Rep. Smith Introduces Bill to Divert Nonviolent 911 Calls to Specialized Responders, Fund Community-Based Public Safety Programs

Press Release

Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) introduced the 911 Diversion to Unarmed Personnel Act, which would provide funding for unarmed 911 response programs that divert nonviolent 911 calls to specialized service providers instead of law enforcement.

"It's abundantly clear that we need to fundamentally reimagine public safety and what law enforcement looks like in our country," said Rep. Adam Smith. "Too often, law enforcement officers are tasked with responding to situations they are neither trained nor equipped to handle. Directly addressing systemic racism and restructuring law enforcement's approach to public safety must recognize the range of urgent needs that are best addressed without police involvement in a holistic, equitable way that centers on getting individuals the resources and services they need.

"With guidance from members of the community, I authored the 911 Diversion to Unarmed Personnel Act to support programs that enable 911 call dispatchers to direct nonviolent calls toward unarmed, specialized responders who can connect people with the care they need," Rep. Smith continued. "Community-based public safety programs across the country have shown incredible success in responding to nonviolent 911 calls, and instead of sending police to a behavioral health crisis, specialized service providers like social workers, medical professionals, and peer support counselors would respond. These programs reduce violent and hostile encounters, help restore trust between law enforcement and community members, and provide better services and care for public safety."

911 receives more than 240 million calls every year. The overwhelming majority of these calls involve nonviolent, non-criminal incidents such as neighbor disputes, nuisance complaints, truancy, reports of "suspicious" activity, requests for wellness checks, and mental health crises. Both the police and policing reform advocates often assert that specialized service providers--such as social workers, paramedics, and peer support counselors--are better equipped to handle such situations than armed officers. The "send the police to everything" approach that prevails in much of our country often places armed law enforcement officers in situations they are neither equipped nor trained to handle and leads to encounters between police and civilians that turn violent and, in many cases, deadly.

The 911 Diversion to Unarmed Personnel Act would provide funding to state, local, or tribal jurisdictions to support unarmed 911 response programs that divert nonviolent 911 calls toward specialized service providers and away from traditional law enforcement.

The bill requires that the programs are managed independently from state or local law enforcement agencies. These diversion programs will help ensure that individuals who are experiencing addiction crises, homelessness, or developmental or intellectual disability, or other mental health issues are met with professional service providers capable of providing screening, assessment, de-escalation, and transportation to immediately necessary treatment.

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