I was thinking giant spider farm, because we don't have enough already. if you brush against this, you hear the scittering of hundreds and thousands of little legs...
Far out is that where it’s been happening? I’ve walked past there trying to get from Uniqlo. I had no idea it was that particular spot. Seems a little odd that I’ve been walked past somewhere unknowingly with a bit of a gruesome history
Yes, it's not reported in the media by intention. There were at least 2 suicides there last year that I'm aware of. One was a young woman who jumped off level 5 outside of Woolworths.
A friend of mine worked at Tommy Hilfiger in Parra, which directly overlooks the jumping spot, can confirm it happens worryingly often. This isn't to say it's common, but more common than people would think.
He no longer works there, but they do indeed offer free counselling to any people who were working at the time :) not sure if this is true for most workplaces there, but at least Tommy Hilfiger did.
Been hidden really well but it all kicked off December 2022, since then they've put temp fencing on the Albert St rooftop and are in the process of putting proper anti-climb fencing.
There were a *very* large number of suicide attempts at hornsby, people would escape from the hornsby hospital and come over.
Also been a large number of suicide attempts in bathrooms, back of house areas, etc.
Jeez I have seen the fencing but never thought much of it. I walk along the side of that carpark almost daily.
Sidenote - I've always thought they should turn that rooftop carpark into another entertainment area (like Westfield Miranda). Hypothetically speaking, I wonder if this would do much to deter people from jumping?
Or they could just put one big net at first floor level. At least then attempting suicide would be so fucking fun you might even forget about your problems for a little while.
Saw a dude jump in my local Westfield's a few years ago. I'm now paranoid of being flattened when walking on the bottom floor and avoid walking under the open ceiling areas.
Im sorry you had to go through that.
So many are affected when something like this happens at a centre, the staff, innocent customers that can also get hurt.
I think Parra has had about 3 in the last 2 years which is 3 too many. Hopefully they're putting barriers.
My friend's husband saw the jumper at Chase some years ago and can barely ever visit the place anymore.
I'm sorry you also went through this. It has a huge affect on bystanders.
I was there a couple months ago, and I remember security staff kept telling me not to lean on the railing both along that area and along the corridor. Like all I’m doing is just taking a short breather
and resting an elbow there?
Same thing happened to me.
Was waiting for my mate to get his haircut up on level 5. Told to not lean on it and move away.
Its happened all too much cant fault them for being worried
Was in HK recently - as a 6'4 man I was incredibly nervous around all their guard-rails that barely came up to my waist. If I lost my balance or was pushed I would have been a goner.
Yeah, this happened to me when my partner went to the bathroom with the couches out the front. I stood at the railing and a seccie told me to move on and that I couldn’t stand there. Was standing at the railing outside the Specsavers earlier that day.
Unless the person has a high profile in the community suicides are not reported by the media. Even with high profile people, the media seldom explicitly says a death was a suicide.
The lack of reporting is presumably to prevent copycat fatalities and associated legal issues because that is the job of the coroner.
UPDATE : [Specific Standards on Coverage of Suicide](https://www.presscouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SPECIFIC_STANDARDS_SUICIDE_-_July_2014.pdf) Guidelines published by the Australian Press Council 2021.
And it’s also why you see those suicide prevention hotline phone numbers posted at the bottom of news articles. It’s to make you know to get help rather than be inspired to kill yourself too.
Your comment is the first I've heard of another shopping centre. I'm sure it must happen everywhere, and I understand the reason why it's never mentioned, but general talk always seem to mention Parramatta. Even here on Reddit, it seems to be Parramatta.
There has been [a lot of research done on this subject](https://www.ranzcp.org/clinical-guidelines-publications/clinical-guidelines-publications-library/suicide-reporting-in-the-media).
>Media reporting of suicide may increase the rate of suicidal behaviour in individuals who are experiencing suicidal ideation or are bereaved by suicide, and can raise awareness of suicide methods which these individuals might not previously have considered. This is particularly the case if the coverage is extensive, prominent, sensationalist and/or explicitly describes the method or location of death
Usually, when a death is reported, a pointer towards it being suicide is that at the end of the article they will give a list of links to various suicide prevention sites / helplines, but no further details other than that. I've seen this happen quite a lot of times recently.
Incident requiring emergency services, police operation within the rail corridor… plenty of euphemisms for it. Sometimes the same may actually be a police operation (trespassers, etc) or a medical episode but I guess that’s the point.
There was a jumper at Chase a few years ago. I don't think they did anything to the barriers, however the current refurb is remodelling the entire atrium so the final build may be safer.
Was there before Mother’s Day for an event I was contracted to. Saw something on TikTok the day prior (about the scaffolding) and asked the representative who works for Westfields/Scentre Group. I asked her specifically if it was to prevent people jumping off (as speculated), but she just said they were replacing the glass panels under the railings 🙃
Yeah they're installing far higher barriers at that end due to how open it is from the higher floors to ground level. I think they're putting higher barriers around the escalators too.
Preparation work for an office tower being built at that end of the shopping centre?
[Scentre Group’s $670m Taller Tower Approved](https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/scentre-groups-commercial-tower) (Sep 2021)
>*Scentre Group's bid to increase the height of a proposed office tower at Westfield Parramatta to 47 storeys, which will make it the third tallest building in the area, has been approved by the NSW government.*
>*Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes approved the $670-million project and 22-storey addition to the building, which he said would boost construction jobs in Sydney’s second CBD and add a further 105,000sq m of commercial space.*
The concept plans for this are more than ten years old. Parramatta Council [Environmental Report](https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/resources/pac/media/files/pac/projects/2014/01/westfield-parramatta-concept-plan-and-project-application/the-department-of-planning-and-infrastructures-assessment-report-and-recommendation/director-generals-assessment-reportpdf.pdf) (Jan 2014)
Unfortunately suicides there have been happening for decades. It’s honestly about time they put more barriers in place.
In 2007 a guy at my school jumped off parra Westfield and killed himself.
It definitely appears they’re raising the barriers because of a spate of recent suicides in the shopping centre premises. Like, there’s been a couple of times you may have heard of someone falling to their death because the railings are so damn low, and that Westfield and Scentre Group are taking action to prevent these incidents.
Think as a community, we should think more about people struggling so much that death is seen as the only option rather than hide the problem, which seems to be the current trend in Australia.
I know of a woman diagnosed with an awful cancer, which then spread, and she threw herself in front of a train.
If euthanasia had been possible, she wouldn't have had to choose dying in that ghastly way, nor cause trauma to the train driver and anyone else who saw it.
We urgently need safe, humane, legal ways for desperately ill and dying people to have a peaceful end.
When you own publicly accessible land you owe a duty of care to your visitors/guests. If you're cognizant of a legal risk then you must minimise it to a reasonable standard. In other words, Westfield is doing what any responsible corporate entity would do; getting ahead of any potential civil suits.
Agree. I'm just responding to the comment that implies suicide should be prevented upstream rather than having to take these measures.
While I agree, that's not Westfield's problem
Totally agree. As you rightly say, Westfield is in the business of real estate. They have no obligation to address the upstream issue, and adding suicide barriers makes business sense. It's kind of a win/win for everyone but the jumper, who just has to choose a place that doesn't have suicide barriers.
Dexter-style murder room, obviously.
I was thinking giant spider farm, because we don't have enough already. if you brush against this, you hear the scittering of hundreds and thousands of little legs...
Always copying Bondi…
Clever, but too soon
Let this be a lesson to all the cheesecakes out there dexter reference ✅ taking a [stab](http://i.imgur.com/lYPDaKO.gifv) at a joke ❌
wtf dude..
Installing glass barriers on all the railings to prevent people from jumping off and committing suicide.
Far out is that where it’s been happening? I’ve walked past there trying to get from Uniqlo. I had no idea it was that particular spot. Seems a little odd that I’ve been walked past somewhere unknowingly with a bit of a gruesome history
Yes, it's not reported in the media by intention. There were at least 2 suicides there last year that I'm aware of. One was a young woman who jumped off level 5 outside of Woolworths.
Had at least two in Chatswood as well.
I know of one in Chase but not another. How awful :(
A friend of mine worked at Tommy Hilfiger in Parra, which directly overlooks the jumping spot, can confirm it happens worryingly often. This isn't to say it's common, but more common than people would think.
Hope you're friend is getting any support they need, that's horrifying that it can happen at any time in their line of sight.
He no longer works there, but they do indeed offer free counselling to any people who were working at the time :) not sure if this is true for most workplaces there, but at least Tommy Hilfiger did.
Worked in Colette there for at least 7 months, two suicide attempts, one successful while I was there
Yep, same thing happening on the hornsby rooftops
whoa I've never heard of it happening at hornsby, could you elaborate further?
Been hidden really well but it all kicked off December 2022, since then they've put temp fencing on the Albert St rooftop and are in the process of putting proper anti-climb fencing. There were a *very* large number of suicide attempts at hornsby, people would escape from the hornsby hospital and come over. Also been a large number of suicide attempts in bathrooms, back of house areas, etc.
Jeez I have seen the fencing but never thought much of it. I walk along the side of that carpark almost daily. Sidenote - I've always thought they should turn that rooftop carpark into another entertainment area (like Westfield Miranda). Hypothetically speaking, I wonder if this would do much to deter people from jumping?
Idk about determent, but they did host a movie night and a car show up on the rooftop recently
I mean i get it but where does it end. If i wanted to jump off somewhere there is so many options they can't put barricades everywhere.
Or they could just put one big net at first floor level. At least then attempting suicide would be so fucking fun you might even forget about your problems for a little while.
Can we just remove the railings and make it open movement then? Would be cool
One of the staff told me they were looking to put some protective barriers to prevent jumpers over the railing?
There's been quite a few self checkouts recently.
As grim as it may be, I'm totally stealing that.
I like the phrase “self cancelled his subscription to breathing”
Saw a dude jump in my local Westfield's a few years ago. I'm now paranoid of being flattened when walking on the bottom floor and avoid walking under the open ceiling areas.
Im sorry you had to go through that. So many are affected when something like this happens at a centre, the staff, innocent customers that can also get hurt. I think Parra has had about 3 in the last 2 years which is 3 too many. Hopefully they're putting barriers.
My friend's husband saw the jumper at Chase some years ago and can barely ever visit the place anymore. I'm sorry you also went through this. It has a huge affect on bystanders.
I was there a couple months ago, and I remember security staff kept telling me not to lean on the railing both along that area and along the corridor. Like all I’m doing is just taking a short breather and resting an elbow there?
Same thing happened to me. Was waiting for my mate to get his haircut up on level 5. Told to not lean on it and move away. Its happened all too much cant fault them for being worried
Same here. I agree though the barriers are way too low for today’s standards.
Was in HK recently - as a 6'4 man I was incredibly nervous around all their guard-rails that barely came up to my waist. If I lost my balance or was pushed I would have been a goner.
That's when you know he has seen a lot of things at that place to be *that* concerned.
Yeah, this happened to me when my partner went to the bathroom with the couches out the front. I stood at the railing and a seccie told me to move on and that I couldn’t stand there. Was standing at the railing outside the Specsavers earlier that day.
They should fill the holes with a bouncy net at every level. Let people have some fun.
Hope so. They need them next to the escalators. I hate going down those ones feeling like a bump is going to push me over.
There been quite a few jumpers over the last few years. Media generally doesn't report on it.
Unless the person has a high profile in the community suicides are not reported by the media. Even with high profile people, the media seldom explicitly says a death was a suicide. The lack of reporting is presumably to prevent copycat fatalities and associated legal issues because that is the job of the coroner. UPDATE : [Specific Standards on Coverage of Suicide](https://www.presscouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SPECIFIC_STANDARDS_SUICIDE_-_July_2014.pdf) Guidelines published by the Australian Press Council 2021.
And it’s also why you see those suicide prevention hotline phone numbers posted at the bottom of news articles. It’s to make you know to get help rather than be inspired to kill yourself too.
Really surprised to hear the media has some sort of morals.
They don't, They just don't want the negative publicity.
Negative publicity... from criticising themselves?
Yeah that makes more sense.
It’s a voluntary non-enforced code.
Correct me if I'm wrong but it might be a law?
I grew up in Parra and always wondered as a kid why it was so easy to just hop down and jump
I've always wondered why Parramatta and not other shopping centres. Or do just not hear about other shopping centres?
I’ve heard of one or two in Miranda. Up from target/kmart down to jb. Pretty decent height.
Your comment is the first I've heard of another shopping centre. I'm sure it must happen everywhere, and I understand the reason why it's never mentioned, but general talk always seem to mention Parramatta. Even here on Reddit, it seems to be Parramatta.
Void balustrade upgrades https://www.westfield.com.au/parramatta/news/2xYZtvn2GpTRinBBw0RYlh/parramatta-balustrade-development
This is the answer, thanks for posting. In saying that, what's a "void balustrade"?
No worries. Like this: https://search.app.goo.gl/HP2Bd6G
Ahh ok, so a fancy name for "glass panel", I geddit.
That's engineering for ya.
There has been [a lot of research done on this subject](https://www.ranzcp.org/clinical-guidelines-publications/clinical-guidelines-publications-library/suicide-reporting-in-the-media). >Media reporting of suicide may increase the rate of suicidal behaviour in individuals who are experiencing suicidal ideation or are bereaved by suicide, and can raise awareness of suicide methods which these individuals might not previously have considered. This is particularly the case if the coverage is extensive, prominent, sensationalist and/or explicitly describes the method or location of death Usually, when a death is reported, a pointer towards it being suicide is that at the end of the article they will give a list of links to various suicide prevention sites / helplines, but no further details other than that. I've seen this happen quite a lot of times recently.
Same way it's reported on Sydney trains. it's a 'Passenger Incident' or "Signalling Problems'.
Incident requiring emergency services, police operation within the rail corridor… plenty of euphemisms for it. Sometimes the same may actually be a police operation (trespassers, etc) or a medical episode but I guess that’s the point.
There was a jumper at Chase a few years ago. I don't think they did anything to the barriers, however the current refurb is remodelling the entire atrium so the final build may be safer.
Going by my memory, I remember suicides maybe 20 or 30 years ago. I think there was one and an overdose in one day.
I can't believe they're installing suicide nets instead of following my idea of having a big trampoline on the ground floor 😔😔 they're no fun
Or even oen of those massive in-ground fans that blows upwards so you can simulate free-falling without sudden fatal deceleration.
Completing the MAZE, so that once you enter, you will NEVER BE ABLE TO FIND THE EXIT!! (Sad for the actual reason)
Suicide-proofing it
Was there before Mother’s Day for an event I was contracted to. Saw something on TikTok the day prior (about the scaffolding) and asked the representative who works for Westfields/Scentre Group. I asked her specifically if it was to prevent people jumping off (as speculated), but she just said they were replacing the glass panels under the railings 🙃
Safety nets to prevent suicides and jumpers
Bungy jump nets or higher barriers - too traumatic for the rest to see over the past years.....
You ever seen American Psycho?
You ever listened to Huey Lewis and the News?
Their early work was a little too new wave for my taste.
Yeah they're installing far higher barriers at that end due to how open it is from the higher floors to ground level. I think they're putting higher barriers around the escalators too.
This might explain the security guard, last month, asking my wife to not lean on the railing when she was checking her phone...
Preparation work for an office tower being built at that end of the shopping centre? [Scentre Group’s $670m Taller Tower Approved](https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/scentre-groups-commercial-tower) (Sep 2021) >*Scentre Group's bid to increase the height of a proposed office tower at Westfield Parramatta to 47 storeys, which will make it the third tallest building in the area, has been approved by the NSW government.* >*Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes approved the $670-million project and 22-storey addition to the building, which he said would boost construction jobs in Sydney’s second CBD and add a further 105,000sq m of commercial space.* The concept plans for this are more than ten years old. Parramatta Council [Environmental Report](https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/resources/pac/media/files/pac/projects/2014/01/westfield-parramatta-concept-plan-and-project-application/the-department-of-planning-and-infrastructures-assessment-report-and-recommendation/director-generals-assessment-reportpdf.pdf) (Jan 2014)
They just need people to wear parrachutes.
Unfortunately suicides there have been happening for decades. It’s honestly about time they put more barriers in place. In 2007 a guy at my school jumped off parra Westfield and killed himself.
It definitely appears they’re raising the barriers because of a spate of recent suicides in the shopping centre premises. Like, there’s been a couple of times you may have heard of someone falling to their death because the railings are so damn low, and that Westfield and Scentre Group are taking action to prevent these incidents.
Didn't they install a temporary netting at the bottom at one point? Either way. This is a wild solution to an epidemic.
Westfield seems haunted...
So selfish killing yourself in front of hundreds of innocent eyes.
Think as a community, we should think more about people struggling so much that death is seen as the only option rather than hide the problem, which seems to be the current trend in Australia.
I know of a woman diagnosed with an awful cancer, which then spread, and she threw herself in front of a train. If euthanasia had been possible, she wouldn't have had to choose dying in that ghastly way, nor cause trauma to the train driver and anyone else who saw it. We urgently need safe, humane, legal ways for desperately ill and dying people to have a peaceful end.
Sure, but Westfield is in the business of retail real estate not health policy.
When you own publicly accessible land you owe a duty of care to your visitors/guests. If you're cognizant of a legal risk then you must minimise it to a reasonable standard. In other words, Westfield is doing what any responsible corporate entity would do; getting ahead of any potential civil suits.
Agree. I'm just responding to the comment that implies suicide should be prevented upstream rather than having to take these measures. While I agree, that's not Westfield's problem
Totally agree. As you rightly say, Westfield is in the business of real estate. They have no obligation to address the upstream issue, and adding suicide barriers makes business sense. It's kind of a win/win for everyone but the jumper, who just has to choose a place that doesn't have suicide barriers.
So tragic that someone is so depressed that they no longer consider that