SearchOur bill to improve law enforcement agencies’ protection of children and adults with disabilities and of senior citizens continued its progress through the Legislature last week.
The Senate passed Senate Bill 338 by Senator Ben Hueso 38-0 and sent it to the Assembly.
The bill calls on law enforcement agencies to take steps amounting to nothing less than a cultural shift in how they protect people with disabilities and seniors.
Here’s what the bill does:
For the first time anywhere, the bill lists in one place all California laws protecting seniors and people with disabilities from abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, hate crimes and homicide.
Every city police department and county sheriff’s department that adopts or revises an elder and dependent adult abuse policy will be required to adopt a policy informing officers of these laws and guiding them on how to respond to these crimes. This includes:
Training all officers in handling these cases, with advanced training for specialized officers in each agency
Investigating every report of these crimes.
Mandatory emergency protective orders and on-the-spot arrests of perpetrators when necessary to protect victims or others.
Outreach to the community to encourage crime prevention and reporting to law enforcement agencies.
Locally developed accountability protocols.
The bill also encourages law enforcement cooperation with other agencies such as adult and child protective services, long-term care ombudsman programs and regional centers, but clarifies that law enforcement agencies have exclusive responsibility for criminal investigations.
Greg deGiere, Civil Rights Coordinator, The Arc of California