BILL REQ. #:  H-1579.1 

Read first time 02/17/2003.   Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to providing law enforcement officers with training in interaction with people with developmental disabilities and mental illness; and adding a new section to chapter 43.101 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 43.101 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The commission must offer a training session on law enforcement interaction with people with developmental disabilities and/or mental illness. The training must be developed by the commission in consultation with appropriate community, local, and state organizations and agencies that have expertise in the area of mental illness and developmental disability, and with appropriate consumer and family advocate groups. In developing the course, the commission must also examine existing courses certified by the commission that relate to mental illness and developmental disabilities.
     (2) The training must consist of classroom instruction and use interactive training methods to ensure that the training is as realistic as possible. The training must include, at a minimum, core instruction in all of the following:
     (a) The cause and nature of mental illnesses and developmental disabilities;
     (b) How to identify indicators of mental illness and developmental disability and how to respond appropriately in a variety of common situations;
     (c) Conflict resolution and deescalation techniques for potentially dangerous situations involving people with mental illness and/or a developmental disability;
     (d) Appropriate language usage when interacting with people with mental illness and/or a developmental disability;
     (e) Alternatives to lethal force when interacting with potentially dangerous people with mental illness and/or a developmental disability; and
     (f) Community and state resources available to serve people with mental illness and/or developmental disabilities and how these resources can be best used by law enforcement to benefit the people with mental illness and developmental disabilities.