Policy Analysis

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Analysis of Texas Senate Bill 1849 — Sandra Bland Act

Department of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington

SOCW 5303: Social Welfare Policy and Services

Assistant Professor in Practice Karen Magruder

May 5, 2020

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Analysis of Texas Senate Bill 1849 — Sandra Bland Act

The Sandra Bland Act was inspired by the tragic death by suicide of Sandra Bland, a 28-

year-old black woman, who was found hanging in her Waller County jail cell three days after her

arrest. Bland was arrested by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper after he pulled her

over for failing to use her turn signal. The situation escalated to a point that resulted in Bland

being “arrested on suspicion of assaulting a public servant” (DeGrave, 2017). The case drew

national headlines due to controversy relating to the use of police force against African

Americans. The case also brought awareness of needed changes in the criminal justice system

regarding the mentally ill (Cervantes, 2017). Sandra Bland had disclosed on the jail screening

form that she had previously attempted suicide and that she suffered from depression. Yet the

Waller County Jail failed to place Bland on suicide watch (Montgomery, 2019).

Texas Senate Bill 1849, known as The Sandra Bland Act, was signed into law by Texas

Governor Greg Abbott on June 15, 2017. Among the important provisions for the mentally ill,

the act requires expedient notification of magistrates if the person incarcerated is suspected of or

has a known mental illness, 24 hour inmate access to mental health services, establishment of a

prisoner safety fund, continued access to prescription medication, and law enforcement and jail

mental health training (NAMI Texas, 2017).

Policy Overview – The Sandra Bland Act

In Article 1, the Texas legislature officially named Senate Bill 1849 The Sandra Bland Act,

in memory of Sandra Bland. The act is described as follows:

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An act relating to the interactions between law enforcement and individuals detained or

arrested on suspicion of the commission of criminal offenses, to the confinement,

conviction, or release of those individuals, and to grants supporting populations that are

more likely to interact frequently with law enforcement (Sandra Bland Act, 2017).

Early Identification of Mental Illness or Intellectual Disability

The Sandra Bland Act mandates that law enforcement notify magistrates within 12 hours

or receiving credible information that a person in custody may have a mental illness or

intellectual disability. The new 12-hour timeline is a significant reduction from the previously

72-hour allowed time for notification (Sandra Bland Act, 2017).

Diversion to Treatment

If a person in custody is suffering from a mental health crisis or from the effects of

substance abuse, law enforcement is required to make a good faith effort to divert the person to a

treatment system contingent on the following: 1) a treatment center is available within the

jurisdiction, 2) it is considered reasonable, 3) the person’s offense is a non-violent misdemeanor,

and 4) the mental health or substance abuse issue is the suspected reason for the offense.

Diversion to treatment is not required when the individual is accused of intoxication

while driving, flying, boating, or operating amusement rides; nor does it apply when the person

is accused of assault or manslaughter while intoxicated (Sandra Bland Act, 2017).

Establishment and Expansion of Community Collaboratives – Section 2.03

The Sandra Bland Act (2017) requires the Department of State Health Services to make

grants available for certain entities to expand or establish collaboratives to provide services for

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the mentally ill, those with substance abuse issues, and for the homeless. The entities include

local government agencies, non-profit, and faith-based community organizations.

Release on Personal Bond

Defendants should be released on personal bond in if the person is not currently or

previously charged with a violent offense. Defendants should also be released if examined by

the local mental health authority or other mental health expert and is determined to have a mental

illness of intellectual disability, providing that the defendant enter outpatient or inpatient

treatment (Sandra Bland Act, 2017).

Jail Standards for Prisoner Safety

In efforts to ensure prisoner safety, the Sandra Bland Act (2017) requires the Commission

on Jail Standards to adopt rules and procedures which will require county jails to give prisoners

24-hour access to a health or mental health professional via telehealth or telepsychiatric health

services. Additionally, jails are required to install automated sensors or cameras “to ensure

accurate and timely in-person check of cells or groups of cells confining at-risk individuals”

Whitmire, 2017). However, installation of cameras and sensors is not a requirement if funding is

not available.

Implementation of minimal standards relating to the continuance of prescription

medications for inmates is required. This provision requires a qualified medical professional to

review prescriptions a prisoner is taking “as soon as possible” after intake of the prisoner

(Whitmire, 2017).

A prisoner safety fund should be created and only appropriated to the Commission on Jail

Standards for capital improvements that are required by the rules and procedures adopted for

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prisoner safety. The commission may establish a grant program but may only provide grants for

capital improvements to counties with jails of 96 prisoner capacity or less (Sandra Bland Act,

2017).

Serious Incidents Report and Independent Investigations of Deaths in County Jails

Each county jail sheriff is required to submit a monthly report regarding serious incidents

including: a suicide, a suicide attempt, a death, serious bodily injury, an assault, a sexual assault,

an escape, and any injuries that are a result of use of force. Should a prisoner die in a county jail,

the commission is required to appoint a law enforcement agency to investigate the death of the

prisoner. The agency must be outside of the agency that operates the jail in which the death

occurred (Sandra Bland Act, 2017).

Peace Officer and County Jailer Training

The Sandra Bland Act (2017) requires a 40-hour statewide training program for law

enforcement officers. The training program includes de-escalation and intervention techniques

for officers to utilize when interacting with the mentally ill, as well as preventive techniques to

lessen the use of force that results in bodily injury. County jailers are also required to complete a

minimum of eight hours of mental health training (Whitmire, 2017).

The Problem that Initiated the Sandra Bland Act

A central problem that the Sandra Bland Act sought to address is the issue of too many

people being taken into custody who suffer from mental illness or substance abuse. The

American Psychological Association (2019) reports the following:

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About 37 percent of people in prison have a history of mental health problems, according

to a 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Justice. More than 24 percent have been

previously diagnosed with major depressive order, 17 percent with bipolar disorder, 13

percent with a personality disorder and 12 percent with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The numbers are even higher for people in jail, where one-third have been previously

diagnosed with major depressive disorder and almost one-quarter with bipolar disorder

(Stringer, 2019).

Rather than sitting in jail cells without proper treatment, people with mental illness or substance

abuse issues would be better served if diverted into an appropriate treatment program or facility.

Goals of the Sandra Bland Act

The Sandra Bland Act (2017) was created, in part, to circumvent unnecessary jailing —

particularly the jailing of those with mental health or substance abuse issues. The act sought to

protect the rights and safety of those suffering from mental illness who have been incarcerated

with better screening at intake, and as a result, potentially avoiding suicides like in the case of

Sandra Bland. The bill attempted to increase the use of personal bonds, prevent arrests for

misdemeanor offenses, divert the mentally ill, disabled, and substance abusers from jail to

treatment centers, to implement new safety measures for prisoners, and to increase training of

law enforcement officers and jailers.

Alternatives

While the bill seeks to prevent the incarceration of the mentally ill, it lacks the original

provisions introduced in the initial bill: to prevent arrests that could be handled by a fine. An

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amendment to the bill could be added that mandates law enforcement to provide additional

documentation to justify traffic stops that end in arrests.

Implementation of the Sandra Bland Act

As of January 1, 2018, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) adopted rules and

procedures for Continuity of Medication and for the independent investigations of deaths that

happen in county jails (Whitmire, 2017). TCJS also created the Serious Incident Form as

mandated by the act which is to be completed by the 5th of every month regarding incidents from

the previous month. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) and TCJS

commenced mental health training as part of licensing for jailers, requiring Course 4900 Mental

Health for Jailers to be completed as part of the program. However, they have until August 31,

2021 to complete their mental health training. In addition, as of April 1, 2018, all law

enforcement officers are required to take the expanded 40-hour course as a part of the Crisis

Intervention Training (CIT) in order to fulfill licensing requirements. The 40-hour course was

expanded by the TCOLE. On August 31, 2018, Healthy Community Collaboratives completed

contract negotiations and the grantees began to deliver services. In September 2018, TCJS

adopted rules and procedures for the requirement that prisoners have 24-hour access to

telepsychiatric and telehealth services, and compliance by county jails is required by September

1, 2020. Additionally, compliance by counties for the rules regarding electronic sensors or

cameras is required by September 1, 2020 (Texas Association of Counties, 2018).

Policy Efficacy

Despite the attempt of the Sandra Bland Act to identify and divert the mentally ill to

treatment, suicides in Texas jails increased by 30% in 2019, up from 17 in 2018 to 22 suicide

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deaths in 2019 up through the month of November according to the Associated Press. The major

problem is that Texas jails are understaffed and the law, which went into effect in 2017, did not

include a provision to require additional jailers, nor did it grant any funds to hire additional

guards. Texas only requires one jailer per 48 inmates in a single-story jail, and one jailer per 10

or more prisoners in jail buildings with more than one story, leaving at-risk inmates vulnerable

due to lack of supervision (Aljas & Little, 2019).

Another problem is the vague language in the law under Section 2.02 regarding

diversion to treatment in which it states that law enforcement agencies “shall make a good faith

effort” to divert a person in custody who is suspected to have mental illness or suffering the

effects of substance abuse if “it is reasonable to divert the person” (Sandra Bland Act, 2017).

What constitutes a “good faith effort” and whether diverting a person is “reasonable” leaves

much room for interpretation.

Also vague and subjective is the requirement for continuity of medications under Section

3.06. Under this provision, “a qualified medical professional shall review ‘as soon as possible’

any prescription medication a prisoner is taking” when they are taken into custody. The margin

for error is great for wording that only indicates she medication should be reviewed “as soon as

possible” (Sandra Bland Act, 2017). Without timely administration of medications, withdrawal

and recurrence of symptoms can happen very quickly for people suffering from such mental

illnesses as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Withdrawal and the return of symptoms can be a

matter of life and death, including suicide, for those with serious mental illness.

Lastly, under Section 4.08, the eight hours of mental health training mandated by the law

for county jailers is not required to be completed until August 31, 2021 (Sandra Bland Act,

2017). The delayed date to fulfill the requirement, and the minimum of only 8 hours, does not

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indicate any sense of expediency or priority to properly train jailers for their interactions with

mentally ill inmates.

Conclusion

The Sandra Bland Act was enacted in response to the suicide of a 28-year-old African

American woman taken into custody at a Texas county jail. The law was meant to increase law

enforcement accountability and training; decrease the number of inmates taken into custody who

suffer from mental illness, disability, or the effects of substance abuse; and to provide inmates

with health and mental health care access. Although the law was signed by Texas Governor Greg

Abbott in 2017, the slow timeline of implementation and the continued understaffing of county

jails has thus far rendered the law ineffective in decreasing the number of completed suicides in

county jails. Once all provisions of the law are implemented, the efficacy of the law should be

reevaluated.

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References

Aljas, R., & Little, R. (2019, December 21). Ambitious Texas law fails to make dent in jailhouse suicides. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/7b813430797b2c0361fa86d34c8cb71d

Cervantes, B. (2017, May 20). Sandra Bland Act approved by Texas House 139-0 Waller County suicide sparks changes in jails' mental health care. Houston Chronicle. https://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/Sandra-Bland-case- triggers-mental-health-11161420.php

DeGrave, S. (2017, May 12). Sandra Bland Act Passes Senate Unanimously After Key Provisions Dropped. Texas Tribune. https://www.texasobserver.org/sandra-bland-act- passes-senate-unanimously-key-provisions-dropped/

Montgomery, D. (2019, May 8). The death of Sandra Bland: is there anything left to investigate? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/08/us/sandra-bland- texas-death.html

NAMI Texas. (2017, November 4). Texas mental health policy impact in focus: the 85th legislative session and beyond [PDF File]. NAMI Texas - A family-based, grassroots support and advocacy organization. https://namitexas.org/wp- content/uploads/sites/12/2014/10/2017-legislative-session-mental-health-policy- highlights.pdf

Sandra Bland Act, S.B. 1849, 85(R), 2017. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/85R/billtext/pdf/SB01849F.pdf#navpanes=0

Stringer, H. (2019). Improving mental health for inmates (Vol. 50, No. 3). American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/03/mental-heath-inmates

Texas Association of Counties. (2018). SB 1849 “Sandra Bland Act” implementation timeline. https://www.county.org/News/County-Issues/2018/November/SB-1849-Sandra- Bland-Act

Whitmore, J. (2017). Bill Analysis [PDF file]. Texas Legislature. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/85R/analysis/pdf/SB01849F.pdf#navpanes= 0