California is on the road to changing policing. And recent reform bills in the works with the state legislature are paving the way, with an August 31st deadline approaching.
Assembly Bill 2054, also known as the CRISES act, would provide responses to emergency situations that would typically be routed to police departments, such as mental health crises, intimate partner violence, and substance use. The CRISES act was introduced by Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager of Los Angeles.
Senate Bill 731, introduced by Senator Steven Bradford of Gardena, would decertify police officers deemed unfit. This includes officers who have shot and killed or seriously injured another person.
And Berkeley Senator Nancy Skinner’s Senate Bill 776 would do two things: it would require more documentation when police officers use force, and it would reform current law that allows for privacy of police records.
State leaders must vote on these bills by the end of the month, when the legislative session ends. Those that pass will go to Governor Newsom to sign into law or veto. Bills that aren’t voted on die, and have to be reintroduced or discarded.