Los Angeles committee reviews first year of unarmed crisis response pilot as advocates push for dedicated funding

Los Angeles City Council’s ad hoc committee on unarmed crisis prevention, intervention and community services met March 28 to review a City Administrative Officer (CAO) report on the Unarmed Mobile Crisis Response pilot and hear public comment urging continued, dedicated funding.

The pilot has diverted 7,191 calls from the Los Angeles Police Department’s communications division in its first year of operation, the CAO’s office reported. The program now averages about 28 minutes to respond and about 25 minutes on scene; staff said only about 4 percent of diverted calls were later redirected to LAPD. Contractors operating UMCR teams include Exodus Recovery, Penny Lane and the Alcott Center, which deploy two-person teams that typically include a clinician or peer support specialist and other outreach staff.

Committee co-chair Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and co-chair Councilmember Kendall Hernandez framed the meeting as a step toward scaling unarmed alternatives to armed police response. ‘‘When someone is in crisis, they deserve to be met with care,’’ Hernandez said during opening remarks, noting earlier city data that the model had already diverted thousands of calls and resolved the large majority without police intervention.

Why it matters: CAO staff emphasized two potential benefits — public-safety outcomes for people in crisis and fiscal savings. The office’s cost analysis estimated an average UMCR response costs the city about $35, compared with an estimated…