Yeah, the non-emergency number seems to be a placebo to me - I've never heard of anyone getting any results by ringing it. I'm sure things were better when one used to be able to ring the local station direct.
My experience doesn’t seem to mirror everyone’s though in LA, so it may have just been the Wilshire division was all over it.
The current one has even had the temerity lately to outright deny that their public sector cuts, which include policing, are in any way related to the obvious rise in low-level crime and disorder here.
They don’t promise anything but ultimately a patrol car wanders by about 30-60 minutes later and quite often they park up and “investigate”.
This usually results in very much quieter parties for the duration of their tenancy.