Bristol County Sheriff’s Office: Expert to find out why Bristol County corrections facilities have high suicide rate

DARTMOUTH – A nationally recognized expert on suicide prevention in jails and prisons has agreed to perform a comprehensive assessment of the Bristol County corrections facilities.

Lindsay Hayes, who the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office says has reviewed/examined more than 3,800 cases of suicide in correctional facilities throughout the country for more than 42 years, will start his BCSO study in the next month.

“Three different corrections professionals recommended Lindsay, and it is easy to see why based on his qualifications and the conversations we’ve had,” Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux said. “We have a blindspot somewhere when it comes to inmate suicides. One of my top priorities is to locate and close that loophole to make our correctional facilities as safe as possible for our inmates and our staff.”

Hayes’ work on suicides in corrections includes:

• He has conducted the only five national U.S. Justice Department-funded studies on suicides in jails, prisons and juvenile facilities.
• He has served as a suicide prevention consultant to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
• He has been appointed as a federal court monitor in the observation of suicide prevention programs and plans at several corrections facilities under court jurisdiction.
• Previous work with corrections systems and facilities nationwide, including the Philadelphia jail system, Massachusetts Department of Corrections and several county jail systems in Mass.

Hayes’ assessment of the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office will examine eight different aspects of corrections suicide and is based on national correctional standards. His work will include studies of BCSO training, screening, communication, housing, supervision, intervention, reporting and follow-up/mortality review. He will then produce a written report detailing his findings, conclusions and recommendations.

“I come in as a fresh set of eyes,” said Hayes, who lives on Cape Cod and previously resided in Mansfield. “Sheriff Heroux reached out to me and was deeply concerned about the suicide rates in the correctional facilities.”

Hayes will start reviewing documents and policies relating to inmate suicides over the next few weeks and will start on-site observation and interviews over the next month.