Bill addresses improved police training

A group of lawmakers recently reintroduced the Law Enforcement Training For Mental Health Crisis Response Act, which was designed to improve police training best practices.

The legislation was presented by U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan (D-OH), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Elaine Luria (D-VA), Dave Joyce (R-OH), Val Demings (D-FL), Van Taylor (R-TX), and Henry Cuellar (D-TX).

The measure seeks to fund grants enabling local law enforcement offices to apply to help train police regarding how to best interact with individuals with mental health illness and resolve and de-escalate potential situations that may arise.

“It’s important that those in our community suffering from mental illness have the support they need, and this bill is a key part of that puzzle,” Ryan said. “With one in every ten police calls involving a person suffering with mental illness, this bill will ensure law enforcement officers will have the right training to respond to these calls.”

Gonzalez said law enforcement officers nationwide place their lives on the line to protect communities daily.

“Having access to important resources like mental health crisis training can help save the lives of officers and citizens in crisis,” he said. “I am proud to lead this bipartisan effort to support our officers and look forward to working with my colleagues to move the legislation forward.”

The federal grants would be available via the Department of Justice’s Byrne JAG program for local law enforcement agencies to receive behavioral health crisis response training. The programs help train officers responding to calls in which an individual may be experiencing a mental health-related crisis while also involving opioid-related crises.