The Independent’s Nov. 16 article “Bridges Granted Pretrial Probation After 4 Months of Incarceration” [page A8] pointed out the tangled relationship between our current mental health and criminal justice systems. Reporter Sam Pollak quotes Michael Horrell, a senior staff attorney at Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts, saying a mental health watch “is not a long-term solution to treating someone’s mental health issues.”
We agree with Mr. Horrell. In fact, Jonathan Bridges’s incarceration in the Barnstable County Correctional Facility was not long-term. After his Feb. 28 arrest, he was with us four days once and then five days again.
Mr. Bridges was sent to us by the courts. Despite his need for mental health treatment, he was sent to a jail. We sent him to Bridgewater State Hospital, the only Massachusetts facility that is built to treat inmates with severe mental illness. That hospital sent him back to us. We returned him to Bridgewater.
Placing Mr. Bridges in an anti-suicide smock (not a straitjacket) in a single cell with an officer watching him 24 hours a day is our policy for suicidal individuals. The lights are always on so the officers can view the inmate. The smock cannot be torn and made into a ligature. The temperature in that cell is set at 70 degrees.
Our policy was developed after years of tragic events, including 68 suicide attempts and two deaths by suicide in the last five years. These are traumatic experiences for the inmates, their loved ones, and the officers. We ardently strive to prevent them.
Our mental health care system is broken, and that is why jails and prisons have become de facto treatment centers. Anyone who wishes to see our work and learn more about our criminal justice system is invited to come on a tour of our facility.
What needs to change? We need more treatment at every level for the mentally ill, more providers, and more secure facilities that are not jails. Some questions to ask in the future: How long prior to his arrest was Mr. Bridges exhibiting signs of mental health issues and what treatment did he receive? How easy is it to place someone in treatment before they commit a crime or hurt themselves or someone else?
The Barnstable County Correctional Facility is not built as a therapeutic environment, and we are not funded to provide mental health treatment. Yet I am dedicating all available resources to do just that. Before you criticize what happens in here, ask yourself what alternatives are out there.
Donna D. Buckley was elected sheriff of Barnstable County in November 2022.
