BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 11
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 14, 2015
Counsel: David Billingsley
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Bill Quirk, Chair
SB
11 (Beall) - As Amended July 8, 2015
SUMMARY: Requires The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST) to establish a training course on law
enforcement interaction with persons with mental illness as part
of its basic training course, that is at least 15 hours.
Requires POST to have a three hour continuing education course
on the same subject matter. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires POST to review the training module in the regular
basic course relating to persons with a mental illness,
intellectual disability, or substance use disorder, and
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analyze existing training curricula in order to identify areas
where additional training is needed to better prepare law
enforcement to effectively address incidents involving
mentally disabled persons.
2)Specifies that upon identifying what additional training is
needed, the commission shall update the training in
consultation with appropriate community, local, and state
organizations, and agencies that have expertise in the area of
mental illness, intellectual disability, and substance use
disorders, and with appropriate consumer and family advocate
groups.
3)States that the training shall address issues related to
stigma, shall be culturally relevant and appropriate, and
shall include all of the following topics:
a) Recognizing indicators of mental illness, intellectual
disability, and substance use disorders;
b) Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for
potentially dangerous situations;
c) Use of force options and alternatives;
d) The perspective of individuals and/or families with
lived experiences with persons with mental illness,
intellectual disability, and substance use disorders; and,
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e) Mental health resources available to the first
responders of events that involve mentally disabled
persons.
4)Requires the course of instruction to be at least 15 hours,
and shall include training scenarios and facilitated learning
activities relating to law enforcement interaction with
persons with mental illness, intellectual disability, and
substance use disorders.
5)Specifies that the course shall be presented within the
existing hours allotted for the regular basic law enforcement
training course.
6)States that POST shall implement this course on, or before,
August 1, 2016.
7)Specifies that POST shall establish and keep updated a
promising or evidence-based behavioral health continuing
training course relating to law enforcement interaction with
persons with mental illness.
8)Requires that the continuing training course be three
consecutive hours and address issues related to stigma, shall
be culturally relevant and appropriate, and shall include all
of the following topics:
a) The cause and nature of mental illness, intellectual
disability, and substance use disorders;
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b) How to identify indicators of mental illness,
intellectual disability, and substance use disorders;
c) How to distinguish between mental illness, intellectual
disability, and substance use disorders;
d) How to respond appropriately in a variety of situations
involving persons with mental illness, intellectual
disability, and substance use disorders;
e) Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for
potentially dangerous situations;
f) Appropriate language usage when interacting with
potentially emotionally distressed persons;
g) Community and state resources available to serve persons
with mental illness or intellectual disability, and how
these resources can be best utilized by law enforcement;
and,
h) The perspective of individuals and families with lived
experiences with persons with mental illness, intellectual
disability, and substance use disorders.
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9)Requires each law enforcement officer with a rank of
supervisor or below and who is assigned to patrol duties or to
supervise officers who are assigned to patrol duties to
complete the continuing training course every four years.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Training and
Standards. (Pen. Code, § 13500.)
2)Requires all peace officers to complete an introductory course
of training prescribed by POST, demonstrated by passage of an
appropriate examination developed by POST. (Pen. Code, § 832,
subd. (a).)
3)Empowers POST to develop and implement programs to increase
the effectiveness of law enforcement. (Pen. Code, §13503.)
4)Authorizes POST, for the purpose of raising the level of
competence of local law enforcement officers, to adopt rules
establishing minimum standards related to physical, mental and
moral fitness and training that shall govern the recruitment
of any peace officers in California. (Pen. Code, § 13510,
subd. (a).)
5)Requires POST to conduct research concerning job-related
educational standards and job-related selection standards to
include vision, hearing, physical ability, and emotional
stability and adopt standards supported by this research.
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(Pen. Code, § 13510, subd. (b).)
6)Requires POST to establish a certification program for peace
officers, which shall be considered professional certificates.
(Pen. Code, § 13510.1, subd. (a).)
7)Requires POST to prepare guidelines establishing standard
procedures which may be followed by police agencies in the
detection, investigation, and response to cases in which a
minor is a victim of an act of abuse or neglect prohibited by
this code. POST is additionally required to include adequate
instruction in these procedures in the course of training
leading to the basic certificate issued by POST. (Pen. Code,
§ 13517.)
8)States that POST shall include in the basic training course
for law enforcement officers, adequate instruction in the
handling of persons with developmental disabilities or mental
illness, or both. In addition to providing instruction on the
handling of these persons, the course must also include
information on the cause and nature of developmental
disabilities and mental illness, as well as the community
resources available to serve these persons. (Pen. Code, §
13519.2)
9)Specifies that POST implement a course or courses of
instruction for the training of law enforcement officers, as
specified, in California in the handling of domestic violence
complaints. The course or courses of instruction must stress
enforcement of criminal laws in domestic violence situations,
availability of civil remedies and community resources, and
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protection of the victim. (Pen. Code, § 13519.)
10)Requires POST to develop guidelines and a course of
instruction and training for law enforcement officers who are
employed as peace officers, or who are not yet employed as a
peace officer but are enrolled in a training academy for law
enforcement officers, addressing hate crimes. (Pen. Code, §
13519.6.)
11)States that POST to develop and disseminate guidelines and
training for all law enforcement officers, as specified, on
the racial and cultural differences among the residents of
this state. The course or courses of instruction and the
guidelines are required to stress understanding and respect
for racial and cultural differences, and development of
effective, noncombative methods of carrying out law
enforcement duties in a racially and culturally diverse
environment. (Pen. Code, § 13519.4.)
12)Requires POST to prepare guidelines establishing standard
procedures which may be followed by police agencies in the
investigation of sexual assault cases, and cases involving the
sexual exploitation or sexual abuse of children, including,
police response to, and treatment of, victims of these crimes.
The course of training leading to the basic certificate issued
by the commission must include adequate instruction in these
procedures. (Pen. Code, § 13516.)
13)Requires POST to establish and keep updated a continuing
education classroom training course relating to law
enforcement interaction with mentally disabled persons. The
training course is required to be developed in consultation
with appropriate community, local, and state organizations and
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agencies that have expertise in the area of mental illness and
developmental disability, and with appropriate consumer and
family advocate groups. POST is required to make the course
available to law enforcement agencies in California. This
course must consist of classroom instruction and utilize
interactive training methods to ensure that the training is as
realistic as possible. The course must include, at a minimum,
core instruction in the following:
a) The cause and nature of mental illnesses and
developmental disabilities; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
b) How to identify indicators of mental disability and how
to respond appropriately in a variety of common situations;
(Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
c) Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for
potentially dangerous situations involving mentally
disabled persons; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
d) Appropriate language usage when interacting with
mentally disabled persons; (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
e) Alternatives to lethal force when interacting with
potentially dangerous mentally disabled persons; (Pen.Code,
§ 13515.25.)
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f) Community and state resources available to serve
mentally disabled persons and how these resources can be
best utilized by law enforcement to benefit the mentally
disabled community; and, (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
g) The fact that a crime committed in whole or in part
because of an actual or perceived disability of the victim
is a hate crime. (Pen.Code, § 13515.25.)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "People with
mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities are involved in
nearly half of all police shootings. Yet the California Peace
Officer Standard and Training Curriculum mandates only six
hours of mental health training; and there is no requirement
to include mental health training in an officer's continuing
education. SB 11 responds to the public's demand to increase
safety by mandating stronger evidence-based behavioral health
training that has proven to reduce volatile confrontations
between peace officers and people with mental illnesses or
intellectual disabilities. Equally important, SB 11
acknowledges California's diverse populations by requiring
training to be culturally appropriate."
2)POST Training Requirements: POST was created by the
legislature in 1959 to set minimum selection and training
standards for California law enforcement. (Pen. Code, §
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13500, subd. (a).) Their mandate includes establishing
minimum standards for training of peace officers in
California. (Pen. Code § 13510, subd. (a).) As of 1989, all
peace officers in California are required to complete an
introductory course of training prescribed by POST, and
demonstrate completion of that course by passing an
examination. (Pen. Code, § 832, subd. (a).)
According to the POST Web site, the Regular Basic Course
Training includes 42 separate topics, ranging from juvenile
law and procedure to search and seizure. (POST, Regular Basic
Course Training Specifications;
http://post.ca.gov/regular-basic-course-training-specifications
.aspx .) These topics are taught during a minimum of 664 hours
of training. [POST, Regular Basic Course, Course Formats,
available at: ( http://post.ca.gov/regular-basic-course.aspx .)
Over the course of the training, individuals are trained not
only on policing skills such as crowd control, evidence
collection and patrol techniques, they are also required to
recall the basic definition of a crime and know the elements
of major crimes. This requires knowledge of the California
Penal code specifically
3)Current Mandatory POST Instruction Related to Mental Health
Issues: POST introductory training includes a section called,
Individuals with Disabilities. It is the segment of academy
training focused on police officers' interactions with people
with disabilities. These six hours of instruction (less than
ten percent of academy training hours) cover a wide spectrum
of disability-related topics, including understanding and
identifying various types of disabilities (developmental,
physical and psychiatric) and reviewing state and federal
disability laws and individuals rights protections. Also
included in the six hours is instruction on interacting with
people with mental health disabilities and the involuntary
commitment process. Aside from the material contained in this
six hours of instruction, there is no requirement in
California law or by POST that officers receive any additional
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or periodic refresher training in interacting with individuals
with a mental health disability. (An Ounce of Prevention: Law
Enforcement Training Mental Health Crisis Intervention, (2014)
Disability Rights California, p. 7.)
http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/pubs/CM5101.pdf
This training in Individuals with Disabilities is not
narrowly focused on matters pertaining to individuals
with mental health disabilities. It covers all types of
disabilities (physical, sensory, cognitive, developmental
and mental) and includes an overview of federal and state
disability laws. This is a daunting amount of material
that does not include a mandate for instruction of best
practice training techniques like de-escalation
techniques and crisis intervention.
4)Discretionary POST Instruction Related to Mental Health
Issues: According to POST representatives, there are
currently 38 mental health training courses that have
been certified by POST available statewide to law
enforcement officers and dispatchers. Although training
resources exists, there is no standardized mental health
training curriculum statewide other than the mandatory 6
hours in the Academy. The lack of uniformity creates a
patchwork of training programs offered by California law
enforcement agencies. Some agencies offer robust
training programs while others offer far less. Every
officer, from Susanville to San Diego, needs to be
provided with the most current effective tools to
interact safely with people with mental illnesses
especially given the frequency of contacts with people
with a mental illness (POST estimates 10-15%).
5)Frequency of Law Enforcement Contacts Involving Mental Health
Issues: Law enforcement officers are often the first
responders to mental health crisis calls; they respond to 911
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calls ranging from suicide attempts to individuals potentially
endangering themselves or others. Studies confirm that the
volume of calls to law enforcement involving crisis mental
health concerns have been increasing in the past decade.
Mental health crisis calls also take more officer time to
resolve. More than eighty percent of the agencies that
Disability Rights California surveyed report that officers
spend more time on these calls. Nearly 4 out of 10 agencies
estimated that officers spend two hours or more on mental
health calls. This means that on a typical day, officers can
spend 1/3 of their time in interactions which would
necessitate skills in crisis intervention and de-escalation.
Beyond crisis calls, officers routinely respond to calls where
they are required to determine whether a person meets the
criteria for involuntary detention for psychiatric assessment
and treatment (otherwise known as 5150). Even standard crime
scene calls require officers to use skills to de-escalate
potentially volatile situations when interacting with members
of the public. (An Ounce of Prevention: Law Enforcement
Training Mental Health Crisis Intervention, (2014) Disability
Rights California, p. 37.)
Recognizing the inadequacy of academy training requirements,
many law enforcement agencies throughout the state have
augmented their training programs to provide officers with
additional training after the academy in responding to people
with mental health disabilities in crisis. Augmented training
varies widely but generally includes information on
recognizing the symptoms of a psychiatric disability and
methods for how to interact with an individual in crisis,
including specific de-escalation techniques. Topics covered in
a typical Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) training program
are not otherwise mandated in California or required at any
level of officer training. Police chiefs and senior officers
consistently report that their personnel are better equipped
at handling mental health crisis calls after participating in
CIT training. Furthermore, jurisdictions in which officers
receive CIT training report fewer injuries, fewer incidents
requiring use of force, and better outcomes for their officers
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and community members. (An Ounce of Prevention: Law
Enforcement Training Mental Health Crisis Intervention, (2014)
Disability Rights California, p. 38-39.)
6)Interim Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century
Policing (2013): The Task Force was Co-Chaired by Charles
Ramsey, Commissioner, Philadelphia Police Department and
Laurie Robinson, Professor, George Mason University. The nine
members of the task force included individuals from law
enforcement and civil rights communities. The stated goal of
the task force was ". . . to strengthen community policing and
trust among law enforcement officers and the communities they
served, especially in light of recent events around the county
that have underscored the need for and importance of lasting
collaborative relationships between local police and the
public." (Interim Report of the President's Task Force on 21st
Century Policing (2015), p. v.) Based on based on their
investigation, the Task Force provided thoughts and
recommendations on a variety of issues. Following is the Task
Force's recommendation on Crisis Intervention Training:
5.6 RECOMMENDATION: POSTs should make Crisis Intervention
Training (CIT) a part of both basic recruit and in-service
officer training. Crisis intervention training (CIT) was
developed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1988 and has been shown to
improve police ability to recognize symptoms of a mental
health crisis, enhance their confidence in addressing such an
emergency, and reduce inaccurate beliefs about mental illness.
It has been found that after completing CIT orientation,
officers felt encouraged to interact with people suffering a
mental health crisis and to delay their "rush to resolution."
Dr. Randolph Dupont, Chair of the Department of Criminology
and Criminal Justice at the University of Memphis, spoke to
the task force about the effectiveness of the Memphis Crisis
Intervention Team (CIT), which stresses verbal intervention
and other de-escalation techniques. Noting that empathy
training is an important component, Dr. Dupont said the
Memphis CIT includes personal interaction between officers and
individuals with mental health problems. Officers who had
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contact with these individuals felt more comfortable with
them, and hospital mental health staff who participated with
the officers had more positive views of law enforcement. CIT
also provides a unique opportunity to develop
cross-disciplinary training and partnerships. (Interim Report
of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015),
p. 56.)
7)Amendments: The amendments of July 8, 2015, reduced the
mental health training requirement to a minimum of 15 hours
for new law enforcement officers. The amendments also reduced
the length of the continuing education course to three hours.
8)Argument in Support: According to California Coalition for
Mental Health (CCMH), "As you know, in the course of their
duties, law enforcement officers often encounter persons
living with a mental health condition. Unfortunately, new
officers are sent into the field with a very little training
on how best to interact with persons who may be experiencing
issues related to their mental health. Of similar concern is
the fact that existing officers receive little if any ongoing
training in this important skill set after they leave their
academies. CCMH believes that mandating increased training
for officers is an essential part of a broader strategy to
reduce the likelihood of tragic encounters between law
enforcement and persons experiencing mental health issues."
9)Argument in Opposition: According to According to California
State Sheriffs' Association, "Currently, Significant training
on mental health issues is required of prospective and
employed peace officers. The basic POST academy includes
mandatory training on mental health issues and includes a
scenario-based test that must be passed in order to graduate
from academy. Additionally, law enforcement agencies around
the state offer ongoing POST-certified crisis intervention
training on mental health and require their officers to
complete additional mental health training in addition to the
state-mandated minimums.
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"SB 11 would require 20 additional hours of training as part of
basic peace officer education and four additional hours of
perishable skills training on mental health issues. While
CSSA does not necessarily oppose alterations to training
requirements, this bill simply adds a time-based requirement
without the benefit of knowing where gaps and deficiencies in
existing training mandates may exist. More training for the
sake of more training may not be beneficial and may come at
the expense of other, more necessary training.
"POST, in conjunction with law enforcement, is in the process of
examining mental health training courses and requirements to
ascertain if there are issues that need to be addressed.
Although we appreciate the desire to improve interactions
between law enforcement and persons with mental health issues,
SB 29 represents a premature, unfunded mandate that offers no
guarantee of providing the appropriate training to the right
officers."
10)Related Legislation: SB 29 (Beal), of the 2015-16 Legislative
Session, would require 20 hours of POST training for field in
to deal the individuals with mental health issues. SB 29
will be heard in this committee today.
11)Prior Legislation: AB 1718 (Hertzberg), Chapter 95, Statutes
of 2000, required that POST establish, and keep updated, a
continuing education classroom training course related to law
enforcement intervention with developmentally disabled and
mentally ill persons and that the course be developed in
consultation with specified groups and entities.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
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United Domestic Workers of America/AFSCME Local 3930
(Co-Sponsor)
America Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, California
Division
American Civil Liberties Union of California
AFSCME
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Association of Regional Center Agencies
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
California Association of Highway Patrolmen
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies
California Coalition for Mental Health
California Correctional Supervisors Organization
California Crisis Intervention Training Association
California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association
California Medical Association
California Narcotics Officers Association
California Public Defenders Association
California State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police
City of San Jose
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
County Behavioral Health Directors Association
Deputy Sheriffs' Association
Disability Action Coalition
Disability Rights California
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Mental Health America of California
National Alliance on Mental Illness - California
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National Alliance on Mental Illness - San Fernando Valley
National Alliance on Mental Illness - Santa Clara
National Alliance on Mental Illness - Ventura County
National Association of Social Workers
Donald Rocha, San Jose City Councilmember, District 9
Riverside Sheriffs Association
Steinberg Institute
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
Santa Clara County District Attorney
Steinberg Institute
2 Private Individuals
Opposition
California State Sheriffs' Association
Analysis Prepared by:David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744