The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday agreed to make permanent its unarmed crisis-response pilot program, diverting emergency calls related to mental health crises away from the Los Angeles Police Department to specialized clinicians.
In a 12-0 vote, the council approved a motion introduced by members Eunisses Hernandez and Bob Blumenfield in January, directing city staff to establish a centralized dispatch system that aims to improve response to emergency calls by sending out appropriate teams.
Council members Heather Hutt, John Lee and Curren Price were absent during the vote.
In a separate but similar vote, the council also requested a report on consolidating all unarmed crisis response initiatives into a single, citywide program. The report is expected to detail potential impacts on service delivery, dispatch coordination, costs and long-term structure.
“The data is incontrovertible and unassailable,” Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said. “There was a stage at which this was an ideological struggle about armed enforcement versus an unarmed intervention. We’ve done the work now. When we show that the two can exist side-by-side, and when appropriate, either can show up.”
Hernandez emphasized that the models are about creating so-called care-first programs and alternatives to incarceration.
“We need a spectrum of care for varying levels of acuity, and by treating public health and public safety as interconnected,” she said. “Unarmed crisis response has proven its ability to connect Angelenos in distress with housing, mental health care and peer support in the face of a mounting budget crisis.”
The city launched its unarmed crisis-response pilot program in 2024, championed by Blumenfield and Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez. The council and Mayor Karen Bass later expanded the model, increasing the program to nearly $11.3 million in September 2024.
Residents call LAPD’s 911 dispatchers, who can then divert calls to a centralized center which plugs in one of three nonprofits who handle calls for service — Exodus Recovery Inc., Alcott Center and Penny Lane Centers. Those organizations have staff trained in de-escalation, conflict resolution, substance abuse, cultural competency and other areas of need, according to city officials.
When the program expanded, each service provider picked up an additional LAPD Division area, with Alcott covering the Wilshire and Olympic divisions, Penny Lane picking up Devonshire and West Valley, and Exodus covering the Southeast and West L.A. divisions.
The program is inspired by initiatives in smaller jurisdictions such as the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon.
In January, Hernandez and Blumenfield released a joint news release that described the program as a “resounding success.” Professionals responded to more than 17,000 calls for service with over 96% resolved without police involvement, according to city officials.
The council members said the pilot program is also a matter of fiscal responsibility. They say it costs taxpayers roughly $85 per hour to deploy LAPD officers, whereas the same response from a specialized unarmed crisis response team costs approximately $35 per hour.
Council members noted that deploying armed officers to nonviolent calls is a constant liability that can result in million-dollar settlements.
“Given that 35% of officer-involved shootings in 2023 involved individuals in a mental health crisis, this unarmed transition to a permanent care-first model is the only path forward that protects both the lives of Angelenos and taxpayers’ resources that could go towards other lifesaving resources,” according to Hernandez’s council office.
When the city launched the 24-hour pilot program, the Los Angeles Police Protective League Board of Directors — the union representing LAPD’s sworn officers with a rank of lieutenants and below — expressed support for the program.
A representative for the LAPPL did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
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 homeless individuals.
Unarmed personnel typically respond to calls for service that have a social services component, do not involve violence, and are related to well-being checks. These can include homelessness, individuals suffering from a mental and/or behavioral crisis, conflicts that could be resolved through mediation or other resolution strategies, and other low-acuity or non-criminal matters, officials said.
The LAPD has a specialized team, called the Mental Evaluation Unit, which deploys officers and a mental health professional as well.