Senate Bill S2559

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2559

SPONSOR: JORDAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing the Offi-
cer Ron Griffith law enforcement personnel peer support program; and
making an appropriation therefor

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 establishes the name of this act as the "Officer Ron Griffith
law enforcement personnel peer support program act".

Section 2 amends the executive law by creating a new section 837-w,
which creates the Officer Ron Griffith law enforcement personnel peer
support program. Section 837-w establishes definitions for the program
and directs the commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice
Services to establish standards for this program as well as create a
grant program to support it. This section also provides that the Divi-
sion of Criminal Justice Services shall not keep records on law enforce-
ment personnel seeking the support of this program in order to maintain
its confidentiality.
              

Section 3 appropriates $10,000,000 to the Office of Mental Health to
support the Officer Ron Griffith law enforcement personnel peer support
program.

Section 4 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Law enforcement officers are individuals who serve and protect the
public. This profession can involve considerable danger and risk to
those who serve in it. Prolonged exposure to the type of situations law
enforcement officers face every day, which range from violent to trau-
matic to shocking incidents, can lead to mental distress. In many cases,
this can develop into post-traumatic stress disorder and other related
problems. Between 7%. and 19% of police officers suffer from symptoms of
PTSD, a similar rate to members of the military and far above the 3.515
rate of the general public. Due to PTSD and other issues, 1 in 4 police
officers have had thoughts of suicide.  Unfortunately, many of these
officers are not connected with the necessary mental health assistance
they need, and according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness,
more police officers commit suicide than are killed in the line of duty.
Also of concern, in some of the most extreme cases, PTSD and other
related mental illnesses can affect the on-the-job effectiveness of a
law enforcement officer.

This bill aims to prevent and address these issues by using a well-es-
tablished support methodology; establishing a peer-to-peer support
program.

This bill, and the program it creates, is named for Officer Ron Grif-
fith, a retired NYPD Officer. During his more than two decades of
service, he experienced a number of violent incidents including his time
serving during the crime wave of the early 1980s. Officer Griffith was
a.first responder on 9/11; his experiences on that day and during
search-and-rescue duty in the subsequent weeks lead to the development
of cumulative PTSD, which he only began to address following his retire-
ment in 2004. Officer Griffith eventually took part in stress management
classes, and he recalls that only once he had the ability to vent did he
understand the scope of what he was going through. In 2018, Griffith
took part in a video series entitled "Beneath the Vest", which helped
show the public the often unseen costs of serving the public. This
legislation aims to help those like Officer Griffith who felt unable to
address the mental health issues they are confronted with in a confiden-
tial, peer-based way.

This legislation is modeled on the Joseph P. Dwyer peer-to-peer program,
which provides mental health support to veterans by providing for confi-
dential, peer-to-peer approach. This legislation additionally provides
$10,000,000 in appropriations for support of the program, and going
forward it will be subject to appropriations in the budget process. This
bill, which uses tried-and-true solutions to mental health problems,
will provide peace of mind to law enforcement officers in the future and
will also help New York State lead the way in doing all it can for those
who put their lives on the line on behalf of the public.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S8656 of 2019-20

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

$10,000,000 in FY 2022.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.