Virginia House of Delegates advances MARCUS alert bill

All states should be doing this! As police departments are "defunded", money saved can be shifted to programs like this.


Virginia House of Delegates advances MARCUS alert bill

The House of Delegates approved a bill Thursday that would create teams of mental health service providers and peer recovery specialists to accompany police officers responding to individual crises. House Bill 5043, introduced by Del. Jeffrey Bourne, D-Richmond, was approved by a vote of 57-39. The legislation needs passage from the state Senate and a signature from Gov. Ralph Northam to become law. “This was brought about by a tragedy,” Bourne said. Dubbed the mental health awareness response and community understanding services (MARCUS) alert system, Bourne’s proposal references the death of a Black man who was shot and killed during ...

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https://richmond.com/news/virginia/...cle_a6629585-8bac-5bfb-a28a-c915fe480132.html