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Bill Would Change Requirements For Officers To Transport Those Needing Mental Health Evaluations

Oklahoma City Police Car
Paul L. McCord Jr.
/
Flickr Creative Commons

A recently proposed bill would allow law enforcement to contract a third party to provide transportation of individuals requiring mental health services.

Current law requires sheriffs and peace officers to transport individuals to and from designated sites or facilities for examination, emergency detention, protective custody and inpatient services.

SB0252, by Sen. Ron Sharp, would be the first step in fixing the inefficient process, said Sharp in a press release.

"This is a real problem in smaller communities and rural areas where agencies are already understaffed but are obligated to send an officer, and often times two officers, for several hours to transport a mentally ill person to a facility and wait on their evaluation,” he said.

“This is not a good use of time or resources. We need to allow agencies to fulfill this particular duty in the way that is most time and cost effective for them."

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