SMART Community Policing Act

This Act may be cited as the “Supporting Mental Assistance Responder Teams Community Policing Act” or the “SMART Community Policing Act”.

The purpose of this Act is to strengthen community policing programs to—

(1) de-escalate interactions with law enforcement officers to achieve better outcomes for non-violent individuals experiencing crisis or trauma relating to mental health issues, poverty, homelessness, and substance use disorders;

(2) build collaborative partnerships to connect individuals with mental health services and community resources; and

(3) produce better outcomes for communities and law enforcement officers by delivering the appropriate treatment and other support services to individuals in need.

Section 1701(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(b)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (24), by striking “and” at the end;

(2) in paragraph (25), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

“(26) to establish or expand a mobile crisis team program to—

(A) hire skilled mental health professionals and paramedics to—

(i) respond to—

(I) certain 911 dispatch calls at the request of law enforcement officers; and

(II) community members requesting assistance directly;

(ii) stabilize encounters between law enforcement officers and individuals experiencing a mental or behavioral health crisis; and

(iii) assume responsibility for securing mental health services for individuals, including individuals in crisis who may need further evaluation and treatment;

(B) train law enforcement officers partnering with mental health professionals and paramedics;

(C) use a mobile unit to facilitate the response of law enforcement officers and mental health professionals and paramedics to community members experiencing a mental or behavioral health crisis; and

(D) hire other personnel;

(27) to establish or expand a co-responder program under which—

(A) a trained law enforcement officer is paired with a behavioral health clinician or paramedic to—

(i) de-escalate situations involving a mental health crisis;

(ii) connect individuals with mental illness to appropriate services; and

(iii) provide other effective and efficient responses to individuals with mental illness; and

(B) additional personnel, including law enforcement officers and case managers, may be hired; and

(28) to establish or expand a case management and outreach team—

(A) to follow up with individuals experiencing a mental or behavioral health crisis to—

(i) connect those individuals with mental health services and community resources; and

(ii) help those individuals abide by treatment plans and meet other responsibilities, such as work, school, and training;

(B) to develop specific solutions for, and provide support resources to, individuals who frequently use emergency services to reduce repeat interactions between the individuals described in subparagraph (A) and law enforcement officers or mental health professionals and paramedics; and

(C) which may be established as a part of a mobile crisis team program under paragraph (26), a co-responder program under paragraph (27), or an independent team.”.