BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1762
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2000
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Carole Migden, Chairwoman
AB 1762 (Villaraigosa) - As Amended: February 22, 2000
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Directs the Office of Criminal Justice Planning (OCJP) to
establish three-year pilot programs in Los Angeles and the San
Joaquin Valley based on the San Jose Police Department's
Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) approach to situations
involving persons with mental health issues.
2)Makes San Jose's CIT program eligible for state funding as
part of the pilot project.
3)Requires pilot programs to establish training programs that
will be offered four times a year where patrol officers and
public safety dispatchers may attend a 40-hour curriculum
taught by mental health professionals.
4)Requires OCJP to evaluate the pilot programs and submit a
report to the Legislature by January 1, 2003. The programs
sunset January 1, 2004.
FISCAL EFFECT
Though the bill is silent regarding how many officers are to be
trained in what time periods, or how many teams are to be
deployed, based on the San Jose model, which includes quarterly
training for 30 officers and deployment to cover all shifts at a
cost of about $400,000, the annual cost of this proposal would
be in the range of $1.2 million. If fewer officers are trained,
or operating equipment and expenses can be reduced from the San
Jose model, the cost could be less.
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COMMENT
1)Rationale . According to the author, these pilots would help
familiarize peace officers with mental illness, as well as the
tools and resources available to them. Due to substance abuse
and the release of mentally ill persons from institutions,
many persons within this population are homeless. According to
recent studies, 40 percent of persons suffering from serious
mental illness will be arrested at least once.
1)Current law requires specified peace officers to complete
instruction in the handling of persons with developmental
disabilities and/or mental illness as part of the Commission
on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) basic training
course. Further training courses are available through POST as
deemed necessary by the employing agency.
1)Existing Crisis Intervention Teams . The San Jose Police
Department has used the CIT approach since April 1999 to
improve interactions between persons with mental illness, law
enforcement and mental health providers. The goal is to
increase the safety of mentally ill offenders and officers by
minimizing force. According to San Jose officials, a
significant percentage of officers and public safety
dispatchers must receive 40 hours of training in mental
illness and crisis intervention techniques. Thereafter,
efforts must be made to schedule CIT trained personnel so they
are available during all shifts.
1)Existing MET/SMART Teams . In contrast to the CIT approach, the
L.A.County Sheriff has created Mental Evaluation Teams (MET).
Each unit consists of one deputy sheriff and one mental health
clinician. MET personnel are trained to evaluate mental
illness, identify persons suffering from mental illness, and
locate appropriate placements. There are currently three
units available to respond to assist other sheriff's
department personnel in their contacts with mentally ill
citizens. The annual cost of these teams is about $1.2
million.
The L.A. Police Department (LAPD) employs a similar approach,
which they call Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Teams
(SMART).
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5) Issues/Concerns .
a) L.A. Sheriff's Office (LASO) officials say they prefer
the MET/SMART model to CIT. L.A. City officials are
interested in both approaches.
The LASO intends to expand from three to 30 METs over the
next two years, at a cost of about $6.6 million, pursuing
local as well as state funding via the state budget
process. The LAPD also plans to expand its SMARTs.
Absent data demonstrating that the CIT model is more
effective than SMART/Met, why provide funding for a new
program in L.A., particularly if at least the L.A.
Sheriff's Office prefers SMART/MET?
b) Bill Lacks Specificity . The bill is silent on how many
officers should and could be trained in what period of
time.
c) Subsidizing local police training sets a potentially
costly precedent . To what extent should the state directly
subsidize specified local governments for direct peace
officer training? What types of training should take
precedence? Is mental health training/response more
important than other high profile training needs, such as
use of force, domestic violence, racial profiling, hate
crimes, elder abuse, DUI, and ethics?
d) Why Involve OCJP ? OCJP will request up to 5% of any
funding provided to cover its administrative costs. The
need for OCJP as an intermediary is not clear and it may be
more appropriate to use POST as the evaluator.
1)Related Legislation . There are a series of bills addressing
mental health/criminal justice issue this year, including AB
1718 (Hertzberg), which would require POST to establish
continuing mental health-related education for peace officers,
and SB 1769 (Chesbro), which would establish mental health
courts. SB 2049 (Vasconcellos, 1997-98), vetoed by Gov.
Wilson, would have required POST to provide a training course
on persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness
to law enforcement officers every four years.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916)319-2081