BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 11
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Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 11
(Beall) - As Amended July 8, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill:
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1)Requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST) to establish a training course that is at
least 15 hours on law enforcement interaction with persons
with mental illness as part of its basic training course.
2)Requires POST to develop and provide a three hour continuing
education course on the same subject matter.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Reimbursable state mandated costs in the $7 million (GF) range
for the initial refresher course and in the $2 million (GF)
range ongoing for the refresher course every four years.
There are currently 482 cities and 58 counties in California
employing about 77,000 sworn peace officers. To the extent
local agency expenditures qualify as a reimbursable state
mandate, agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs for
missed work hours for all officers with rank supervisor or
below.
2)Course development cost of $350,000 (Post Officer Training
Fund) to POST for the refresher course.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, POST training mandates six
hours of mental health training, and no ongoing training, yet
people with mental illness of intellectual disabilities are
involved in almost 50 percent of all police shootings.
"SB 11 responds to the public's demand to increase safety by
mandating stronger evidence-based behavioral health training
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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)Background. 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 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 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.
While there is no mandatory continuing education requirement,
POST offers a variety of courses relating to mental health.
According to information provided by POST, there are currently
38 mental health certified courses available to California law
enforcement. These courses range in duration from four to 40
hours.
3)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
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living with a mental health condition. Unfortunately, new
officers are sent into the field with 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."
4)Argument in Opposition: According to the 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."
5)Related Legislation: SB 29 (Beall), also on today's agenda,
requires eight hours of POST training for field training to
deal the individuals with mental health issues.
6)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.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
SB 11
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319-2081