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House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	April 11, 2013 09:54 AM
From:	Representative Thomas R. Caltagirone
To:	All House members
Subject:	Mandatory Training on Mental Illness for Police and Minor Judiciary

In the near future, I will be introducing legislation to include new training regarding the identification and recognition of mental health conditions for both police officers and the minor judiciary, such as our magisterial district judges. The training must include proper techniques to be used when interacting with an individual suffering from a mental health episode or break and information on alternative services or diversionary options available to these individuals. As a first step to address the significant problem of individuals with mental health conditions ending up in our state prison, we need to better equip our police and minor judiciary with the tools needed to identifying these individuals at the earliest point in time and get these individuals the medical treatment they need. According to Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel, 21% of all inmates and 49% of female inmates in State Correctional Institutions receive mental health treatments. This is a significant cost to the Commonwealth and could be avoided if these individuals where identified early and diverted into programs to receive the mental health care they need. Training police and minor judiciary will ensure that if an individual is suffering from a mental health crisis they know how to help the individual. The text of the bill is attached.

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