1. a. The Attorney General, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services, shall develop a pilot program to promote and encourage law enforcement officers Statewide to complete training that applies the Crisis Intervention Team model, which program may include support for and coordination between the Police Training Commission in the Division of Criminal Justice in the Department of Law and Public Safety and the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services to increase the frequency of, number of locations, and geographic accessibility to training courses offered that apply the Crisis Intervention Team model.

b. The Police Training Commission shall develop and implement or incorporate into an existing training course, in consultation with a crisis intervention training center, a curriculum that applies the Crisis Intervention Team model to persons experiencing an economic crisis or struggling with a substance abuse disorder who come into contact with law enforcement first responders.

c. As used in this section:

“Crisis Intervention Team model” means the best practice jail diversion model originally developed by the Memphis Tennessee Police Department and implemented in New Jersey as a county based collaboration of professionals committed to improving the law enforcement and mental health systems’ response to persons experiencing a psychiatric crisis who come into contact with law enforcement first responders.

“Crisis intervention training center” means a program or entity that has operated as a crisis intervention support center in the State for a period of at least five years and that has experience in assisting political subdivisions in New Jersey in developing and implementing the Crisis Intervention Team model.

L.2021, c.455.