Bristol County Sheriff's Office hires a jail suicide-prevention expert for a study

Frank Mulligan, Standard-Times
·3 min read

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

Lindsay M. Hayes, who has reviewed/examined more than 3,800 cases of suicide in correctional facilities throughout the country for more than 42 years, will start his Bristol County Sheriff's Office study in the next month, according to a press release.

“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’ extensive work on suicides in corrections includes conducting the only five national U.S. Justice Department-funded studies on suicides in jails, prisons and juvenile facilities; serving 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; being appointed as a federal court monitor in the observation of suicide prevention programs and plans at several corrections facilities under court jurisdiction; working previously with corrections systems and facilities nationwide, including the Massachusetts Department of Corrections and several county jail systems in Massachusetts.

Lindsay M. Hayes has reviewed/examined more than 3,800 cases of suicide in correctional facilities throughout the country.
Lindsay M. Hayes has reviewed/examined more than 3,800 cases of suicide in correctional facilities throughout the country.

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.

Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux gives media and state representatives a tour of the Ash Street jail in New Bedford which he plans on closing.
Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux gives media and state representatives a tour of the Ash Street jail in New Bedford which he plans on closing.

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“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.

A 41-year-old New Bedford man died in an apparent suicide by hanging at the Bristol County House of Correction last month.

Jail suicide:New Bedford man dies in apparent Bristol County jail suicide

Suicides at the Bristol County Jail and House of Correction had been a contentious issue during Heroux's successful campaign against 25-year-incumbent Tom Hodgson.

A Cape Cod man being held for his mother's murder in the County's Ash Street Jail killed himself Oct. 2.

'Get things done': Bristol County Sheriff-elect Paul Heroux preparing for 'day one'

According to a 2018 report by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, 16 inmates had killed themselves in the jails located in North Dartmouth and New Bedford during the preceding 12 years. The jails at the time held 13 percent of the state's county inmates, but accounted for more than 25% of county jail suicides, according to the report.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Bristol County Sheriff's Office hires jail suicide-prevention expert