House Bill 1040

AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTION 45-6-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE TRAINING ON INTERACTING EFFECTIVELY WITH PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER'S OR OTHER DEMENTIAS AS PART OF THEIR INITIAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAM AND CONTINUING EDUCATION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 45-6-25, Mississippi Code of 1972:

45-6-25. (1) The purpose of this section is to set minimum training requirements for law enforcement officers in Mississippi on interacting effectively with people with Alzheimer's or other dementias.

(2) Each law enforcement officer must successfully complete training on identifying and interacting with people with Alzheimer's or other dementias as part of basic police training and continuing law enforcement education.

(3) The board shall develop and promulgate a dementia training program in cooperation with the Department of Human Services, the State Department of Health or the MIND Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The dementia training program must include instruction on the identification of people with Alzheimer's and other dementias, risks such as wandering and elder abuse, and the best practices for interacting with persons exhibiting symptoms of Alzheimer's or other dementias.

(4) The initial training required under this section must consist of no less than four (4) hours in the initial law enforcement officer certification program on the following:

(a) Dementia, psychiatric and behavioral symptoms;

(b) Techniques for understanding and approaching behavioral symptoms and identifying alternatives to physical restraints;

(c) Identifying and reporting incidents of abuse, neglect and exploitation to the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction;

(d) Protocols for contacting caregivers when a person with dementia is found wandering or during emergency or crisis situations; and

(e) Local caregiving resources that are available for people living with dementia.

(5) Continuing education in dementia training must include no less than two (2) hours of training on those subjects described in subsection (4) of this section.

(6) A law enforcement officer who does not successfully complete the required dementia training must be placed on inactive status until the employing agency or department notifies the board that the officer has successfully completed the training.
(7) If an employing agency or department has adopted law enforcement officer training requirements on identifying and interacting with people with Alzheimer's or other dementias which are more rigorous than the requirements of this section, those more rigorous requirements must be followed. If there is overlap between the requirements of this section and those adopted by an employing agency or department, the board must consult with the Department of Human Services, the State Department of Health or the MIND Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in order to avoid duplication of the requirements while ensuring that the minimum requirements prescribed in this section are met.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.