Sponsor
Jason Crow
Representative · D-CO
Representative · D-CO
Official title: To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide funding for innovations in community policing, mental health care, and community safety, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 19, 2026 by Jason Crow · Last progress May 19, 2026
The bill shifts crisis response toward specialized, non‑arrest interventions that can reduce harm and improve care, but its benefits depend on sustained funding, provider capacity, and careful design to avoid fiscal strain and continued criminalization of vulnerable people.
People experiencing mental-health or substance-use crises will get faster access to specialized responders (mobile crisis teams, co-responder programs) and clearer police de‑escalation guidance, reducing injuries, arrests, and acute escalations.
Community members (especially in urban areas) can request non‑law‑enforcement responses via mobile crisis teams, reducing potentially adversarial police encounters and protecting civil liberties.
People in crisis — including those experiencing homelessness or repeated emergency use — are more likely to be connected to mental‑health services, case management, and outreach, improving continuity of care and reducing repeat emergency interactions.
Expanding these programs shifts costs to both local governments (training, partnerships, sustaining positions) and the federal government (grant spending), creating fiscal pressures for municipalities and taxpayers.
People from marginalized groups (including racial/ethnic minorities and people with disabilities) still risk criminalization or uneven application if policing‑led interventions or co‑responder programs involve armed officers or are poorly implemented.
The effectiveness of reforms depends on workforce and program design; shortages of behavioral‑health providers, inadequate training, or poor program design could limit benefits or misroute clinical responsibilities to officers, leaving people at risk.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Allows COPS grants to fund mobile crisis teams, co-responder programs pairing officers with clinicians/paramedics, and case management/outreach teams.
Expands the Department of Justice COPS grant program to allow funds to create or grow mobile crisis teams, co-responder teams (pairing officers with behavioral health clinicians or paramedics), and case management/outreach teams that follow up with individuals in crisis. The change lets communities use COPS grants to hire clinicians, paramedics, case managers, and supporting staff, buy or operate mobile units, and train law enforcement partners to de‑escalate and connect people to services instead of defaulting to arrest or emergency detention.