New Jersey's Department of Corrections is rolling out a series of initiatives aimed at preventing suicides in county jails, weeks after a WNYC investigation into the jail system found an increasing number of deaths in custody.

“One suicide is too many,” Acting Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks said in a statement. “These initiatives are designed to lead to improved outcomes. While the NJDOC does not have a role in the daily operations of county jails, the Department will remain vigilant in establishing suicide prevention standards that must be met by each county jail."

Reporter Audrey Quinn found the increase in deaths was largely driven by suicides tied to mental illness and drug addiction. By one count, New Jersey had the highest rate of deaths in custody of any large jail system in the country.

Because jails face little state oversight, there's been a lack of accountability. Gov. Phil Murphy's administration is now amending corrections guidelines to make sure jails review each suicide and submit a report to the state.

Under the NJDOC's new initiatives, the state will now conduct unannounced inspections. There will also be training on suicide prevention and the department will helps jails develop polices aimed at curbing deaths.

The NJDOC will have to work in conjunction with the New Jersey County Jail Warden’s Association, which oversees the daily operation of county jails. Calls to the association's president, Eugene J. Caldwell, had gone unanswered as of Thursday evening. 

The NJDOC released the following initiatives:

• The NJDOC will conduct unannounced annual inspections of county facilities.
• Each county will be required to attend an annual training session presented by the NJDOC, to include correctional best practices related to suicide prevention.
• The NJDOC will provide technical assistance in policy development to address suicide prevention in county jails.
• A recommendation will be put forth that county jails receive biennial training on suicide prevention from the National Institute on Corrections.
• The New Jersey Administrative Code – specifically 10A:31 – will be amended to include a requirement for county jails to conduct a multi-discipline morbidity review within a specified timeframe of a suicide. A summary of that review must be provided to the NJDOC within a specified timeframe.
• The NJDOC will conduct a review of the general facts of the suicide in the conduct of the requirements set forth by the New Jersey Administrative Code. A follow-up inspection of any relevant standards will be conducted and recommendations for remedial actions will be made, if needed.

Murphy had previously said the issue was "deeply troubling" and vowed to fix the system "using any existing authority or, if need be, working with the Legislature to provide new authority.”