg began her career at the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department as an intern in 2002 with the Boston Reentry Initiative (BRI), and in 2003, was hired by the Sheriff’s Department to oversee BRI.

In 2005, she was promoted as the Assistant Director of Classification and Custody Assessment. In this role, she oversaw the Special Management, Disciplinary and Classification units and the movement of inmates and detainees throughout the House of Correction.