Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title I Chapter 272
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 68 (2026)

Vagabonds

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 68. A person known to be a pickpocket, thief or burglar, if acting in a suspicious manner around any steamboat landing, railroad depot, or any electric railway station, or place where electric railway cars stop to allow passengers to enter or leave the cars, banking institution, broker's office, place of public amusement, auction room, store, shop, crowded thoroughfare, car or omnibus, the dwelling place of another, or at any public gathering or assembly, shall be deemed a vagabond, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the house of correction for not less than four nor more than twelve months.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1967–2019 · leading case: Scione v. Commonwealth Commonwealth v. Barnes, 114 N.E.3d 74 (Mass. 2019).
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Scione v. Commonwealth Commonwealth v. Barnes, 114 N.E.3d 74 (Mass. 2019). · cites it 2× “12The length of a pretrial detention period may, in some cases, last years.”
Alegata v. Commonwealth, 231 N.E.2d 201 (Mass. 1967). · cites it 2× “This complaint was grounded on G. L. c. 272, § 68, which reads: “A person known to be a pickpocket, thief or burglar, if acting in a suspicious manner around any steamboat landing, railroad depot, or any electric railway station, or place where electric railway cars stop to…”
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