LAPD Seeks To Improve, Add Staff On Unarmed Response
The Los Angeles Police Department’s various unarmed response programs are able to handle just one-third of the mental-health calls the LAPD receives, and the department needs additional staffing to improve in that area, according to a report heard Tuesday at a meeting of the Police Commission. During the meeting, LAPD officials provided commissioners with an overview of the department’s unarmed response programs, which address an array of non-violent calls for service including mental- health crises, calls related to unhoused people, well-being checks, noise complaints and verbal disagreements. The report called for the city to hire more staff related to the department’s unarmed models. According to the report, the LAPD’s unarmed response teams handled 10,918 calls for service out of 31,923 mental health-related calls dispatched between January 2021 to July 31 2022. Between August 2022 and May 31 of this year, the LAPD’s unarmed response teams handled 5,173 calls for service out of 18,762 mental health related calls dispatched.
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