Crisis Response Teams
Assembly Bill 5687/Senate bill 3883 establishes Crisis Response Support Program to make mental health services available to police departments responding to certain emergencies; appropriates $2,000,000. Given the current absence of affordable, public mental health services, people with mental illnesses increasingly come into contact with law enforcement and, as a result, many of those in jail and prison have mental health issues. The bill’s Crisis Response Support Program will give law enforcement officers access to mental health services (24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week) when responding to a call that involves a person who is suffering from a mental health condition or substance use disorder and is in crisis. This will enable law enforcement officers to be more professional and effective in handling crisis situations and focusing their attention on the question of criminal conduct itself.
Action request
Please write, call, or text one or more of the following, urging them to act on Assembly bill 5687/Senate bill 3883. At the end of this message is a draft you can use to create your email.
General Assembly
- Assemblyman Adam Taliaferro, Chair of the Assembly Law & Public Safety Committee, asmtaliaferro@njleg.org, (856) 339-0808
- Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, asmcoughlin@njleg.org, (732) 855-7441
NJ Senate
- Senator Linda Greenstein, Chair of the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee, sengreenstein@njleg.org, (609) 395-9911
- State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, SenSweeney@njleg.org, (856) 251-9801
DRAFT OF MESSAGE ON CRISIS RESPONSE SUPPORT PROGRAM
Dear [Senator or Assemblymember XX]:
The Legislature has before it a bill (Assembly Bill 5687/Senate bill 3883) that establishes a Crisis Response Support Program to make mental health services available to police departments responding to certain emergencies and appropriates $2,000,000.
Given the current absence of affordable, public mental health services, people with mental illnesses increasingly come into contact with law enforcement and, as a result, many of those in jail and prison have mental health issues.
The bill’s Crisis Response Support Program will give law enforcement officers access to mental health services (24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week) when responding to a call that involves a person who is suffering from a mental health condition or substance use disorder and is in crisis. This will enable law enforcement officers to be more professional and effective in handling crisis situations and focusing their attention on the question of criminal conduct itself.
I urge you to make sure this important bill is reported out of committee and brought to a vote before this legislative session ends in January.
Sincerely,
[your name] [town]