SALT LAKE CITY — Officials in Weber and Davis counties said Monday they welcome legislative action to fund construction of suicide prevention barriers in county jails.

Both the jails in Ogden and Farmington have had instances of inmates jumping off an upper tier, some suffering severe injuries. House Bill 259, passed Friday on a 71-1 vote in the Utah House, would create a grant program for counties to acquire funding for the jail upgrades.

Barriers designed to meet the needs of individual jails are the focus of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Salt Lake City. The bill was prompted by the death rate in county jails, which surged again in 2020, according to the most recent state statistics, after a lull of several years.

Suicide is the leading cause of jail deaths, and Lt. Joshua Marigoni, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office’s corrections spokesperson, said Monday most of the jumps from the upper tier of cell blocks have been suicide attempts.

He said jail officials are looking at a type of cargo netting fabric as a possible prevention measure “to keep people from jumping from the tier.”

“It’s a start in more suicide prevention,” Marigoni said, but he and a Davis County spokesperson questioned whether the grant program outlined in the bill would be sufficient. H.B. 259’s fiscal note says $140,600 could be granted per project.

For design and deployment of a barrier system taking into account all requirements in a particular jail, “it’s not very much money,” Marigoni said.

An inmate was injured just last week in a jump from an upper tier, Marigoni said. “The frequency has increased lately,” he said.

Engineering costs could be substantial and things like fire marshal approval would be involved as well, said Stephanie Dinsmore, Davis County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. She said sheriff’s officials want to see more information about the possibility of grants. “We would certainly welcome” state help toward suicide prevention, she said.

Moss’ bill arises out of renewed concerns among lawmakers about the suicide problem in county jails, which was a major element in a jail reform effort in 2018 after a wave of deaths.

“In theory, it’s a great idea,” Marigoni said of the barrier plan and grant program. “Hopefully we can find a way to pay for it.”

He added, “Of course, you never want to put a dollar amount on somebody’s life.”

Newsletter