Andrea J. Cabral
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Andrea J. Cabral was elected on November 2, 2004 and sworn in on January 5, 2005 as the 30th Sheriff of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. She is the first female in the Commonwealth’s history to hold the position.
Cabral is a graduate of Boston College (1981) with a Bachelor of Arts degree and Suffolk University Law School where she earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1986.
Cabral is responsible for the operation of the House of Correction, the Suffolk County Jail, the Suffolk County Women’s Resource Center, the Suffolk County Community Corrections Center and the Civil Process Division. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department has more than 1,100 employees comprised of correctional officers, criminal justice professionals, caseworkers and administrative staff whose primary responsibility is upholding public safety and providing rehabilitative support for more than 2,500 offenders daily. The average operating budget for the Department is $88 million.
Sheriff Cabral brings an extensive legal background and a commitment to public safety as she begins her term as Sheriff.
Cabral began her legal career in 1986 as a staff attorney at the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department at the Charles Street Jail, working to prepare and argue motions for bail reduction for the Suffolk Superior Court. Subsequently, she served as an assistant district attorney at the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office from 1987-1991.
From 1991-1993, Cabral served in the Office of the Attorney General including work in the Torts Division/Government Bureau and the Civil Rights/ Public Protection Bureau. Cabral then began work at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in 1993 under then District Attorney Ralph C. Martin III. From 1993-1994, she was director of Roxbury District Court Family Violence Project. She became chief of the Domestic Violence Unit at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in 1994. In 1998, Cabral was promoted to chief of District Courts and Community Prosecutions.
Cabral’s published works include "Obtaining, Enforcing and Defending x.209A Restraining Orders in Massachusetts" and "Same Gender Domestic Violence: Strategies for Change in Creating Courtroom Accessibility."
