Here is some background on the city’s unarmed response programs, which have expanded to the Eastside .

How many calls?

About 15,000 police calls throughout Los Angeles get diverted to the CIRCLE team each year, according to Karren Lane, Deputy Mayor of Community Safety.

Some calls come through 911 or a police non-emergency number, where operators sort out whether a situation involves a non-violent, unarmed person who is perhaps homeless. But many calls are referred by officers in the field, Lane said.

Who gets hired?

It is not unusual for unarmed response members to have experienced homelessness.

“Most of the employees that we get have come from some recovery journey, or they themselves have been homeless or they’re formerly incarcerated,” said Tim Kornegay, the Los Angeles Op

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