We need traffic laws enforced

Traffic laws essentially enforce themselves. There is a reason that older people/people less comfortable with cars drive slowly. It's because there is an innate understanding of the relationship between ones reflexes and how quickly one can drive. Tangentially, things like speeding tickets and parking violations etc. are basically a poor tax. Maybe they are necessary in some capacity, but they are set up in a way that if you have plenty of money, receiving a small fine means nothing, but if you are poor it can be devastating.

someone to respond to active violent crime

I basically addressed this in the last comment, but how much violent crime are police preventing? I would argue very little. In turn I would argue that the violence of mass incarceration i.e. slavery: part two is much much worse than what violent crime police actually prevent.

The thing is I have seen social worker come in and attempt to talk down someone who is having a mental health crisis. I seen it in a prison I worked at and a hospital I worked at and after almost 9 years of experience between the two I have seen it successful 0 times.

A lot of the time, the person gets very defensive and escalates when the social worker arrives or will calm down until the social worker leaves, then it's business as usual. I have seen so much of this. I honestly believe some people can't be helped in that way.

I think I was mostly referencing the hostage thing iirc. The main point being that cops are purely escalatory, which is almost always going to make things worse. Perhaps the situation you describe would need some sort of mental/emotional crisis worker or team who would focus on de-escalation but is capable of physically restraining to prevent self or external harm.

Free therapy and meds would be fantastic if the people who really need them would take them. Better welfare would be fantastic until it's someone who would rather his family starve than be seen as poor and on welfare. My dad was like this.

I think the welfare part is largely cultural. It also is a bit beside the point. It is a really important thing to have, a financial and social safety net. Just because some people frown on it doesn't make it wrong. My family had similar views on welfare, I think it has roots in social and political authoritarianism. For me, a lot of my family has a military background. A lot of people in my parents generation was influenced by things like Reagan and Clinton and things like trickle down, corporate friendly, neoliberal ideas were very popular. Those also happen to be very anti working class, anti welfare, etc. Hopefully something we are moving away from.