Dementia Training for Police Proposed

Summary#

The Alzheimer’s Law Enforcement Education Act of 2025 is a proposed new law; it does not amend an existing Act. Its stated goal is to provide training about Alzheimer’s disease and similar forms of dementia. If enacted, it would require the Director of the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to establish an online course within one year, in consultation with officials from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

  • The course must cover interacting and communicating with people with these conditions, recognizing symptoms and characteristics, alternatives to physical restraints, and signs of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
  • The Director must recommend that applicable state departments and agencies count course participation toward required instruction hours for law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and correctional probation officers.
  • The bill does not require officers to take the course or require states to count it toward required hours.
  • The bill has been introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee. It is not law, and passage is uncertain.

What it means for you#

  • Law enforcement and corrections officers: The bill would make an online course available, but would not require you to take it.
  • State departments and agencies: The Director must recommend that you count course participation toward required instruction hours for appointment or continued employment. The bill would not require you to accept that recommendation.
  • People with Alzheimer’s disease or similar dementia, and their families: The course must include instruction on communication, restraint alternatives, and recognizing abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The bill does not require officers to complete the training or set rules for how they interact with individuals.
  • Taxpayers: A federal office would have to establish the course, but the bill does not state how much it would cost.

Money#

No cost estimate is available in the supplied material.

  • The bill assigns the course-development duty to an existing Justice Department office and requires consultation with HHS and CMS officials, but gives no staffing or funding amount.
  • It does not create a fee, fine, benefit, or dedicated fund.

What is unclear#

  • The bill does not define “similar forms of dementia.”
  • It does not specify the course’s length, format beyond being online, accessibility features, or how often it must be updated.
  • It does not set a deadline for state departments to consider the Director’s recommendation or say how they should respond.
  • The supplied material does not describe current state training-hour requirements or whether any states already offer similar training.

Case for#

  • The course could give officers access to training on communication and alternatives to physical restraints when interacting with people with dementia.
  • Covering signs of abuse, neglect, and exploitation could help officers recognize situations that may need attention.
  • Making the course online could make it available to officers in different locations.
  • The recommendation about training hours could make participation easier for states to recognize as part of required instruction.

Case against#

  • The bill does not require officers to take the course, and states do not have to count it toward required hours; its reach could therefore depend on voluntary decisions.
  • The bill does not set standards for course length, quality, or updates, leaving important details open.
  • The bill assigns work to federal offices without specifying funding or staffing, so the resources needed are unclear.