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LA approves $1 million for Office of Unarmed Response and Safety
PREV. COVERAGE: The LA City Council unanimously approved $1 million to fund and create the Office of Unarmed Response and Safety, which council members said is necessary to expand the 9-8-8 suicide and crisis hotline to include an unarmed crisis response.
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Wednesday the expansion of an alternative unarmed response program to address an increase in calls for service regarding loitering, noise disturbances, unhoused individuals, substance abuse issues and indecent exposure in the Sherman Oaks area.
The Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement (CIRCLE) program offers a 24/7 unarmed team of mental health professionals to address non-violent Los Angeles Police Department calls related to unhoused individuals experiencing a crisis.
"CIRCLE is a proven program to help Angelenos," said Bass in a statement, "With the expansion of CIRCLE, there will be more options and strategies available to respond to calls about unhoused residents or residents needing care through effective community-based non-punitive safety strategies."
LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore said the department is pleased to see the mayor expand the program to Sherman Oaks and other parts of the city.
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"CIRCLE has proven to not only relieve police resources from calls for service involving many quality of life calls, but also provides an avenue to services, including being housed," said Moore in a statement.
The program began in January 2022, serving only Hollywood and Venice. Since then, CIRCLE has expanded to downtown Los Angeles and South Los Angeles, as well as into other LA neighborhoods like Los Feliz, and areas of the San Fernando Valley.
CIRCLE operates under the mayor's office of community safety, which supports alternatives to armed responses to non-violent calls, such as civilian first responders, re-entry services, youth diversion programs and violence interruption.
The CIRCLE program can be accessed by calling the non-emergency police line at 877-275-5273.
City News Service contributed to this report.