BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 29
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
29 (Beall)
As Amended August 31, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |7-0 |Quirk, Melendez, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, | |
| | |Lopez, Low, Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |16-1 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, |Bigelow |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Nazarian, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
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| | | | |
| | | | |
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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 behavioral health training to better train
new peace officers 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 eight
hours of crisis intervention behavioral health training within
the past 24 months, or 40 hours of crisis intervention
behavioral health training, from the training requirement.
3)Specifies that field training officers assigned or appointed
before January 1, 2017, shall complete the crisis intervention
behavioral health training 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
behavioral health training with a greater amount of hours or
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sooner than the specified time limits.
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.
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,
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post-traumatic stress disorder, and dementia;
b) Autism spectrum disorder;
c) Down syndrome;
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:
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a) 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,
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)Requires a POST-Approved Field Training Program to minimally
include the following topics: a) Agency Orientation and
Department Polices; b) Officer Safety; c) Ethics; d) Use of
Force; e) Patrol Vehicle Operations; f) Community
Relations/Professional Demeanor (including Cultural Diversity,
Community Policing, and Problem Solving; g) Radio
Communications; h) Leadership; i) California Codes and Law; j)
Search and Seizure; k) Report Writing; l) Control of Persons,
Prisoners, and Mentally Ill; m) Patrol Procedures (including
Domestic Violence and Pedestrian and Vehicle Stops); n)
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Investigations/Evidence; o) Tactical Communications/Conflict
Resolution; p) Traffic (including Driving Under the
Influence); (q) Self-Initiated Activity; r) Additional
Agency-Specific Topics (may include Community Specific
Problems, Special Needs Groups, etc.).
3)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: a) Field Training Program Goals and Objectives; b)
Keys to Successful Field Training Programs; c) Field Training
Program Management/Roles of Program Personnel; d) Teaching and
Training Skills Development; e) The Professional Relationship
between the FTO and the Trainee; f) Evaluation/Documentation;
g) Expectations and Roles of the FTO; h) Driver Safety; i)
Officer Safety; j) Intervention; k)
Remediation/Testing/Scenarios; l) Trainee Termination; m)
Legal Issues and Liabilities; n) Review of the Regular Basic
Course Training; and, o) Competency Expectations.
4)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
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,
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core instruction in the following:
a) The cause and nature of mental illnesses and
developmental disabilities;
b) How to identify indicators of mental disability and how
to respond appropriately in a variety of common situations;
c) Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for
potentially dangerous situations involving mentally
disabled persons;
d) Appropriate language usage when interacting with
mentally disabled persons;
e) Alternatives to lethal force when interacting with
potentially dangerous mentally disabled persons;
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,
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.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Reimbursable state mandated costs in the $2.57 million
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(General Fund) range initially and $600,000 ongoing to
backfill for officers participating in the training. There
are currently 482 cities and 58 counties in California. 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 field training officers in
training.
2)Initial costs of $1.7 million (Post Officer's Training Fund -
POTF) to POST for training costs and course development, and
annual ongoing costs of $250,000 (POTF) for prospective
training.
COMMENTS: 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. Equally important, SB
29 acknowledges California's diverse populations by requiring
training to be culturally appropriate."
Analysis Prepared by:
David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0001684
SB 29
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