Greetings from the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department. The following is the monthly update for February 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 The men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department, both sworn and civilian, have met the Department’s first and most important goal in 2003, reducing the incidence and fear of crime. Not only did their hard work substantially reduce homicides and violent crime, they also made outstanding progress toward the Department’s other goals: fully implementing the Consent Decree, and creating a counter-terrorism entity, the Critical Incident Management Bureau. Through their collective commitment, focus, diligence and accomplishments, they helped to restore an enormous amount of credibility to the Department in the past year. Because of their efforts, the Department has turned the corner in regaining its stature from a skeptical public and has won back the respect of the community’s political leadership. They have shown that they are capable of doing more, and that when given additional resources, they are put to good use. Even in this period of tight budgets, hiring freezes, and cutbacks, the men and women of the LAPD have demonstrated the ability to continue to deliver by protecting and serving you, the people of Los Angeles. Although 2004 is a year of budget uncertainty, the belief of the command staff and myself is that there is still the capacity within this organization to do even more. Because of the caliber of the men and women of this Department and their desire to improve, the momentum gained in 2003 will continue. This year, we will refine the best practices that proved successful. We will continue to improve COMPSTAT and our focused policing efforts. Along those lines and specific to the goal of reducing violent crime, we will develop strategies that will emphasize putting cops where they’re needed the most. That means focusing Department resources on the high-risk…people, places and activities. Although the Department doesn’t have the resources to simultaneously focus its efforts on each of these high-risk environments throughout the city, we will impact crime levels by zeroing in on the interaction between high-risk victims and suspects, high-risk activities, and high-risk places. Think of it like this, three circles drawn on a piece of paper. In the center is where they overlap…the high-risk environments. That’s where we will target your valuable police resources, in focused and precise surgical operations. I believe that with this strategy, you will see additional significant crime reduction successes. The Department goals for the New Year are similar to those of 2003. We will continue to push for an overall reduction in Part One crime by 20 percent. The Consent Decree is also making us a better Department as we come into full compliance. And fighting terrorism and any threats to our City remains a priority. But there is one more goal for 2004…to improve officer safety by fighting for more cops and more technology. I believe the best way to fulfill this goal will be to continue to do what we did this past year and what we do best…fight crime. By getting the bad guys off the streets and making this an even safer city, the men and women of the LAPD show you, the people, and the elected officials of Los Angeles that with more, we can do more. Then we will be able to ask for additional funding for Public Safety. The Department has shown that the formula works…when we add more cops, particularly as was done in the 77th Street Area of the City in South Los Angeles, we can make dramatic reductions in the number of homicides. Focusing in on problem areas, the Department made significant progress. But we also learned, based on current available resources; we can’t make these improvements equally throughout all areas in the City. Because Los Angeles police officers were more assertive and made many more arrests and stops of suspects, assaults against police officers went up dramatically in 2003. The safety of police officers is my primary concern and another of my goals in 2004 is to improve it anyway I can. Because the Department is so limited in the number of officers on the streets at any one time, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to assure officer safety. When police officers feel safe, it translates directly into improved citizen safety. This proves to be yet another compelling reason for additional personnel resources. In 2003, the men and women of the LAPD have given me great stories of heroism, integrity, and crime reduction to tell the people of Los Angeles. By continuing these efforts, this Department collectively makes the greatest case for increased funding and increased personnel. This is what Mayor Hahn, the Police Commission, and I will continue to fight for. Together, with the cooperation of the people of this City, we work toward the ultimate goal of making Los Angeles the safest big city in the nation for all its residents and its police officers. You deserve nothing less. CRIME STATISTICS - CITY-WIDE Year to Date as of January 31, 2004 Homicide Down -14.6% Rape Down -2.3% Robbery Down -7.1% Aggravated Assault Down -16.8% Domestic Violence Down -26.2% --------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL VIOLENT CRIMES Down -15.7% Burglary Down -9.0% Burglary/Theft from Vehicle Down -6.6% Personal/Other Theft Down -18.0% Auto Theft Down -6.3% --------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL PROPERTY CRIMES Down -9.8% 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