Boston, MA — According to a release, a new public safety bill known as Flanagan’s Law has been filed to help protect communities and prevent violent incidents involving individuals with severe mental illness and long criminal histories from falling through the cracks.
The legislation was drafted after Will Flanagan, former Mayor of Fall River and local business owner, who was allegedly brutally attacked and stabbed by a violent, mentally ill individual with an extensive criminal record. The incident exposed serious gaps in how state agencies share information about dangerous individuals who pose a clear risk to the public.
Flanagan’s Law would create a secure, centralized information system allowing law enforcement, courts, probation, parole, and mental health professionals to better coordinate care, supervision, and intervention for individuals who have demonstrated violent behavior linked to severe mental illness…