More than 300 calls for service related to mental health crises have been diverted from LAPD officers to specialized clinicians and other non-law enforcement personnel as part of a new unarmed response pilot program, city officials announced Wednesday.
The LAPD has a Mental Evaluation Unit -- often deployed alongside officers -- when responding to mental health-related calls for service, but the councilwoman said that system is "far oversubscribed." She added that LAPD is not always able to "respond in a comprehensive manner that requires the level of support and sustained contact and outreach that many of these calls require.
The city has several unarmed response programs, such as Mayor Karen Bass' CIRCLE Program, which is also a 24/7 service that deploys trained teams to address non-urgent LAPD calls. The difference is that CIRCLE teams respond to calls related to unhoused individuals. "We are in the process of recalibrating all of our responses, including LAPD and the L.A. Fire Department, to make sure that people are getting the response that they need," Rodriguez said. "This is about right- sizing the calls and making sure that we're giving people the resources and the response that they need."
The three non-profit organizations have been trained in matters of de- escalation, conflict resolution, substance abuse, cultural competency, and other areas of need, according to the city. Rodriguez said the city secured $9 million during the 2023-24 budgeting process to implement the program, also in due part to Blumenfield, who chairs the council's Budget, Finance and Innovation Committee.