LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass today announced that the Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement (CIRCLE) program is expanding service into the Sherman Oaks community, including the Ventura Boulevard business corridor, in order to help respond to calls involving unhoused individuals, loitering, noise disturbances, substance abuse issues and indecent exposure. 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 LAPD calls related to unhoused individuals experiencing crisis. Through this public health approach, the City is able to improve community safety and outcomes for Angelenos in need of social services and support.
CIRCLE operates in Hollywood, Downtown Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, Venice, and the San Fernando Valley. In the last fiscal year, CIRCLE expanded its original service areas and launched three additional service areas.
“CIRCLE is a proven program to help Angelenos and I am excited that it will be expanding into Sherman Oaks,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “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.”
“After seeing significant success of the CIRCLE Team in Hollywood, Los Feliz, and several other neighborhoods throughout the City, we fought to bring this critical resource to the South San Fernando Valley” said Councilmember Nithya Raman, Chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee. “With the expansion of the CIRCLE Team, our City continues to champion effective unarmed response and proactive outreach.”
“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,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore. “The Los Angeles Police Department is pleased to see Mayor Bass continuing the expansion of this program to Sherman Oaks and beyond.”
The Mayor’s CIRCLE program operates under the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety, which was created by Mayor Bass to prevent crime and violence through community-based strategies that impact 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. Through these measures, the Office works in partnership with the community to positively impact the lives of the people we serve to keep communities safe. To access the CIRCLE program, please call the non-emergency police line at (877) 275-5273.
Read more about the CIRCLE program here.