HB 645-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
09/04
HOUSE BILL 645-FN
AN ACT requiring police officers to complete certain mental health training and requiring the police standards and training council to develop and implement an advanced training curriculum for specialized crisis intervention teams.
SPONSORS: Rep. Charron, Rock 7
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill requires police officers and police officer candidates to complete certain mental health training and requires the police standards and training council to develop and implement an advanced training curriculum for specialized crisis intervention teams.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0644
09/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT requiring police officers to complete certain mental health training and requiring the police standards and training council to develop and implement an advanced training curriculum for specialized crisis intervention teams.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Sections; Police Standards and Council; Required Mental Health Training; Advanced Training Curriculum for Specialized Crisis Intervention Teams. Amend RSA 188-F by inserting after section 28 the following new sections:
188-F:28-a Required Mental Health Training.
I. No fewer than 12 hours of training during the basic certification program for full-time police officers shall be devoted to;
(a) Types and characteristics of mental illnesses and co-occurring illnesses.
(b) Effective patterns of interaction with a person experiencing the symptoms of mental illness and his or her family and friends.
(c) Relevant legal issues including the basis and procedures for involuntary admissions for treatment.
(d) The system of community services available to persons with mental illnesses.
II. Each certified full-time police officer shall complete 20 hours of training in mental health issues every 3-year cycle after certification. Such training shall include:
(a) Types and characteristics of mental illnesses and co-occurring illnesses.
(b) Effective patterns of interaction with a person experiencing the symptoms of mental illness and his or her family and friends.
(c) Relevant legal issues including the basis and procedures for involuntary admissions for treatment.
(d) The system of community services available to persons with mental illnesses.
III. Support of police departments in need of financial support to provide the 20-hour mental health training requirement under paragraph II shall be given priority by the department of justice for federal funding which is eligible to be designated for police training.
188-F:28-b Advanced Training Curriculum for Specialized Crisis Intervention Teams.
I. The police standards and training council shall develop a 40-hour training curriculum patterned on the Memphis Police Crisis Intervention Team model of best practices for law enforcement intervention with persons who may have a mental illness, substance abuse disorder, developmental disability, or dual diagnosis. The council shall develop the curriculum in collaboration with the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire, the department of health and human services, and other appropriate New Hampshire and national organizations.
II. The curriculum shall be designed to train law enforcement officers to:
(a) Effectively respond to persons who may have a mental illness, substance abuse disorder, developmental disability, or dual diagnosis;
(b) Reduce injuries to officers and citizens;
(c) Reduce inappropriate incarceration;
(d) Reduce liability; and
(e) Improve risk management practices for law enforcement agencies.
III. The training shall include but not be limited to:
(a) An introduction to crisis intervention teams.
(b) Identification and recognition of the different types of mental illnesses, substance abuse disorders, developmental disabilities, and dual diagnoses.
(c) Interviewing and assessing a person who may have a mental illness. substance abuse disorder, a developmental disability, or dual diagnosis.
(d) Identification and common effects of psychotropic medications.
(e) Suicide prevention techniques.
(f) Community resources and options for treatment.
(g) Voluntary and involuntary processes for hospitalization of a person with a mental illness, substance abuse disorder, developmental disability, or dual diagnosis.
(h) Hostage or other negotiations with a person with a mental illness, substance abuse disorder, developmental disability, or dual diagnosis.
IV. The curriculum shall be designed to be presented by a team composed of, at a minimum:
(a) A law enforcement training instructor;
(b) A representative from the local community mental health center;
(c) A consumer of mental health services; and
(d) A representative of the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire.
2 Effective Date.
I. RSA 188-F:28-a as inserted by section 1 of this act shall take effect 180 days after its passage.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect January 1, 2011.
LBAO
09-0644
01/23/09
HB 645-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT requiring police officers to complete certain mental health training and requiring the police standards and training council to develop and implement an advanced training curriculum for specialized crisis intervention teams.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Police Standards & Training Council states this bill will increase state, county, and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, or local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Police Standards & Training Council states this bill requires the Council to provide 12 hours of mental health training to officers during the basic certification program and 20 hours of mental health training to full-time certified officers every three years. The Council assumes all costs associated with creating and providing the training will be absorbed by the Council within its current operating budget. The Council developed an estimate of the cost to the state, counties, and municipalities to send officers to this training based on the number of officers to be trained, for how long, and with estimates of salaries and overtime rates. The Council did not include the cost of benefits, since benefit costs vary widely by jurisdiction.
The Council states based on current data it is estimated there are 180 full-time recruit officers to be trained per year, and 3,019 full-time in-service officers. The Council assumes an average salary of $15.50 per hour for recruit officers and $23.25 per hour overtime hour for in-service officers based on 2005 survey data. Currently recruit-level mental health training is 8 hours; therefore, an additional 4 hours is required by this bill. Since this bill requires 20 hours of training per three-year period, the Council assumes each officer would receive 6.67 hours of training per year, in addition to the current 8 hour in-service requirement. The Council assumes an effective data of January 1, 2010.
FY 2010 (half year)
State
Recruits: 18 officers x $15.50 x 4 hours = $1,116
In-Service: 302 officers x $23.25 x 6.67 hours = $46,833
TOTAL = $47,949
LBAO
09-0644
01/23/09
County
Recruits: 9 officers x $15.50 x 4 hours = $558
In-Service: 151 officers x $23.25 x 6.67 hours = $23,417
TOTAL = $23,975
Local
Recruits: 63 officers x $15.50 x 4 hours = $3,906
In-Service: 1,057 officers x $23.25 x 6.67 hours = $163,917
TOTAL = $167,823
FY 2011 and beyond
State
Recruits: 36 officers x $15.50 x 4 hours = $2,232
In-Service: 604 officers x $23.25 x 6.67 hours = $93,667
TOTAL = $95,899
County
Recruits: 18 officers x $15.50 x 4 hours = $1,116
In-Service: 302 officers x $23.25 x 6.67 hours = $46,833
TOTAL = $47,949
Local
Recruits: 126 officers x $15.50 x 4 hours = $7,812
In-Service: 2,113 officers x $23.25 x 6.67 hours = $327,679
TOTAL = $335,491
The Council states that if in-service training is provided locally by the local agencies, there would be additional costs associated with the training not identified above. If the Council provides the training, the amount of other training provided by the Council would be reduced, unless additional revenues are identified. The Council further states this bill requires the Council to develop 40-hour training curriculum for specialized crisis intervention teams. The Council states this training does not increase costs to the state, counties, or local governments because it is optional.