Abstract: Recognizing the Need for Social Workers: Los Angeles Residents' Perceptions of Public Safety in Their Neighborhoods (Society for Social Work and Research 29th Annual Conference)

Schedule:

Friday, January 17, 2025

Columbia, Level 4 (Sheraton Grand Seattle)

* noted as presenting author

Sawyer Hogenkamp, MEd, Doctoral Student, University of California, Los Angeles, CA

Michael Stoll, PhD, Professor of Public Policy and Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Chinyere Nwonye, MPP, Policy Analyst, University of California, Los Angeles, CA

Background

Recent media coverage on violence perpetrated by people in mental health crisis, and deadly responses to those crises, have contributed to people feeling skeptical of law enforcement to respond without deadly intervention, and feeling unsafe. In Los Angeles, high rates of unhoused people and public distrust in law enforcement remain, however the city of LA has embarked on a number of recent initiatives to address the unhoused and community safety, prompting an evaluation on LA residents’ perceptions of neighborhood safety and what would make them feel safer. The purpose of this inquiry is to evaluate the extent LA residents perceive mental health supports as a priority to improve safety in their communities.

Methods

In Q1 2024, a representative sample of 5000 LA residents completed a survey measuring perceptions of safety, unhoused people, and police in their neighborhoods. Researchers sorted residents by region of similar racial demographic to capture differences in distinct locales. Descriptive statistics by demographics were used. In addition, 15 listening sessions were completed simultaneously; residents were asked to rate what made them feel safe/unsafe at home, in their neighborhood, and in the city at large, in addition to what would make them feel safer. Qualitative data were analyzed using an inductive, thematic approach.

Findings

Survey findings found that the biggest safety issues concerned burglaries and homeless encampments. More residents suggested the city should prioritize expanded mental health services, mental health professionals to respond to individuals in crisis, increased support for homeless/displaced people, and more affordable housing to enhance safety. More residents suggest police should have increased presence in communities, reduced racial/ethnic disparities in enforcement, and improved community-police relationships. Differences between regions, race, gender, and age are discussed.

Listening sessions yielded many themes around more community-connected responses to people in crisis, particularly around concerns of housing insecurity (e.g. “the fear of homelessness and food insecurity is so front and center for quite a large amount of us”), and unpredictability of unhoused with mental illness and substance abuse. Residents frequently cited limitations of police responses to these situations (e.g. Even if I see someone with a mental health issue, I think twice about calling the police... I want it to come from a caring place and protecting the person, too.”). Residents suggested expanded mental health and substance abuse supports, striving to cultivate “real” neighborhoods with cohesive programming, especially for youth, to enhance feelings of safety.

Implications

Findings triangulated a strong demand from LA residents to have more community-based social supports to enhance safety. Social workers are very likely to be included to meet this growing need, such as in mobile crisis intervention teams (MCITs), so social workers will require more training and support to serve in these roles. Findings also support the need for ongoing spending on mental health services to address community safety concerns. Social workers can play a critical role in addressing community safety, and the public at large are recognizing the importance of their role in fostering safer, healthier neighborhoods.