Share this @internewscast.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alameda County in Northern California violated civil rights by failing to provide proper mental health services, especially in a jail where dozens of people have committed suicide, according to federal report released Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Justice took aim at conditions for people with serious mental health issues, specifically in the Santa Rita Jail, where a woman killed herself April 2. It was the second suicide at the jail this year and the 20th since 2014.

The federal report said there was “reasonable cause” to believe that conditions at the jail in Dublin violated the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The report said the county failed to provide services to people with mental health disabilities, including those at risk of suicide, too often puts them in isolation, and unnecessarily ships them off to mental hospitals or other restrictive housing.

“On any given day in Alameda County, hundreds of people are institutionalized for lengthy stays at one of several large, locked psychiatric facilities” or at John George Psychiatric Hospital, said a Department of Justice statement.

People with mental health disabilities “find themselves unnecessarily cycling in and out of psychiatric institutions and jails because they lack access to proven services that would allow them to recover and participate in community life,” Pamela S. Karlan of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in the statement.

Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department that operates the jails, said the department already was working on dealing with issues mentioned in the report and in an ongoing 2018 federal lawsuit that made similar allegations.

A federal judge is overseeing the progress, he said.

The Santa Rita Jail has about 2,200 inmates, making it one of the largest jails or prisons in the nation.

Kelly estimated that close to half of the inmates at the jail have mental health issues, many of them serious.

“At the end of the day, this boils down to millions and millions of dollars in staffing … in clinicians and facilities,” he said. “We need a proper criminal justice mental health facility that’s connected to the (overall) mental health system. We’re working on all of that.”

This story has been corrected to state that 20 deaths at the Santa Rita Jail since 2014 have been ruled suicides.

Source: huffpost

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Suspected Assassin Complains of Sleepless Nights in Jail

Inset: Vance Boelter (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Security footage is said…

“Wildlife CSI Academy Hosts Special Event at Georgia Safari: Highlighting a Loss of Species Every 20 Minutes”

Last Friday, the Wildlife CSI Academy organized a unique educational event featuring…

Trucker Allegedly Falls Asleep, Resulting in 5 Fatalities Involving 18-Wheeler

Inset: Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni (Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The crash scene…

Texas Woman Arrested Following Tragic Discovery of 4-Year-Old’s Body in Daycare Van

A Texas woman is facing charges after police say she left a…

Father Accused of Murder Abandoned 3-Month-Old Son in Hot Car to Die

A Texas man has been charged after his 3-month-old son reportedly died…

Man Found Guilty in Shooting of Newlywed Couple at Bar

Thomas A. Routt Jr. (Elkhorn Police), Gina and Emerson Weingart, and the…

Katlyn Harp: Discovery of Missing Woman’s Body on Ex-Husband’s Previous Property

The spouse of a missing woman from Pennsylvania has been accused of…

Shooting Suspect at Forest View Apartments Receives 120-Day Jail Term and 3-Year Probation

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jamie Lamarr Ball, 49, who faced arrest…

How Trump’s Justice Department Could Uncover Sources of Iran Strike Reports

Left: President-elect Donald Trump appears on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Dec.…

Delay in Release for Abrego Garcia Due to Deportation Uncertainty

Left: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who resided in Maryland before…

Man Alters Plea in Case of Baby’s Fatal ‘Severe Impact’

Michael Mayor (Miami County Sheriff”s Office). An Ohio man who pleaded not…

Father Who ‘Crushed’ Son’s Skull ‘By Hand’ Receives Sentence

Inset: Blake Dopirak (Manchester Police Dept.). Background: The area where Dopirak killed…