Lawmakers get input on jails, suicide prevention
The July 13, 2015, death of Sandra Bland, a woman arrested and jailed after a traffic stop in Waller County, has prompted meetings of Texas House and Senate committees. Bland, whose body was discovered in her jail cell three days after she was put in custody, was ruled a suicide.
Charged by the lieutenant governor to conduct an interim study, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee met for more than four hours on Sept. 22. The panel listened to invited testimony and discussed jail safety and inmate suicide prevention in county jails.
Under direction of Committee Chair Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, the panel received input on how inmates are assessed and processed at intake, how inmate populations are grouped and managed based on risk category and mental health condition, and how jailers are trained.
Texas Department of State Health Services Assistant Commissioner for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Lauren Lacefield-Lewis was one of many people to testify.
Lacefield-Lewis said, of the entire county jail inmate population, you would expect some 30 percent to have a mental health illness, or about 20,000 inmates on any given day.
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