BILL NUMBER: AB 1762 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 22, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Villaraigosa
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Mazzoni, Shelley, Strom-Martin,
Thompson, Wayne, and Zettel)
(Coauthors: Senators Bowen, Murray, and Perata)
JANUARY 18, 2000
An act to add and repeal Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 13720)
of Title 5 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, relating to peace officers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1762, as amended, Villaraigosa. Peace officer training:
mentally ill persons with mental illness
.
Existing law provides that the Commission on Peace Officer
Standards and Training 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.
Existing law requires the commission to develop this training and
related supplemental training in consultation with appropriate groups
and individuals having an interest and expertise in this area, and
to include specified subject matter.
This bill would direct the Office of Criminal Justice Planning to
establish a Crisis Intervention Team pilot project for the training
of law enforcement officers and public safety dispatchers concerning
the nature of mental illness and appropriate methods of handling
the mentally ill persons with mental illness
in order to accomplish specified policy goals. The bill would
provide that these projects shall be established in the County of Los
Angeles and in a county to be located within the Central
San Joaquin Valley of California, and would also
provide funding to the existing Crisis Intervention Team program
located in the City of San Jose. The bill would provide that
completion of the training course specified under this program shall
satisfy specified training requirements of existing law, that the
implementation of their pilot projects shall be subject to
appropriation by the Legislature, that the Office of Criminal
Justice Planning shall evaluate the effectiveness of this pilot
program and submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2003,
and that these provisions shall be repealed on January 1, 2004.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 13720) is added to
Title 5 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, to read:
CHAPTER 3. CRISIS INTERVENTION
13720. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Approximately 40 percent of persons suffering from serious
mental illness will be arrested at least once during their lifetimes.
It is imperative that progressive law enforcement agencies assume
the responsibility of evaluating situations, recognizing mental
illness and the need for treatment and ensuring that the
mentally ill person person with mental illness
receives the proper treatment resources. An emphasis should be
placed on assessment and placement of persons with mental illness
into treatment centers, where appropriate, rather than incarceration.
(b) Increases in drug and alcohol abuse and the release of
the mentally ill persons with mental illness
from institutions have caused many to become homeless and
increase the probability of violence and involvement with law
enforcement.
(c) Lawsuits regarding excessive force and related community
reaction are significant concerns for local law enforcement agencies,
and traditional police methods, misinformation, and lack of
sensitivity can cause frustration for both the mentally ill
persons with mental illness and their families
as well as for law enforcement. Peace officers responding to calls
involving the mentally ill persons with
mental illness may be faced with a lack of knowledge about
mental illness, resulting in a fear of the unknown, and an increase
in the likelihood of physical confrontation.
(d) The continuation of programs, such as the MET/SMART teams
currently operating in Los Angels County, where a specially trained
mental health evaluation team consisting of a mental health clinician
and a law enforcement officer are assigned together to assist other
officers with contacts with citizens with mental illness is an
important aspect in handling these situations.
(e) An effective program has been established by the San
Jose Police Department called the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) to
train law enforcement officers in the proper handling of persons
suffering from mental illness.
(e)
(f) The pilot project created pursuant to this act is
intended to address these concerns by providing regional training
programs by which law enforcement officers can become familiar with
the nature of mental illness, the tools and resources available for
assisting the mentally ill persons with
mental illness , and related matters.
13721. The Office of Criminal Justice Planning shall establish a
pilot project based on the Crisis Intervention Team program of the
San Jose Police Department to accomplish the following goals:
(a) Reduce the number of mentally ill persons
persons with mental illness in custody.
(b) Decrease the number of mentally ill persons
persons with mental illness placed into emergency
commitment custody.
(c) Provide better training and education for law enforcement
officers and dispatchers regarding mental illness.
(d) Decrease the use of force during crisis events involving
the mentally ill persons with mental illness
.
(e) Reduce the number of injuries to both the mentally
ill persons with mental illness and to law
enforcement officers.
(f) Improve interaction between law enforcement agencies and
mental health service providers.
13722. Crisis Intervention Teams shall be established and funded
pursuant to this chapter in the County of Los Angeles and in a county
to be located within the Central San Joaquin
Valley of California, and the Crisis Intervention Team program
located in the City of San Jose shall also be eligible to receive
funding under this chapter. Crisis Intervention Teams receiving
funding pursuant to this pilot project shall do all of the following:
(a) Establish a training program to be offered four times per
year where patrol officers and public safety dispatchers
shall may attend a 40-hour curriculum
under the instructional supervision of mental health professionals,
family advocates, and mental health consumer groups. This
training may be in modular configurations that allow for the
development of scenarios to simulate actual situations. Training may
be made available during the recruiting or initial training phase of
a law enforcement officer or public safety dispatcher and training
may also be made available throughout his or her career.
(b) Recruit instructors mental health
professionals from local hospitals, mental health advocacy
groups, community agencies, and private mental health providers with
experience in the assessment and treatment of mentally ill
persons persons with mental illness, as well as city
attorneys and tactics trainers, to provide the instruction component
of the training program .
(c) Require instructors to complete ride-alongs with patrol
officers and sit-alongs with public safety dispatchers to better
understand police operations.
(d) The Office of Criminal Justice Planning shall encourage law
enforcement agencies that are, as part of this pilot program,
actively involved in providing training for the proper handling of
persons with developmental disabilities and mental illness, to
coordinate their efforts in order to ensure consistency of training.
(e) The Office of Criminal Justice Planning shall evaluate the
effectiveness of this pilot program and shall submit a report on its
findings to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2003.
13723. Completion of the training course authorized under this
section shall satisfy the training requirements of Section 13519.2.
13724. Establishment of the Crisis Intervention Team pilot
project authorized pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to an
appropriation by the Legislature.
13725. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2004, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2004, deletes or extends
that date. ____ CORRECTIONS Text --
Pages 3 and 4. ____