Of the fourteen Massachusetts counties, Berkshire County is one of eight that exists today only as a historical geographic region; it has limited county government. Berkshire County government was abolished effective July 1, 2000, most former county functions were assumed by state agencies, and there is no county council or commission. The sheriff became a Commonwealth employee, but remains locally elected to perform duties within the county region and retains administrative and operational control over the Berkshire Sheriff's Office, an independent state agency created after the county government was abolished. The Berkshire Sheriff's Office runs the county jail and house of correction.