LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker introduced a motion today to evaluate the unarmed crisis response deployed by the City to better understand the effectiveness of these programs in the hopes of providing resources and services to those that need it most.
In response to June 2020’s civil unrest triggered by the murder of George Floyd, the City Council has worked in creating an unarmed crisis response to be formalized as a permanent fixture of alternatives to policing. However, in this effort, many of these programs are new and vary in service deployment throughout parts of the City.
“If we’re going to be serious about unarmed crisis response in LA, it’s ineffective to have different programs operating in silos with little oversight,” said Councilmember McOsker. “In our effort to unify our programs under an Office of Unarmed Crisis Response, we must work with the Controller to efficiently evaluate resource allocation so we can move our public safety responses into the 21st century.”
Currently, there are multiple unarmed crisis response programs operating throughout the city including the Crisis and Incident Response through Community-Led Engagement (CIRCLE) program, the LA County Department of Mental Health’s Therapeutic Vans, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Proactive Engagement (HOPE) Team, and others.
"Transparency is key to building public trust, and bringing the findings of this report to Council will allow for a deeper and nuanced conversation with my colleagues and the public about the unarmed crisis response," said Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who co-presented the motion. "Our new Controller, Kenneth Mejia, has been instrumental in shaping this assessment process. This foundational aspect is needed as we move closer to ensuring individuals suffering through a mental health crisis receive the care they need."
The motion was seconded by Councilmembers Curren Price, Heather Hutt, and John Lee. It will head to the Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee, of which Councilmember McOsker is Chair, and to the Public Safety Committee.
###