“We are glad the numbers are down and we’ll investigate them,” said Susan Pollitt, a supervising attorney with Disability Rights North Carolina, a nonprofit that keeps a close eye on jail conditions. “But 63 is a lot.”

Reasons for the decline

DHHS spokeswoman Summer Tonizzo said the department was “pleased” to note the reduction in deaths, but referred all questions to the sheriffs who run the roughly 110 jails across the state.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood, who served as president of the N.C. Sheriffs’ Association last year, couldn’t say for certain what may have caused the deaths to drop. But he cited several recent changes that may have contributed.

Several counties, including Orange, have opened new facilities that are better designed for inmate observation, he said. The sheriffs’ association also included training on jail death prevention at a recent annual conference.

More jails are providing inmates with medications to combat opioid addiction, and paying more attention to inmates with mental illness, Blackwood said.

“We have put a great deal of emphasis on spreading the word about the success of these programs and the fact they are helping to reduce jail deaths,” Blackwood said in email messages. “Having our medical providers help us increase the assistance to those with mental health concerns has also been very helpful.”

He also credited Todd Ishee, the N.C. Department of Adult Correction secretary, with reducing the backlog of jailed inmates awaiting transfer to state prisons, since that helps keep jail populations more manageable.

“When he came into office he made this a priority and he has done an awesome job at getting it down and keeping it down,” Blackwood said.

Officers fail to check on inmates for hours

...continued

©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit at charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.