Safety measures can save lives at suicide hotspots

Restricting access to suicide ‘hotspots’ such as railway bridges and clifftops by using preventive measures such as barriers and safety nets could cut the number of deaths there by more than 90%.

Researchers made this conclusion after examining 18 previous studies on the effectiveness of three interventions: restricting access to the means, encouraging help-seeking and increasing the likelihood of intervention by a third party.

They found that encouraging help-seeking, for example by placing signs and crisis telephones, and increasing CCTV surveillance and the presence of suicide patrols also reduced the number of suicides.

The researchers made their findings through comparing the numbers of suicides at various hotspots before and after interventions were introduced.

Some of the hotspots offered the means of suicide, usually by jumping, while others were secluded, which made it unlikely that a suicide attempt would be interrupted. In urban areas suicide hotspots tended to be bridges, tall buildings, car parks and railway tracks.

These places included Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol and the cliffs of Beachy Head in Sussex, alongside locations in countries such as China, the United States and Australia. 

Lead author Jane Pirkis form the University of Melbourne, Australia, said: ‘These key interventions have the potential to complement each other and buy time to allow an individual to reconsider their actions and allow others the opportunity to intervene.’

The researchers’ paper is published in The Lancet. 

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