Five new officers will be hired to patrol the Golden Gate Bridge specifically to look for people who are suicidal.
Between 2000 and 2005, bridge officers were able to stop an average of 52 people a year from jumping from the span. Between 2006 and 2010, the number increased to an average of 73 a year.
Since 2010, the average number of successful suicide interventions increased to 123 a year. In 2014 alone there were 161 successful interventions and in 2015 there were 153. So far in 2016 there have been 138 successful interventions and the number is projected to exceed 200 by the end of the year.
“This increase in interventions is directly related to our presence on the sidewalks,” Capt. Lisa Locati, the span’s top law enforcement official, told bridge officials Friday.
The increase in stopping suicidal people resulted from a restructuring of bridge patrol shift schedules and realignment of patrol priorities in 2014 to further emphasize suicide prevention, with an assist from California Highway Patrol personnel, Locati said. And bridge staff believed there was an opportunity to further improve suicide prevention efforts by increasing the patrol presence on the span.
The bridge board agreed, and on Friday it approved adding five new officers to the patrol, bringing the total to 22. That will allow Locati to deploy three or four officers on the span at one time, up from the current two.
“The officers want to be on the sidewalk detail,” she said. “They are the front line in these situations.”
Adding the five officers will cost the bridge district about $637,000 annually in pay and benefits.
Bridge board member Brian Sobel of Sonoma lauded the work of the officers and called the number of interventions needed “incredibly disturbing.”
The new officers will be hired, trained and on the span in about two months. The move by the bridge board is the latest to address the vexing issue.
In August, bridge officials announced a partnership with Crisis Text Line. The service allows anyone who is despondent at the span to text GGB to 741741 and they are linked almost immediately to a crisis counselor. Bridge security is also notified. Signs referring people to the service are now on the span.
In a historic vote in June 2014, the bridge board unanimously agreed to build a suicide barrier to the applause and tears of supporters, including family members of those who jumped.
The bridge board had a $76 million financing plan in place based on consultant estimates and officials were hoping work could start as soon as this year and be completed by 2020.
But a major stumbling block occurred in July when the lowest bid for the work came in almost double the construction cost estimate. The low bid came in at $142 million from Oakland-based Shimmick/Danny’s Joint Venture. The Pennsylvania-based American Bridge Co. submitted its bid at $174 million. Bridge officials hope savings might be found as the bid documents are reviewed.
Caltrans contributed $22 million to the overall project, the state $7 million from Mental Health Services Act funds and the bridge district $20 million in addition to $27 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Despite the setback, the barrier project will move forward, and a new funding plan is being sought, bridge officials said.
The bridge district’s barrier plan calls for a net extending 20 feet below and 20 feet from the side of the span, although it will have to be modified in certain areas because of surrounding terrain. The net will be made of stainless steel, marine-grade cable to stand up to the elements, bridge officials said. The net will be gray instead of red to better blend with the water.
