L.A. Has a 911 Problem. Can Karen Bass or Nithya Raman Fix It?

Los Angeles has no shortage of political promises about public safety. With L.A. voters preparing to choose their next mayor on November 3, much of the debate between Karen Bass and Nithya Raman has centered on policing and crime. There seems to be another pressing issue that affects Angelenos before a police officer ever arrives: How long does it take for someone to answer when you call 911? Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images According to an April 2025 City Council motion citing LAPD data, just 57.43% of emergency calls in 2024 were answered within 15 seconds, falling well short of the 90% benchmark. Non-emergency callers waited an average of 3 minutes and 40 seconds, with much longer waits during periods of heavy call volume. https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1924311644366401607?s=20 In one reported incident cited in the motion, a caller reportedly spent an hour on hold trying to report a burglary that had already occurred. The proble