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.