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EDITORIAL: Help Mental Health

Columbian - 1/6/2017

Jan. 06--While there are no easy solutions to the issue of inmate suicides at jails throughout Washington -- including in Clark County -- proper mental health care appears to be the most crucial step.

Since 2007, the Clark County Jail has seen 16 inmate suicides -- the most of any local jail in the state. By comparison, the much-larger King County Jail saw 11 suicides from 2005 to 2015, according to a recent article in The Columbian. In the wake of that, Clark County Jail Chief Ric Bishop effectively distills the crux of the problem: "It's not just the person dying, it's the impact on the family, the impact on the staff."

Undoubtedly, working in a county jail can be a thankless, difficult, traumatic task. And while safety for staff members must be of paramount concern, so, too, should protection for inmates whose actions have landed them in custody. Clark County's jail sees about 15,000 to 16,000 bookings annually, with the average stay being 19 days. During that time, there is a moral imperative for the state to protect inmates, which often means protecting them from themselves.

All of that returns us to the issue of mental health. As Klickitat County Chief Civil Deputy Robert Bianchi told The Columbian: "Like most jails, we're fighting the battle of this jail being used as a mental health depository." Last year, a ruling in U.S. District Court determined that Washington has violated the rights of mentally ill inmates by forcing them to wait in jail for weeks or months before receiving competency hearings and appropriate care.

That speaks to the shortcomings of the state's mental health system in general, an issue that Gov. Jay Inslee has made a focal point in his proposed budget for the 2017-18 biennium. In addition to addressing problems at Western State Hospital near Tacoma, Washington's largest mental health facility, the Legislature this year must pay attention to the issue of jails being used as boarding houses for those who require mental assessments.

Success has been achieved in other states. After a woman named Sandra Bland committed suicide in a Texas jail following a capricious arrest in 2015, a case that garnered national attention, that state instituted changes in jail policy. According to the Dallas News, new intake procedures are focused upon better assessing an inmate's mental state. After a five-year average of 23 jail suicides per year, the number dropped to 14 during the 12 months after the policies were adopted. "Previously," the newspaper reported, "mental health guidance depended solely on a haphazard protocol of inmates self-reporting problems."

In Clark County, changes to the jail were made following four suicides in 2012. Staff has undergone more intensive training, and protruding fixtures have been replaced to reduce the risk of hangings, Bishop said. The jail chief also advocates for more direct supervision, which stations an increased number guards among the jail population. Again, the safety of staff must be primary, but any measures shown to reduce jail suicides elsewhere are worthy of consideration.

Being placed in jail can be a life-altering event not only for those accused of a crime but for their families, as well. Jails serve an important function in assuring the safety of the public, but staff members also have a duty to protect those in their custody.

In that regard, it is imperative for the Legislature to strengthen the state's mental health system and provide for inmates who are dangerous to themselves as well as others.

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(c)2017 The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.)

Visit The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.) at www.columbian.com

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