Dear Sheriff Baca:
We write to express our grave concern for the safety and mental well-being of two boys who attempted to commit suicide two weeks ago in the Men’s Central Jail. At least one of these youths reportedly had a history of prior suicide attempts while in the custody of the county. In addition, we are concerned that conditions of confinement for youths in the jail are likely to exacerbate preexisting mental health disorders.
We understand that the two boys tried to kill themselves on or about Saturday, May 24, using their sheets to hang themselves. One was unconscious when guards found him. This boy reportedly had a long history of attempting suicide. At the police station following his arrest, for example, he lost consciousness after wrapping a chain around his neck in an attempt to hang himself. The same boy also had a history of mental illness that included several psychotic episodes, according to the information we have received.
These cases raise serious questions about the jail’s ability to identify detainees with mental health needs and provide them with appropriate care. When we toured the facility on May 14, Lt. Dinsmoor told us that there were no youths in the juvenile module with mental health needs; he said that the jail identified all youths with mental health needs at intake. But in subsequent interviews with youths who are no longer in the Men’s Central Jail, we heard accounts of the mental health screening at intake that lead us to question its effectiveness. “They ask you, like, do you have any mental health problems. That’s your chance to say no or yes. But they tell you, ‘If you want a bed, just say no,’” one youth told us. “So I said ‘no, no,’ just so I would get a bed that night.”
Even if its intake procedures are flawed, the Men’s Central should be aware of the mental health needs of youths who have a history of suicide attempts while in custody or mental disorders documented by the juvenile hall from which they are transferred. But the two suicide attempts raise questions about the jail’s procedures for requesting medical and mental health records from other custodial facilities, the steps it takes to identify and continue the medications youths have been prescribed prior to their arrival, the availability of mental health programming for youths, and the steps it takes to notify guards when youths may be at risk of harming themselves.
Finally, we are concerned that the living conditions in the juvenile module have serious emotional consequences for all youths and are likely to exacerbate preexisting mental disorders. Youths in the juvenile module are generally locked in single cells for twenty-three-and-a-half hours each day. There are no windows giving access to natural light in the cells nor, as far as we could see, anywhere else in the juvenile module. Youths are not able to control the lighting in their cells. Dim even when they are on, the lights in the cells were off for much of the time we spent in the juvenile module on the morning of our visit. According to your staff, one youth at a time is allowed out of his cell for thirty minutes each day to shower, place telephone calls, and walk along the corridor outside the cells. Youths also have recreation on the roof once each week for three hours; during this time, they are locked in individual cages that contain a pull-up bar and a telephone. Otherwise, with the exception of family and attorney visits and trips to the nurse, they remain in their cells with little or nothing to do.
Before these suicide attempts, as you know, Human Rights Watch had begun an investigation of detention conditions for youths under the age of eighteen who are held in the jail. We requested the opportunity to inspect all living areas for youths at the jail, speak with staff, and interview youths privately.
Your representatives arranged for us to visit the jail on May 14, an opportunity we appreciate. We were able to view the areas of the jail and speak to the staff we asked to see, with two important exceptions. First, we were restricted to the guard observation area when we were in the juvenile module, meaning that we could only observe the cells from afar and through plexiglass. Second, our request to speak with medical staff was denied. In addition, we were not permitted to speak privately with youths during the May 14 visit.
Our investigation of juvenile detention practices at the jail is ongoing, and we are hopeful that you will allow us full access to the juvenile module and the opportunity to speak with medical staff and conduct private interviews with youths.
In the meantime, we urge you to take the following steps as a matter of immediate priority to ensure the safety and well-being of youths with mental health needs:
·Order an immediate in-depth evaluation of all youths who have histories of mental illness and take steps to ensure that they are receiving appropriate monitoring and treatment.
·Review the manner in which the mental health screening is administered upon intake to ensure, for example, that youths are not discouraged from disclosing their mental health histories.
·Review the adequacy of the jail’s procedures for requesting medical and mental health records from other custodial facilities.
·Review the steps the jail takes to identify and provide youths with the medications they have been prescribed prior to their arrival.
We would appreciate learning of any steps the jail plans to take in response to this review.
Sincerely,
Michael Bochenek
Counsel
Children’s Rights Division
