§ 6-64-1202 - Law Enforcement Training Committee -- Creation -- Duties.
6-64-1202. Law Enforcement Training Committee -- Creation -- Duties.
(a) The Law Enforcement Training Committee is created to:
(1) Identify mental health training needs for law enforcement officers; and
(2) Develop a mental health training curriculum for law enforcement officers and jail personnel to be delivered statewide.
(b) (1) The committee shall be led by the Criminal Justice Institute.
(2) The committee shall include representatives of:
(A) The Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy;
(B) The Research and Training Institute of the Division of Behavioral Health;
(C) The Department of Community Correction;
(D) The Mental Health Council of Arkansas;
(E) The Administrative Office of the Courts;
(F) Local, state, and county law enforcement officers; and
(G) Mental health practitioners.
(c) The training and delivery strategies may consist of:
(1) Basic level training for law enforcement officers and jail personnel to be included in the entry-level training program curricula;
(2) Advanced level training for law enforcement officers and jail personnel that is designed to enhance the effectiveness of the response of law enforcement officers and jail personnel to persons with mental illnesses;
(3) Training, such as Crisis Intervention Team training, that includes methods for establishing a collaborative effort between law enforcement personnel and the community to provide appropriate services to those persons with mental illnesses who come into contact with the law enforcement system;
(4) Establishment of regional training teams, consisting of mental health and law enforcement officers; and
(5) A train-the-trainer model so that mental health training can be provided in each county jail at frequent and regular intervals as needed by a local person who has received formal training through curricula developed under this subchapter.
(d) Crisis Intervention Teams shall be:
(1) Supported by state funding; and
(2) Provided initial assistance in organization.
(e) (1) Local police departments and sheriff departments may apply to the Criminal Justice Institute for crisis intervention training under this subchapter.
(2) The Crisis Intervention Team training curriculum development and delivery under subdivision (c)(3) of this section shall be supported by state funding.
(f) (1) A graduate of the Crisis Intervention Team training shall provide the local department in which he or she serves with information and materials obtained at the crisis intervention training.
(2) (A) Each department that sends law enforcement officers to receive Crisis Intervention Team training shall convene a meeting at least annually to review and improve the program in the department.
(B) The meeting shall include without limitation representatives of:
(i) Local behavioral health service providers;
(ii) Community mental health centers within the jurisdiction of the departments;
(iii) Consumers;
(iv) Courts;
(v) The National Alliance on Mental Illness; and
(vi) Local institutions of higher education, including without limitation, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Arkansas Area Health Education Centers of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
(g) The goal of the Crisis Intervention Team training program is to establish a collaborative effort between law enforcement officers and jail personnel and the community to provide appropriate services to persons with mental illnesses who come into contact with the law enforcement system.