Law enforcement needs help to face a mounting behavioral crisis | Opinion
As the nation’s largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, Prison Fellowship works to bring biblically informed values, like a belief in the unchanging worth of each person made in God’s image, to difficult places behind bars. Prison Fellowship’s staff and volunteers frequently come alongside people in prison grappling with serious mental illness and addiction.
But the challenge is great. In striving to help neighbors in crisis, police officers reach beyond the bounds of what many learned in the police academy. Without sound training on how to pursue this ever-expanding, difficult work, officer morale deteriorates — and their own risk of mental health and stress-related substance abuse rises. Incidents of excessive force with a person in crisis can also unravel trust in police departments, making neighborhoods less safe.
The Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act tasks the Department of Justice’s Community-Oriented Policing Services office with developing national training standards in topics like de-escalation, alternatives to use of force, and responses to people experiencing a behavioral or mental health crisis. Many departments offer education in these subjects, but this law will allow for training in these critical skills to be rigorous and widely available.
The value of Cornyn’s legislation will not only be felt in more successful interactions by police officers with vulnerable populations. When bystanders see a police officer thoughtfully engage with a neighbor in crisis, public confidence in law enforcement grows.
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