Amidst the rising number of violent crimes in the LA area and the ongoing shortage of law enforcement personnel, a proposal to establish "Unarmed Response Teams" for nonviolent situations has been approved and is being implemented in certain areas. This pilot program will now expand to cover the LA Koreatown area.

The LAPD’s ‘Unarmed Response Teams’ will respond to nonviolent and non-emergency medical 911 calls. On the 20th, the LA City Council unanimously passed the expansion of this pilot program, which has been operating in three areas: Wilshire, Devonshire, and Southeast police divisions. The expansion includes the Olympic Division, which covers the Koreatown area, as well as the West Valley and West LA divisions.

The Olympic Division, now included in the expansion, covers most of LA's Koreatown and parts of nearby Arlington Heights. The purpose of the Unarmed Response Team is to prevent unnecessary excessive force by law enforcement and to more efficiently allocate police resources.

According to a report from the LA city government, the Unarmed Response Teams will primarily be deployed for situations involving substance abuse or addiction, disputes requiring mediation, public exposure incidents, and situations involving health or safety concerns that require verification. Their focus will be on handling mental health and social relationship issues.

However, cases involving weapons, threats of violence, emergency medical situations, minors in danger, gang-related incidents, or groups of three or more individuals will continue to be handled by armed police officers. The LA City Council previously passed a related ordinance, enabling the city to begin this pilot program by contracting with nonprofit organizations specializing in mental health and addiction issues. Wilshire Division has been working with ‘Exodus Recovery, Inc.’, Devonshire with the ‘Alcott Center’, and Southeast with ‘Penny Lane Centers’.

The recently passed expansion extends the contracts with these organizations by an additional year, through August 31, 2025, with increased compensation and an additional division assigned to each organization. The cost for the next year is estimated to be around $11.3 million. For Koreatown, Exodus Recovery, which already serves the Wilshire Division, will extend its services to the Olympic Division.

The LA city report explains that the Unarmed Response Teams do not carry any weapons and do not have the authority to detain individuals forcibly. When a 911 call is received, the dispatch center assesses the urgency of the situation, checks for the presence of weapons, threats of violence, medical emergencies, or minors involved, and then passes the call to the Unarmed Response Team. The team reviews the situation to determine if it meets the criteria and then notifies the local team, which must arrive on the scene within an hour. The individual can refuse the assistance of the Unarmed Response Team, in which case the team explains the purpose and benefits of the intervention and encourages voluntary participation.



<Hyungseok Han>