The LAPD isn’t going to waste their time responding to minor matters for much longer. On March 1, union officials for the Los Angeles Police Department announced new proposals. Under a new arrangement, all the “non-violent and non-emergency calls” will soon be someone else’s problem.
LAPD seeks to limit scope
The union representing officers of the LAPD say it’s time to stop wasting precious resources by sending cops to car crashes and similar non-violent situations. They unveiled a set of new proposals laying it all out on Wednesday. The union identified “more than two dozen types of 911 calls where other city agencies or nonprofit organizations” should be sent first.
They probably won’t have any problem getting it approved because that’s what all the liberal Democrats calling for the police to be “defunded” have been whining for all along.
Calls to be diverted away from the LAPD have a wide range, Fox News reports.
LAPD, responding community pressure, is finally admitting that we do NOT need cops responding to mental health crises, “panhandling,” welfare checks & more. We agree. And while we’re removing duties, we should also remove funding. #DefundLAPD https://t.co/ayURsdPkyZ
— #BlackLivesMatter-LA (@BLMLA) March 1, 2023
“From mental health situations, quality-of-life and homeless issues, problems at schools and welfare checks, to certain non-fatal traffic collisions, parking violations, trash dumping, loud parties, public intoxication and panhandling.”
The specific language of the proposal notes “officers would respond only if the situation becomes violent or is criminal in nature, but only after the initial call goes to another agency or an affiliated nonprofit.”
Ever since George Floyd, liberals have been howling “for reforming police departments nationwide, including how officers handle mental health and other calls that don’t include violence or criminality.” The LAPD is stretched thinner than cheap paint, so decided to give them what they want.
The union that represents LAPD officers want to stop cops from responding to non-emergency calls.
“Police officers are sent to too many calls that are better suited for unarmed service providers.” https://t.co/NuO90umeML
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) March 1, 2023
Cops tend to shoot people
Liberal activists have been screaming incessantly for LAPD to “stop responding to certain mental health calls, minor traffic collisions and encounters in homeless encampments, pointing to times when officers have fatally shot people during the response.”
Cops on the beat are more than happy to let paraprofessionals go up against the trickiest of those problems. It will be interesting to see how long it takes social workers start becoming an endangered species.
The timing matches up with contract negotiations between the city and LAPD. “The City Council and the mayor’s office will be involved in the final decision about the proposal.”
As the #LAPD grapples with understaffing and slow emergency response times, the city’s police union submitted a list to the #LosAngeles City Council of 28 non-emergency calls that it believes should be diverted to unarmed responders. https://t.co/kqFR83p9BM
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) March 3, 2023
Everyone expects it to grease right through. According to the union, “with decreased staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, its proposal would free up officers to respond to more important calls.” Hopefully, they’ll be able to put a dent in violent crime this way.
Also, an LAPD union spokesperson adds, it will “allow cops to engage in more community policing to build better relationships with the city’s residents.” Zachardy Seidl from the office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass notes that “taken as a whole, this proposal would compromise public safety.” On the other hand, “we welcome discussion of proposals that would make our neighborhoods safer.”
Mayor Bass is “engaging with city departments, community leaders and residents to finalize her strategy to reduce crime, enhance the city’s ability to respond to crises of mental health and homelessness, and improve trust between LAPD and the community.“
