Wednesday, House lawmakers advanced a bill that would establish the Marcus Alert system.
By July of next year, five areas across the state could have a new way of responding to emergencies that involve people experiencing a mental health crisis.
The idea is to have mental health professionals lead the way, while law enforcement officers serve as back up, in order to minimize physical confrontations.
Delegate Jeff Bourne, the bill’s sponsor, says “This is really a phased implementation approach.”
It’s an approach, he says, that will reduce the upfront cost of the program, while also giving agencies time to prepare for statewide implementation by 2026.
Until then, state officials would monitor and report on the progress of the pilot programs.
“Such that we could get a good cross-section of information and data returned about the implementation and effectiveness,” Bourne says.
An earlier version of the bill would’ve required all localities to establish a Marcus Alert system by January of 2022.
The new timeline was criticized on social media by an organization called Justice and Reformation. They formed after a police officer killed Marcus-David Peters as he was having a mental health crisis.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.