Arizona law enforcement and other agencies may create wellness and crisis response programs for their employees, and what is said or recorded in these programs is kept confidential except in certain situations, such as a clear danger, a criminal investigation or a waiver.
Official title: public safety employees; counseling; wellness
- September 12, 2026
What changes
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NowA law enforcement agency (city police, county sheriff, other publicly funded police department or the Department of Public Safety) may set up a wellness program for its employees. The program may include licensed counseling, crisis response services, job training, equipment and technology, and other support.
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NowIf a law enforcement agency creates a wellness program, it must write policies and procedures for it.
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NowWellness program records, proceedings, opinions and recommendations are confidential and privileged, except when the employee waives confidentiality, the employee brings a claim against the agency about the program, there is a clear and present danger to anyone, it happens during a criminal investigation, the employee breaks agency policy in a way that is also a crime normally enforced by police, or the employee voluntarily testifies.
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NowAn agency in Arizona may set up a crisis response services program for public safety employees who went through a traumatic event or emotional experience on the job. What is said in a session may not be shared with anyone who was not present, except for similar listed reasons.
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NowIn disciplinary, civil or criminal proceedings, the employee holds a privilege over crisis response communications that gets the same protection as attorney-client privilege, unless an exception applies. Agencies may still use anonymous data for research, and employees or officers may share what they observed or learned outside these communications.
Who it affects
- Law enforcement officers
- Civilian employees of law enforcement agencies
- Public safety employees
- Peer support and critical incident stress management team members
- City police departments, county sheriff's offices, other publicly funded law enforcement departments and the Department of Public Safety
- Other state agencies that create crisis response programs
What you need to do
Nothing.
What the law doesn't answer
- How these programs will be paid for
- What "crisis response services" includes, since the definition points to another statute not shown
- Who counts as a "public safety employee" or which "agency" may create a crisis response program
- Any penalty for wrongly disclosing confidential information
- What the required written policies must contain
- Whether any agency must create either program, since both are optional
This summary describes the law as enacted. Later laws, court rulings or referendum petitions can change the picture. Check the official text for the current wording.