Greetings from the Los Angeles Police Department. The following is the monthly update for June 2003. I 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 I’d like to use this month’s message to update you on a number of current issues. A lot has been happening on many different fronts. To begin, the Los Angeles City Council has approved 18 new Lieutenant II positions for the Gang Impact Teams. The positions were taken out of the re-organization and added to the budget. They are exempt from the city’s hiring freeze and will be filled using money that will become available after July first. The Lieutenants will directly supervise our gang units. They are vital in preventing a repeat of the type of corruption that occurred in the Rampart CRASH unit. In response to a number of controversial pursuits that have ended in tragedy, the Board of Police Commissioners directed the Department to review and revise our pursuit policy with a renewed emphasis on ensuring the safety of officers and civilians. The new policy was signed and implemented on June 10th. Under that new policy, officers will not initiate pursuits based solely on observing traffic infractions even if the offender refuses to stop. Officers still have the discretion to pursue suspects wanted for misdemeanors and felonies or those who pose an immediate danger to the public, including drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol, as long as all appropriate guidelines and public safety concerns are met and can be articulated. In January 2003, the Police Commission approved a policy that requires alarm calls to be verified before a response from the Department is requested. There is a very good reason for the new policy. Currently, 15 percent of officer time is spent on false alarm calls. In response to the Commission’s actions, the City Council created the Burglar Alarm Task Force to develop recommendations to amend the Police Commission’s decision. The Police Commission is reviewing the Task Force’s recommendations. The final policy, set to take effect July 1st, will significantly reduce the number of these calls that we respond to. Working with the unions, we are currently examining Injured on Duty, or IOD claims to identify the types of assignments that frequently lead to injury. We hope to reduce injuries, and get more officers on the streets by addressing the most common and prevalent types of accidents and injuries through training and education. In addition, to ensure that this benefit is not abused, oversight by local commands and the Bureau of Professional Standards will increase significantly, and review of each Area’s IOD cases will become a regular feature of our weekly COMPSTAT process. Discussions with the Department’s various unions will be held to enlist their input, guidance and support in managing this benefit and to reduce any potential abuses. Connie Rice, a prominent civil rights attorney, has been asked by the Police Commission to head a seven-member Blue Ribbon Panel to determine whether or not the Department has corrected the mistakes and deficiencies that led to the Rampart scandal. I asked the Police Commission to establish this independent panel as it became clear that the Department’s own after-action reports on the incident were not satisfactory. This is not a new “investigation,” but an “after action” examination of what the Department has learned from this dark chapter in our recent history, and what the LAPD is doing or should be doing to prevent another corruption scandal in the future. It is my hope and expectation that this report and the soon to be completed Department review of several Rampart-related shooting investigations will finally put Rampart behind us. We have identified a site for the new Parker Center at First and Alameda Streets. The City is working with the surrounding communities, including the Arts District and Little Tokyo, to address their concerns and expedite the project. The City is also negotiating with the owners of three buildings that potentially could house a temporary Parker Center while the new facility is built. We’ll keep you informed as the projects move forward. In closing, for nearly eight months now I have been privileged to serve as chief and tell the Department’s story. I have come to understand just how good the men and women of this Department are. Their commitment, professionalism, compassion and expertise are “second to none.” I truly believe that the sworn and civilian personnel of the LAPD have begun to turn a corner in the Department’s history and that the story I get to tell will increasingly be one of initiatives and successes rather than explanations of past Department failures. The late naval Admiral William “Bill” Halsey once said, “there are no great men…only ordinary men who in response to great challenges, do extraordinary things.” CRIME STATISTICS - CITY-WIDE Year to Date as of June 14, 2003 Homicide Down -20.2% Rape Down -6.9% Robbery Down -0.2% Aggravated Assault Down -5.0% Burglary Up 1.1% Larceny Down -1.8% Auto Theft Up 2.8% Violent Crimes Down -3.1% OPERATIONS – CENTRAL BUREAU TOWN HALL MEETING This Town Hall Meeting will bring people from the Central, Rampart, Hollenbeck, Northeast and Newton Areas together with local government to discuss community concerns. The Chief of Police will be in attendance along with the Commanding Officers from Central Bureau Community Police Stations, and other police and City officials. This is the forum for community input and a vital component of the community/police partnership. The Town Hall Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 26, 2003 at 6:30 p.m. at the California Mart, 110 East Ninth Street in Downtown. Please join us. WILLIAM J. BRATTON Chief of Police To unsubscribe from this newsletter please click on this link http://listserv.lacity.org/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=lapd_monthly&A=1