By C1 Staff
LOS ANGELES — New data from the Sheriff’s Department shows that inmate suicides dropped by half when compared to 2013.
SCPR reports that deputies and mental health professionals have set suicide reduction as a top priority.
Cases of serious inmate self-harm are also down, though the supervising psychiatrist for L.A. County’s Jail Mental Health Services, Jeffrey Marsh, says that goes hand in hand with the lower suicide rate.
Cases of overall self-harm increased, but they were mostly associated with behavioral problems like excessive scratching or head banging.
New training and more staff led to better reporting procedures last year, which sheriff’s spokeswoman Kelley Fraiser attributes the rise in cases of overall self-harm.