Bristol County Sheriff’s Office implemented ways to reduce inmate suicide that turned out to be award winning

The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office received the “Innovation of the Year” award from the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association on Tuesday.

The Innovation of the Year award recognizes innovation in the field of jail administration to significantly improve jail operations resulting in safer and more efficient facilities.

The BCSO previously had a rate of suicide three times the national average and was the highest in the state. During his first month after taking office, Sheriff Heroux hired a nationally recognized expert on inmate suicide, Lindsay Hayes, to give the BCSO recommendations ways to reduce the rate of suicide. The report offered 23 specific ways to reduce suicide in the BCSO. A link to that report is below.

The BCSO redesigned the bunk beds to be ‘suicide resistant’ by creating an enclosed triangular stepladder and eliminating spots that could be used to hang oneself. When renovating, the maintenance team also addressed risks posed by bars across windows. They developed a metal screen allowing windows to open while eliminating ways one could hang themselves.

These innovations, including suicide-resistant beds and windows, are being implemented in partnership with the office’s vocational welding program, provided inmates with valuable work skills after release. The maintenance team has enhanced safety while fostering creativity and problem-solving within the Sheriff’s Office.

Some inmates are at elevated risk of suicide when they are incarcerated for the first time, on a high profile crime, or a crime that is likely to result in a conviction that will result in a long sentence. Inmates who are newly admitted are more at risk for attempting suicide than inmates who have been incarcerated for a long time or multiple times. The main feature of someone who is going to commit suicide is someone who has lost hope or experiences a sense of hopelessness that the future won’t get better.

The BCSO cannot promise to prevent all inmate suicides, but Sheriff Heroux states that they are making progress to significantly reduce the rate of inmate suicide.