Happy New Year from the men and women of the Los Angeles Police
Department. The following is the monthly update for January 2004. We
hope you find the information useful. You are encouraged to continue to
visit our Web site at www.lapdonline.org as it has grown to over 10,000
pages since its inception in 1998.
CHIEF’S MESSAGE
As we begin a new year, the men and women of the Los Angeles Police
Department, have cause to celebrate. Largely because of their efforts
over the past year, the Department has been able to significantly reduce
crime in the City of Los Angeles. We have met and exceeded our goals of
reducing homicides by 20 percent and overall violent crime by five
percent. Once again, the members of this Department have proven that,
even with limited resources, they can get the job done.
But the job is far from over. We are not where we want to be, or where we
need to be. One reality that must be faced is that of the current budget
situation. Despite the fact that I fought for more resources, the
Department will not be adding any more sworn or civilians to the ranks in
the next fiscal year. In fact, it could be several years before any
substantially increase occurs for our police force. Even so, I don’t want
to lose our current crime reduction momentum. So I have decided to
reassign some of the Department’s top managers to new positions with added
responsibilities. This functional realignment will allow the top brass
more time to focus and build on the crime reductions that our officers
have all worked so hard to achieve.
In my desire to broaden my Chief Officers’ comprehensive experiences in
the Department, I have made Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell my second in
command as First Assistant Chief. He will now be responsible for all
Department personnel-related matters, including training and risk
management activities as Chief of the Office of Human Resources. In this
position, Chief McDonnell will utilize his exceptional personnel skills
while facing new challenges as he implements the critical new training
curriculum mandated by the Consent Decree. Additionally, as one familiar
with the political and social nuances of this City, Chief McDonnell will
assist me in seeking additional public and financial support for more
personnel and resources in the future in order to support our officer’s
efforts on the streets.
Moving from his current position of Chief of Support Services, Assistant
Chief George Gascón will head up the Office of Operations. Chief Gascón’s
new responsibility will be to reorganize and refocus the resources
available to continue to make the streets even safer and respond more
quickly to 9-1-1 calls.
As Chief of the Office of Support Services, Assistant Chief Sharon Papa
will continue to manage the Department's budget and facilities. Included
in her responsibilities will be overseeing the design and construction of
the new downtown police headquarters. Chief Papa will also be tasked with
the important responsibility of improving the Department’s technology and
communications systems. I see Chief Papa’s role as critical to the
success of the Department as more must be done with less. As I refocus my
efforts and try to obtain more funding for technology, Chief Papa will be
responsible for implementing the latest advances that will help Department
employees to get out from under mountains of paperwork. That will free up
officers and supervisors so they can spend more time in the field
expanding on our crime prevention efforts.
Under this functional realignment, Deputy Chief Mike Berkow of the
Professional Standards Bureau will take on added responsibilities as my
Chief of Staff. Also added to his command are the Public Information
Office, Community Relations Section, Governmental Liaison Section, and the
Critical Incident Investigation Division that investigates all Use of
Force incidents.
This was done to free up more of my time. Chief McDonnell and I will be
reaching out to political and community leaders and the people of this
City. We will tell them the story of the Department’s successes and we
will focus our efforts on convincing them of the need to support a
permanent source of funding for public safety.
The Department’s Counter Terrorism Bureau, headed by Police Administrator
John Miller, will undergo a name change. The Critical Incident Management
Bureau is reflective of increased responsibilities that include
surveillance functions, as well as bomb and hazardous materials threats.
The Special Investigation Section will be transferred from the Detective
Bureau and assimilated into the Critical Investigation Section of the
Critical Incident Management Bureau.
Moving on to another subject, I want to comment on the Officer Assessment
Survey. We had diverse representation across the board. More than 2,200
officer surveys were submitted. Although many of the responses validated
that the management of the Department is on the right course, other
responses illustrated that the Command staff needs to improve its
relationship with the rank and file.
In their responses to the survey, what was most encouraging for me as
their Chief was the officers’ desire to get the job done. Ninety-four
percent of respondents indicated that they wanted to find and apprehend
criminals, with 91 percent wanting to reduce crime, fear and disorder.
Noting organizational deficiencies, 70 percent of respondents agreed that
the paperwork requirements deter officers from making arrests, and 92
percent of respondents felt that field supervisors spent more time on
paperwork than supervising patrol officers. I was impressed with the fact
that 84 percent of respondents are confident that I, as their Chief, am
leading them in the right direction, that 83 percent of respondents are
willing to do whatever it takes to make the LAPD successful, and that if
they had the chance to do it all over again, 83 percent of respondents
would choose to be LAPD officers. Asked about job satisfaction, 73
percent felt more satisfied with their jobs now than they did just one
year ago. A similar survey is being designed for civilian employees and
will be distributed in the new year.
One of the pressing issues brought to light by the responses to the survey
was the perception of poor relations between officers and command staff.
When asked if top brass were more concerned with what is politically
acceptable than with running the Department effectively, 88 percent of
respondents agreed. Eighty-three percent agreed with the statement “In
the eyes of the command staff, officers are guilty until proven
innocent.” This is one of my challenges over this new year, to work on
those relationships between the rank and file and command staff. Without
the trust, support and confidence of their superiors, officers and the
Department cannot reach Mayor Hahn’s goal of making Los Angeles the safest
large city in the nation.
The LAPD is all about change and constant improvement. The Department
will continue to improvise and challenge itself as we embrace the best
practices that will once again make the LAPD the worldwide leader in
policing. While Department employees should all be proud of the strides
we’ve made, just doing better is never enough. Our momentum is building,
our opportunity is now.
CRIME STATISTICS - CITY-WIDE
Year to Date as of December 31, 2003
Homicide Down -21.6%
Rape Down -9.3%
Robbery Down -3.6%
Aggravated Assault Down -7.3%
Domestic Violence Down -6.1%
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TOTAL VIOLENT CRIMES Down -6.0%
Burglary Down -0.9%
Burglary/Theft from Vehicle Down -3.6%
Personal/Other Theft Down -6.8%
Auto Theft Down -1.8%
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TOTAL PROPERTY CRIMES Down -3.5%
WILLIAM J. BRATTON
Chief of Police
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