BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 29
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Date of Hearing: July 14, 2015
Counsel: David Billingsley
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Bill Quirk, Chair
SB
29 (Beall) - As Amended July 8, 2015
SUMMARY: Requires law enforcement field training officers to
have training from the Commission on Police Officer Standards
and Training (POST) regarding law enforcement interaction with
persons with mental illness or intellectual disability.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires field training officers who provide instruction in
the field training program to have at least eight hours of
crisis intervention classroom training and instructor-led
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active learning relating to behavioral health to better train
new peace officers how to effectively interact with persons
with mental illness or intellectual disability. Training
should be taught segments that are at least four hours long.
2)Excludes a field training officer who has completed 8 hours of
crisis intervention behavioral health training within the past
24 months, from the training requirement.
3)Specifies that field training officers assigned or appointed
before January 1, 2017, shall complete the crisis intervention
course by June 30, 2017. Field training officers assigned or
appointed on or after January 1, 2017, shall complete the
crisis intervention course within 180 days of assignment or
appointment.
4)States that nothing shall prevent an agency from requiring its
field training officers from completing a crisis intervention
course with a greater amount of hours or sooner than the time
limits in this section.
5)Requires POST to establish and keep updated a field training
officer course relating to competencies of the field training
program and police training program that addresses how to
interact with persons with mental illness or intellectual
disability. This course shall be at least four hours of
classroom instruction and instructor-led active learning.
6)Requires all prospective field training officers to complete
the course as part of the field training officer program.
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7)Requires POST to implement the provisions of this section on
or before August 1, 2016.
8)Specifies that POST shall, by May 1, 2016, conduct a review
and evaluation of the field training program and police
training program to identify areas where additional training
is necessary to better prepare law enforcement officers to
effectively address incidents involving persons with a mental
illness or an intellectual disability.
9)Directs that POST 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 disabilities, and substance abuse
disorders, and with appropriate consumer and family advocate
groups.
10) 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) How to identify indicators of mental illness,
intellectual disability, substance use disorders,
neurological disorders, traumatic brain injury,
post-traumatic stress disorder, and dementia;
b) Autism spectrum disorder;
c) Down syndrome;
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d) Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for
potentially dangerous situations;
e) Alternatives to use of force when interacting with
potentially dangerous persons with mental illness or
intellectual disabilities;
f) The perspective of individuals and/or families with
lived experiences with persons with mental illness,
intellectual disability, and substance use disorders;
g) Involuntary holds; and,
h) 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.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires any department which employs peace officers to have a
POST-approved Field Training Program. Requests for approval
of a department's Field Training Program must be submitted to
POST and signed by the department head attesting to the
adherence of the following program requirements (Cal. Code
Regs., tit. 11, § 1005.):
a) The Field Training Program is to be delivered over a
minimum of 10 weeks and based upon the structured learning
content as specified in the POST manual;
b) A trainee must have successfully completed the Regular
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Basic Course before participating in the Field Training
Program;
c) The Field Training Program must have a Field Training
Supervisor/Administrator/Coordinator (SAC) who:
i) Has been awarded or is eligible for the award of a
POST Supervisory Certificate, or has been appointed by
the department head (or his/her designate); and
ii) Every peace officer promoted, appointed, or
transferred to a supervisory or management position
overseeing a field training program shall successfully
complete a POST-certified Field Training
Supervisor/Administrator/Coordinator Course prior to or
within 12 months of the initial promotion, appointment,
or transfer to such a position.
d) The Field Training Program must have Field Training
Officers (FTOs) who:
i) Have been awarded a POST Basic Certificate (not
Specialized);
ii) Have a minimum of one year general law enforcement
uniformed patrol experience;
iii) Have been selected based upon a department-specific
selection process; and,
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iv) Meet the following training requirements:
(1) Successfully complete a POST-certified Field
Training Officer Course prior to training new
officers; and,
(2) Complete 24-hours of update training every
three years following completion of the Field Training
Officer Course.
2)Trainees must be supervised depending upon their assignment
(Cal. Code Regs., tit. 11, § 1005.):
a) A trainee assigned to general law enforcement uniformed
patrol duties must be under the direct and immediate
supervision (physical presence) of a qualified Field
Training Officer;
b) A trainee temporarily assigned to non-enforcement,
specialized function(s) for the purpose of specialized
training or orientation is not required to be in the
immediate presence of a qualified Field Training Officer
while performing the specialized function(s).
3)Trainee performance must be (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 11, §
1005.):
a) Documented daily through journaling, daily training
notes, or Daily Observation Reports (DORs) and shall be
reviewed with the trainee by the Field Training Officer;
and,
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b) Monitored by a Field Training Program SAC, or designee,
by review and signing of the DORs or, by completing and/or
signing weekly written summaries of performance (e.g.,
Supervisor's Weekly Report, Coaching and Training Reports)
that are reviewed with the trainee.
4)The Field Training Officer's attestation of each trainee's
competence and successful completion of the Field Training
Program and a statement that releases the trainee from the
program, along with the signed concurrence of the department
head, or his or her designate, must be retained in department
records. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 11, § 1005.)
5)Allows a department to request an exemption of the Field
Training Program requirement if (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 11, §
1005.):
a) The department does not provide general law enforcement
uniformed patrol services; or
b) The department hires only lateral entry officers
possessing a POST Basic Certificate and who have either:
i) Completed a POST-approved Field Training Program, or
ii) One year previous experience performing general law
enforcement uniformed patrol duties.
6)Requires a POST-Approved Field Training Program to minimally
include the following topics: (1) Agency Orientation and
Department Polices; (2) Officer Safety; (3) Ethics; (4) Use of
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Force; (5) Patrol Vehicle Operations; (6) Community
Relations/Professional Demeanor (including Cultural Diversity,
Community Policing, and Problem Solving; (7) Radio
Communications; (8) Leadership; (9) California Codes and Law;
(10) Search and Seizure; (11) Report Writing; (12) Control of
Persons, Prisoners, and Mentally Ill; (13) Patrol Procedures
(including Domestic Violence and Pedestrian and Vehicle
Stops); (14) Investigations/Evidence; (15) Tactical
Communications/Conflict Resolution; (16) Traffic (including
DUI); (17) Self-Initiated Activity; (18) Additional
Agency-Specific Topics (may include Community Specific
Problems, Special Needs Groups, etc.). (POST Administrative
Manual, Procedure D-13-3, incorporated in Cal. Code Regs.,
tit. 11, § 1005.)
7)Specifies that the POST-certified Field Training Officer
Course be a minimum of 40 hours. In order to meet local
needs, flexibility to present additional curriculum may be
authorized with prior POST approval. Instructional
methodology is at the discretion of individual course
presenters unless specified otherwise in a training
specification document developed for the course. The Field
Training Officer Course curriculum must include the following
topics: (1) Field Training Program Goals and Objectives; (2)
Keys to Successful Field Training Programs; (3) Field Training
Program Management/Roles of Program Personnel; (4) Teaching
and Training Skills Development; (5) The Professional
Relationship between the FTO and the Trainee; (6)
Evaluation/Documentation; (7) Expectations and Roles of the
FTO; (8) Driver Safety; (9) Officer Safety; (10) Intervention;
(11) Remediation/Testing/Scenarios; (12) Trainee Termination;
(13) Legal Issues and Liabilities; (14) Review of the Regular
Basic Course Training; and, (15) Competency Expectations.
(POST Administrative Manual, Procedure D-13-4, incorporated in
Cal. Code Regs., tit. 11, § 1005.)
8)Requires POST to establish and keep updated a continuing
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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
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,
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§ 13515.25.)
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. (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 for new officers in the
Field Training Program. SB 29 increases training for new
officers in field training while increasing training of
existing officers who supervise them. The bill 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.
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Equally important, SB 29 acknowledges California's diverse
populations by requiring training to be culturally
appropriate."
2)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
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 but 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.
3)Discretionary POST Instruction Related to Mental Health
Issues: According to POST representatives, there are
currently 38 mental health training courses that have been
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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%).
4)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
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.)
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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 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 and community members. (An
Ounce of Prevention: Law Enforcement Training Mental Health
Crisis Intervention, (2014) Disability Rights California, p.
38-39.)
5)Current Field Training Requirements Related to Mental Health:
All field training requirements are regulatory. POST requires
an officer be provided a minimum of 10 weeks of field
training. This training must cover 18 different competency
requirements, including a component relating to "Control of
Persons, Prisoners, and Mentally Ill." Under POST's Field
Training Model, trainees are required, for example, to
demonstrate competency in the following (POST Field Training
Guide, Volume 2 (2014).):
12.6.02. Behavior Due to Disabilities. The trainee shall
acknowledge that some disabilities (including intellectual
disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism and other
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neurological conditions) are not readily apparent and that
sometimes people with developmental or cognitive disabilities
may have little or no conscious ability to control their
behavior.
12.6.03. Dealing with Cognitive Impairment. The trainee shall
recognize and demonstrate effective communications for person
with cognitive impairments, with specified communication
directives.
12.7.03. Mental Health Facility or Regional Center. The trainee
shall identify the appropriate mental health facility or
regional center within the agency's jurisdiction to be used
for evaluation, treatment, counseling, or referral.
12.7.08. Demonstrating Knowledge of Proper Procedure. Given a
scenario or an actual incident involving a mentally ill or
emotionally disturbed person, the trainee shall take all
necessary precautions in dealing with the person, safely that
the person into custody (if necessary), assure safe
transportation of the person, and properly complete all
necessary forms and reports.
A trainee can demonstrate competency by performing these
functions in the field, through role playing, or by taking a
verbal or written test. Both the Field Training Officer and
the trainee have to sign a form stating that training was
received and competency was demonstrated for each of the
training components.
While behavioral health training is included in field training,
there is currently no hour requirement. This legislation
would specify how many hours of behavioral health training an
officer must have by requiring the field training program
include a 20-hour evidence-based behavioral health training
course relating to law enforcement interaction with persons
with mental illness or intellectual disability.
6)Amendments: The amendments of July 8, 2015, reduced the
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amount of required training for field training officers to 8
hours.
7)Argument in Support: According to AFSCME, "SB 29 will mandate
additional evidence-based behavioral training that is proven
to reduce the negative interactions between peace officers and
those suffering from a mental illness or intellectual
disability. This bill is needed because there is no
standardized statewide mental health training curriculum for
California's peace officers. In California, there are still
vast discrepancies between the quality of training programs,
where some departments offer excellent training programs while
other programs are sub-par. AFSCME supports SB 29 to create a
uniform standard for peace officer mental health training."
8)Argument in Opposition: 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.
"SB 29 would require 40 hours of training on mental health
issues for field training officers and 20 additional hours of
training on mental health issues for new officers during their
field training period. 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
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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."
9)Related Legislation: SB 11 (Beal), of the 2015-16 Legislative
Session, would Requires The Commission on Peace Officer
Standards and Training (POST) to establish training course
relating to law enforcement interaction with persons with
mental illness as part of its basic training course for law
enforcement officers. SB 11 will be heard in this committee
today.
10)Prior Legislation: AB 1718 (Hertzberg), Chapter 95, Statutes
of 2000, Required that POST establish and keep updated a
continuing education classroom training course relating 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)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
AFSCME
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Association of Regional Center Agencies
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 Crisis Intervention Training Association
California Medical Association
California Public Defenders Association
California State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police
City of San Jose
Community Health Awareness Council
County Behavioral Health Directors 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
National Alliance on Mental Illness - Santa Clara County
National Association of Social Workers
Riverside Sheriffs Association
Donald Rocha, San Jose City Councilmember, District 9
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association
Santa Clara County District Attorney
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
State Council on Developmental Disabilities
Steinberg Institute
3 Private Individuals
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Opposition
California State Sheriffs' Association
Analysis Prepared by:David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744