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By Greg deGiere, Civil Rights Advocate, The Arc of California
The Legislature has taken the next, major step toward a thorough overhaul of California’s law enforcement system to better protect children and adults with disabilities, and seniors, from major crimes. The Senate passed AB 751 (Schiavo) 35-0 last week, following 60-0 passage by the Assembly. The bill now goes to Governor Gavin Newsom, whose signature turning it into law is likely but not certain.
The Arc/UCP California Collaboration and our great allies the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) are AB 751’s sponsors. A broad coalition of disability and senior organizations and community groups ranging from the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) to Stand With Asian Americans to the California Council of Churches IMPACT support the bill. Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo introduced the bill for us and carried it through to unanimous passage.
The far-reaching bill makes it clear that almost every city police department and county sheriff’s department must adopt and follow a Senior and Disability Victimization Policy guiding officers’ actions. The policy is to include a host of requirements including:
- Officers must investigate every report of a major crime against an adult or child with a disability or against an adult 65 or older, except in unusual compelling circumstances as determined by a supervising officer and reported to the victim and, upon request, to Disability Rights California. No more blowing off calls.
- If an officer has evidence of one of these major crimes, they must arrest the suspect when necessary to protect the victims or others and must seek emergency protective orders at the scene by phone to a judge on-call 24 hours a day.
- Every officer must be trained to handle these often-difficult cases.
- Every law enforcement agency must have an extensively trained senior and disability unit, or in smaller agencies at least one officer, to serve as a resource in these cases and act as the agency’s liaison to the senior and disability communities and other agencies.
- Every agency must develop a detailed checklist of first-responding officers’ responsibilities.
- Every agency must develop its own protocols for carrying out the policy, assuring the policy works for that department.
AB 751 is the latest step on the road that began with passage of SB 338 in 2019, sponsored by the Arc-UCP, CARA and the McGeorge Law School’s Elder & Health Law Clinic. SB 338 was carried for us by Senator Ben Hueso, and also passed unanimously, and signed by Governor Newsom. There will be more to come.