The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office used to have a rate of suicide three times higher than the national average and the highest in the state, but after the office hired Lindsay Hayes, a nationally recognized expert on inmate suicide, the office has seen rates decrease, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Hayes gave the office recommendations on ways to reduce the rate of inmate suicide in Bristol County jails, which led to the Sheriff’s Office receiving the Innovation of the Year award on Nov. 19.

The Innovation of the Year award, which was awarded by the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association, recognizes innovation in the field of jail administration to significantly improve jail operations in safer and more efficient facilities.

With Haye’s recommendations, the sheriff’s office redesigned bunk beds to be “suicide resistant” by creating an enclosed triangular stepladder and also developed a metal screen to allow windows to open while also being “suicide resistant,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.

These innovations are being implemented in partnership with the office’s vocational welding program and provide inmates with valuable work skills after release, the Sheriff’s Office said.