More Officers Hired To Patrol Golden Gate Bridge To Intervene In Suicide Attempts
“This increase in interventions is directly related to our presence on the sidewalks,” says Capt. Lisa Locati, the span’s top law enforcement official.
Marin Independent Journal/The Mercury News:
Golden Gate Bridge To Hire More Officers To Prevent Suicides
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. (Prado, 10/17)
In other public health news —
St. Louis Public Radio:
Seeking Treatments For Brain Illnesses, Wash U Tests How A Mouse's Brain Responds To Light
In two separate grants from the White House's BRAIN Initiative, Bruchas and his colleagues at the University of Illinois and University of California-San Diego hope that by doing this they can find out which parts of the brain should be targeted for new drugs, and whether light could play a role in new treatments for conditions like anxiety, depression, or chronic pain. Application in humans, however, is very far off, Bruchas said. Many of the light-sensitive proteins they are studying in animals do not naturally occur in humans. (Bouscaren, 10/17)