Change in suicides during and after the installation of barriers at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Abstract

Background: Restricting access to means is a highly effective suicide prevention strategy for some methods. We evaluated the effectiveness of nets installed at the Golden Gate Bridge to prevent suicides by jumping at this site.

Methods: We used Poisson regression analyses to model suicide before, during and after the installation of safety nets at the Golden Gate Bridge between January 2000 and December 2024. We also modelled the number of times a third party intervened with someone showing signs of imminent suicide risk on the bridge.

Results: There were 681 suicides at the site. There were 2.48 suicides per month before installation of the safety nets, 1.83 during installation and 0.67 after installation. During the installation of the nets, suicides declined by 26% (rate ratio (RR)=0.74, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.90) and after installation by 73% (RR=0.27, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.54). There were 2901 instances where a third party intervened, 8.22 per month before installation, 14.42 during installation and 11.00 after installation. The number of interventions by a third party increased during installation by 75% (RR=1.75, 95% CI 1.62 to 1.90) and after installation by 34% (RR=1.34, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.60).

Conclusions: The early evidence indicates the installation of safety nets on the Golden Gate Bridge is associated with an immediate and substantial reduction in suicides at the site. This finding highlights the value of installing nets on this bridge and the importance of barriers as a strategy to prevent suicides by jumping.