Elevator Inspections Lag in Massachusetts

A state auditor’s report says the state’s Department of Public Safety is way behind on its elevator inspections.

The report released Tuesday by Auditor Suzanne Bump’s office says more than one-third – or more than 14,200 – of the state’s roughly 39,000 registered elevators were operating with expired inspection certificates as of Oct. 2012. More than 1,700 of those had been expired for more than four years.

State law requires annual inspections, and the Public Safety Department hired more inspectors after a 2010 report showed a backlog.

Bump says uninspected elevators “represent a safety risk to the public.”

A spokesman for the Public Safety Department said in a statement the agency has made “significant strides” in the two years since the audit was conducted and compliance now exceeds 80 percent.