The records come from a running tally of critical incidents inside county jails dubbed "Managing For Results," which correctional staff supervisors update after every shift. They were leaked to
Phoenix New Times by an MCSO staffer who was concerned about the increase in suicide attempts. The staffer declined to be named out of fear of retribution.
When reached for comment, MCSO spokesperson Norma Gutierrez-Deorta disputed the numbers in the records. In an email, she claimed that there were only two suicides and two attempted suicides in 2021. Similarly, she wrote that there were four suicide attempts and two suicides in 2020. After being presented with the leaked records, Gutierrez-Deorta wrote that she "had to do some research" on the issue. When contacted again for comment, she wrote, "it’s going to take some time to go through our records."