Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 127, § 158

The agents employed by the parole board shall, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the board, supervise, counsel and advise prisoners released on parole from the correctional institutions of the commonwealth, or from any institution to which they were removed therefrom, and shall assist them in securing employment. They shall also render assistance and counsel to discharged prisoners who are in need of such help, and perform such other duties relative to discharged or released prisoners as the parole board requires.

They shall obtain information for the use of the parole board relative to prisoners sentenced to correctional institutions of the commonwealth, especially as to the details of their offences and their previous character and history. They may for that purpose require of the police authorities any facts in their possession relative to such prisoners if the communication thereof will not, in the opinion of said authorities, be detrimental to the public interest.