The bill amends Title 44 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes by adding a new chapter, Chapter 75, which establishes the role of civilian community relations specialists. These specialists will work alongside law enforcement agencies to develop and implement community programs aimed at crime prevention, building public trust, promoting community-oriented policing, advocating for victims, and raising public awareness on various issues. The bill also defines key terms such as "civilian community relations specialist," "commission," "fund," "law enforcement agency," and "municipality."
Additionally, the bill creates the Civilian Community Relations Specialists Fund, which will be established in the State Treasury and continuously appropriated to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for the purposes outlined in the chapter. The commission is tasked with developing and administering programs for these specialists, coordinating resources with law enforcement agencies, assessing their operations, and adopting necessary regulations to implement the chapter. The act is set to take effect 60 days after its passage.