Los Angeles is gearing up to supercharge its Unarmed Model of Crisis Response, the clinician-led teams that handle certain 911 calls without police, by expanding coverage and adding new crews. Fresh city budget dollars approved this spring are designed to push the program beyond its current footprint and bring additional units online by June 2027.
How UMCR has performed so far
According to a report from the Office of the City Administrative Officer, UMCR teams have answered nearly 20,000 calls since the pilot launched in March 2024 and typically arrive in about half an hour. The CAO brief records 19,827 calls through Feb. 17, 2026, and notes that only about 3.8% of incidents required redirection to LAPD, meaning clinicians and outreach workers resolved the overwhelming majority without law enforcement involvement.
Budget gives expansion a green light
The recently approved city budget sets aside funding to grow UMCR’s reach, as reported by LAist. The money is intended to move the program from coverage in nine police divisions to 15. Advocates told LAist the expansion is “one more step toward taking the program citywide by the 2028 Olympics.”
Who runs the teams and where they'll go
UMCR operates through city contracts with three nonprofit providers: Exodus Recovery, the Alcott Center and Penny Lane Centers. The CAO report says each organization will take on responsibility for one additional LAPD area under the expansion plan. The update names North Hollywood, Rampart and Topanga as the immediate additions, which would lift UMCR coverage to nine of the department’s 21 areas and reach roughly 44% of the city’s population.
Fire department pilot and practical limits
Fire officials have started testing their own diversions to UMCR. At a recent budget hearing, department leaders said LAFD diverted 144 calls to the program in March, according to LAist. Advocates and organizers, including the LA Forward Institute, caution that vendor capacity, clinician recruitment and stable funding will ultimately determine how fast the city can scale the model and keep it running reliably 24/7.
What's next
Next up at City Hall: motions and committee work aimed at prequalifying vendors, hammering out staffing plans and building a more coordinated crisis dispatch system that avoids fragmented call routing. The City Council moved last winter to adopt UMCR as an ongoing program and directed city staff to report back on centralized dispatch and other implementation steps, a package of actions recorded in official council documents.
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