On the Feb. 25 episode of SoCal Update, the city and county of Los Angeles want to move away from using armed police to deal with certain incidents. KPCC Reporter Robert Garrova offers an update on these efforts.

There has been an increase in initiatives aiming for what is called “alternative crisis response” since the summer of 2020. The Los Angeles City Council passed a motion to help divert non-violent calls for mental health and substance abuse away from law enforcement. This week, city staff announced a plan to model a program on the Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets (CAHOOTS) program in Eugene, Oregon. This program, which is run out of a mental health clinic, deploys a team of a medic and a crisis worker in response to calls.

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Robert Garrova @robertgarrova
Juan Devis @JDevis