LOS ANGELES (CNS) — In response to an increase of calls for service in the Sherman Oaks community, as well as along the Ventura Boulevard business corridor, Mayor Karen Bass Wednesday announced she will expand an alternative unarmed response program to address those issues in those areas.

What You Need To Know

  • The Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement (CIRCLE) program responds to calls involving homeless individuals, loitering, noise disturbances, substance abuse issues and indecent exposure, according to the Mayor Bass

  • LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore said the department is “pleased” to see the mayor expand the program into Sherman Oaks, as well as other parts of the city
  • CIRCLE is a 24/7 unarmed response program that deploys a team of mental health professionals and individuals to address non-violent Los Angeles Police Department calls related to homeless individuals experiencing a crisis
  • The program operates under the mayor’s Office of Community Safety, which was created by Bass to prevent crime and violence through community-based strategies that affect the social and economic conditions that drive community harm

The Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement (CIRCLE) program will be expanding into the Sherman Oaks community to help respond to calls involving homeless individuals, loitering, noise disturbances, substance abuse issues and indecent exposure, according to the mayor.

“CIRCLE is a proven program to help Angelenos and I am excited that it will be expanding into Sherman Oaks,” Bass said in a statement. “We have heard the calls of Sherman Oaks residents and businesses and now with the expansion of CIRCLE, there will be more options and strategies available to respond to calls about unhoused residents or residents needing care through effective community-based non-punitive safety strategies.”

According to the mayor’s office, CIRCLE is a 24/7 unarmed response program that deploys a team of mental health professionals and individuals with lived experience to address non-violent Los Angeles Police Department calls related to homeless individuals experiencing a crisis.

LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore said the department is “pleased” to see the mayor expand the program into Sherman Oaks, as well as other parts of the city.

“CIRCLE has proven to not only relieve police resources from calls for service involving many quality of life calls, but also provide an avenue to services, including being housed,” Moore said in a statement.

City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who represents the Fourth District, which includes the Sherman Oaks area, and who chairs the council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee, said that after seeing the success of the CIRCLE team in Hollywood, Los Feliz and several other neighborhoods, she and her colleagues “fought to bring this critical resource” to the south San Fernando Valley.

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She added, “With the expansion of the CIRCLE team, our city continues to champion effective unarmed response and proactive outreach.”

When the program began as a pilot in Jan. 2022, it served areas of Hollywood and Venice. Since then, CIRCLE has expanded and operates in Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, Venice and other areas of the San Fernando Valley.

The CIRCLE program operates under the mayor’s Office of Community Safety, which was created by Bass to prevent crime and violence through community-based strategies that affect the social and economic conditions that drive community harm.

The office supports non-punitive safety strategies, including civilian first responders, violence interruption, re-entry services, youth diversion programs and capacity-building programs for non-profit organizations that address community safety.

The CIRCLE program can be accessed by calling the non-emergency police line at 877-275-5273.