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Proposed bill calls for police psychiatric exams

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by Amanda Villa

Monday, October 15, 2007

A bill introduced into the state Legislature Wednesday would require all law enforcement officials to undergo psychological evaluations prior to being hired.

Rep. Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake; Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay; and Rep. Gary Bies, R-Sister Bay, proposed the bill in the wake of the Crandon incident last week when a new police officer opened fire on a group of people, shooting and killing six civilians.

Evaluation procedures have not been finalized, but will most likely consist of both a written and oral evaluation conducted by a licensed psychologist, according to Hraychuck. The legislation is currently in the proposal stage, she added, and final details have yet to be determined.

Hraychuck said she had been thinking about proposing this bill for some time prior to the Crandon shooting.

"I'm doing it not as a Monday morning quarterback thing about what happened in Crandon, but more so to assist law enforcement administrators and provide them with a risk management tool when they're doing hiring screening," Hraychuck said.

Both Hraychuck and Bies have worked in the field of law enforcement prior to becoming legislators.

"The department that I worked for did [screenings] since the 1980s," Bies said. "You should know as much about that person as possible before you employ them,"

Bies stressed the importance of evaluating the people who could be put behind a police car or allowed to carry firearms.

All the legislators who introduced the bill have agreed the psychological evaluations are not a sure way to prevent another tragedy like that in Crandon, but said it is a step toward making the public safer.

"It's just another tool. It increases the probability of incidents like these not to be happening, but it doesn't totally guarantee it won't happen," Bies said.

Funding for every department in the state can become another issue, but Hraychuck said if agencies don't have the funds necessary to perform such evaluations, either the state or the counties would provide funding.

"Our concern is that the smaller communities, with not a lot of money or not a lot of psychologists available haven't had the psychological testing that is necessary," Hansen said. "Psychological testing could save a life. If it gets too expensive for a rural community, the state should step up if it has to and make a difference — that's what it's all about."

Some larger cities in the state already hold psychological examinations, Hansen said.

Joel DeSpain, spokesperson for the Madison Police Department, said the MPD performs psychological examinations on all enforcement officials.

"We find that psychiatric evaluation prior to hiring a new officer is very important," DeSpain said.

Hansen said psychological testing could possibly save a life and, although it is not a guarantee, it could help in the prevention of violent attacks like that in Crandon.

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