Few Calif. Police Have Undergone State Mental Health Training

Many California police officers have not completed a state-certified training program that focuses on mental illnesses and other issues, even though about 15% of police calls and 40% of officer-involved shootings in the state include a person with diagnosed or suspected mental health problems, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

All law enforcement officers in the state undergo six hours of basic training on handling individuals with mental illnesses.

However, few have completed an additional 40-hour state-certified Crisis Intervention Training course on assisting individuals with mental health issues, drug use, suicidal behavior and other problems. For example:

• 12% of police officers in Oakland are CIT-certified;
• 15% of officers in San Francisco are CIT-certified;
• 24% of officers in Santa Clara are CIT-certified; and
• 37% of officers in San Jose are CIT-certified.