Gov. Inslee Tells Kennewick He Wants More Mental Health Training for Police

While visiting with Kennewick officials Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee singled out Kennewick as having what he felt was a solid approach to mental health training for police, to help them deal with suspects who may have psychological issues. But he then said he wants the training to go from 8 hours, to 40.

Currently Kennewick officers complete an eight-hour course in mental health and crisis intervention training, but Inslee wants all departments across the state to up that to 40.

He plans to get something "moving" in that direction with the legislature in the next session. He told KEPR-TV news by adding more hours of training, it will reduce violence in our area.

Critics say while the increased training will be helpful, no amount of training will necessarily make a huge difference when a suspect is heavily under the influence of drugs such as meth or cocaine.  They say the training in Kennewick, which is considered one of the state leaders in this area, is enough.

Also the cost of this training would come into question, Inslee did not elaborate where the money would come from.