BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1669
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2003
Counsel: Danielle Lee
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Mark Leno, Chair
AB 1669 (Chu) - As Amended: April 10, 2003
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Revises the qualifications for physicians and
psychologists who evaluate peace officer's mental and emotional
fitness for duty, and provides that only physicians and
psychologists meeting those qualifications can perform these
evaluations. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the emotional and mental condition of a peace officer
to be evaluated by either of the following, both of whom must
meet any applicable education and training standards adopted
by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST):
a) A licensed physician and surgeon who is board-certified
in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and
Neurology; or,
b) A licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree in
psychology and at least five years of post-graduate
experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional
disorders, with at least three of these years accrued
post-doctorate.
2)Provides that the holder of a physician's and surgeon's
certificate, or licensee, must meet the above requirements
prior to performing either an evaluation of a peace officer
applicant's emotional and mental condition or an evaluation of
a peace officer's fitness for duty.
3)Adds performing evaluations of a peace officer applicant's
emotional and mental condition or performing an evaluation of
a peace officer's fitness for duty without meeting the above
requirements to the list of unprofessional conduct that
authorizes the Board of Psychology to refuse to issue, to
issue with terms and conditions, or to suspend or revoke the
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registration or license of a psychologist.
4)Requires each department or agency that employs peace officers
to utilize a person meeting the above requirements for any
mental and emotional evaluation conducted in the course of the
department or agency's screening of peace officer recruits or
the evaluation of peace officers to determine their fitness
for duty.
5)Makes certain other technical, non-substantive changes to
these provisions.
6)Provides for a delayed, unspecified enactment date.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires a "physician's and surgeon's certificate", issued by
the Medical Board of California, Division of Licensing, to
practice medicine. Makes it a misdemeanor to practice
medicine without such a license or certificate. (Business and
Professions Code Sections 2050 - 2052.)
2)Requires a license issued by the Division of Allied Health
Professions of the Medical Board of California to practice
psychology. Provides that the division shall issue licenses
upon the recommendation and at the direction of the Board of
Psychology. (Business and Professions Code Sections 2903,
2948.)
3)Allows the Board of Psychology to order the denial of an
application for licensure, to issue a license with terms and
conditions, and to suspend or revoke the registration or
license of a psychologist for unprofessional conduct, as
specified. (Business and Professions Code Section 2960.)
4)Requires each class of public officers or employees declared
by law to be peace officers to meet certain minimum
requirements, as specified. (Government Code Section 1031.)
5)States that the purpose of establishing standards for peace
officer training is to raise the level of competence of local
law enforcement officers. Requires POST to establish, and
amend from time to time, minimum standards for relating to
physical, mental and moral fitness for law enforcement
officers. Requires POST to conduct research concerning
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job-related educational standards and job-related selection
standards including vision, hearing, physical ability, and
emotional stability. (Penal Code Section 13510.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "This bill is
necessary to ensure that mental health professionals who are
performing fitness for duty evaluations and pre-employment
screening for peace officers are qualified to do so. This
bill allows a peace officer to feel certain that the
professional who is evaluating his or her mental and emotional
conditions as it relates to a peace officer's capacity to do
his or her job has the special expertise necessary to make
that determination. Additionally, this bill provides the
general public with the assurance that the peace officers who
are patrolling their neighborhoods have been properly screened
for mental and emotional conditions that would make them unfit
for duty as officers."
2)Background on the Speaker's Commission on Police Conduct : In
response to the videotape of the beating of a handcuffed youth
by Inglewood police officers on July 2, 2002, Assembly Speaker
Wesson created the Speaker's Commission on Police Conduct.
The Commission is composed of key members of the Assembly,
experts from law enforcement, civil rights advocates and
community activists. The Commission's purpose is to examine
the use of force by California police agencies with the aim of
improving policies and procedures to ensure the safety and
civil rights of those who are arrested. The Commission
examines the current training police officers receive and
methods to eliminate the use of unnecessary force.
3)The Commission's Subcommittee on Police Psychology and the Use
of Force : The Subcommittee examines what role psychological
factors play in how peace officers determine when, and to what
magnitude, the use of force is necessary. Members review
current psychological support resources available to peace
officers after they join the force, and make recommendations
on whether those resources are sufficient for peace officers
to deal with the difficulties they face on the job.
4)POST's Psychological Evaluations On Admitting New Officers And
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Trainees : According to a POST representative who testified at
the Subcommittee's hearing, POST is currently in the process
of updating its guidelines and procedures to enhance the
quality of evaluations through increased consistency in
reports, accountability and making the link between
psychological issues and the job environment. POST does not
dictate which tests must be used. POST looks at a number of
factors: integrity, emotional maturity, conscientiousness,
judgement, adaptability, teamwork, interpersonal concern,
impulse control, assertiveness, and inappropriate behavior.
POST does currently mandate a single test for all departments,
but informs departments about the tests to allow departments
to make informed decisions about which to utilize. The POST
representative suggested that POST could sponsor the initial
training and continuing education for psychologists who screen
police.
5)Evaluating Peace Officer's Fitness for Duty is a Specialized
and Difficult Task : The Subcommittee examined the challenges
involved in evaluating a police officer's fitness for duty.
These challenges include how to detect early warning signals
of imminent behavioral problems, the difficulty of viewing the
police department as the evaluator's client, and not the peace
officers being evaluated. There are confidentiality issues -
California law limits what information the evaluator can and
cannot report to the department post-evaluation, aside from a
general finding of fitness or unfitness for duty. There is
also the possibility of reluctance by evaluators to find an
officer unfit for duty because the stigma attached to being
labeled unfit for duty. Additionally, the evaluator may fear
that the peace officer may sue in retaliation. Evaluators
also need to be able to differentiate between a person who is
generally unsuited to being a police officer versus a police
officer who reacts badly in a stressful situation and whose
responses could be improved with the proper training.
This bill addresses the issues raised by the Speaker's
Commission and its Subcommittee by taking the initiative to
establish proper qualifications for psychologists and
physicians to successfully perform the specialized and
challenging task evaluating peace officer fitness.
A delayed enactment date allows POST to continue to research,
develop and finalize what education and training standards
will allow evaluators to correctly screen peace officer
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applicants and evaluate peace officers' fitness for duty.
Because the enactment date is unspecified, a technical
amendment is needed to identify a specific enactment date.
6)Related Legislation : AB 1383 (Wesson) would: (a) require
continuing professional training requirements adopted by POST
to include study of the racial and cultural differences among
the California residents, as specified; (b) entitle every
peace officers employed by every local law enforcement agency
to consult an independent psychologist on a one-time,
one-visit basis, once every four years at agency expense; and
(c) require local law enforcement agencies to institute
courses of training for peace officers in anger management,
frustration tolerance, and information regarding past damage
awards for peace officer abuse cases. AB 1383 is pending
hearing by this Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Danielle Lee / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744