The bill amends Section 42-28.2-8.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-28.2, which pertains to the educational requirements for police officers in the area of mental health and substance use emergencies. The bill mandates that the commission on standards and training must establish training standards to instruct police officers in recognizing the possible existence of mental disorders and handling related emergencies. It specifies that the training should comply with the certified National Council of Behavioral Health Mental Health First Aid Program (MHFA), an International Certified Crisis Intervention Team (ICCIT) training program, or other best practice training recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The bill also includes changes in terminology, replacing "identifying" with "recognizing the possible existence of," and "abuse" with "use" in the context of substance-related issues.

The bill outlines that all law enforcement trainees must be certified in one of the recognized training programs and may participate in basic training as part of their certification process. It also allows for behavioral health practitioners, certified police officer trainers, and individuals with lived experience of mental illness to be included as training presenters. The Rhode Island municipal police training commission is tasked with developing the course of instruction and training standards in consultation with relevant experts. The bill also updates definitions, such as changing "suffering from" to "with lived experience of" in relation to mental health conditions and substance use disorders. The act is set to take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
5880: 42-28.2-8.3