Greetings from the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department. The following is the monthly update for February 2005. We hope you find the information useful. You are encouraged to continue to visit our website at www.lapdonline.org as it has recently been redesigned and updated. CHIEF’S MESSAGE With 2004 now behind us, the men and women of the LAPD have much to be proud of. They were successful once again in saving lives and making the streets of our City safer. Now it is time to set new goals for the new year, and optimize and capitalize on the momentum of the past two years. Because of their hard work, and ability to do more with less, the command staff and I feel that this Department has the capacity to achieve a stretch goal of an additional 10 percent reduction in Part I crime in 2005. This is a stretch goal, similar to last year, and is based on the assumption that the LAPD will not realize any significant increase in personnel resources in 2005. Should there be a change in available resources, either an increase or decrease, this stretch goal will be adjusted accordingly. As part of the effort to realize this 10 percent crime reduction goal, working with the recommendations of the senior command staff, we have further refined and reorganized the Department’s structure to make it more efficient, coordinated and focused. We have combined certain commands to eliminate duplication and expedite operations both internally and with the City’s administrative structure. The largest change in the Department’s organizational structure is the elimination of Human Resources Bureau with a large share of its units being reassigned to the Office of Support Services, which remains under the command of Assistant Chief Sharon Papa. These include Personnel Group, Training Group, Behavioral Science Services, and the Ombuds Office. Risk Management Group will be reassigned to Consent Decree Bureau and Employee Relations Group will be added to the responsibilities of the Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff will also be responsible for the Use of Force Review Section. By eliminating Human Resources Bureau, it will free up First Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell to become the new Chief of Staff, and will allow him to work more closely with me as we continue to fight for more resources. It will also allow Deputy Chief Mike Berkow to devote his full attention to commanding the Professional Standards Bureau. I very much appreciate Chief Berkow’s willingness over the last eight months to perform successfully what amounts to two full time functions. Another major change is in the Office of Operations, continuing under the command of Assistant Chief George Gascón. Office of Operations will assume the responsibility of Jail Division. Under Operations, we will look for efficiencies that help us to cut the time it takes to book detainees. The ultimate goal is to get police officers back on the streets more quickly to do what they do best - fight crime. Another change in the Office of Operations will be in the Detective Bureau, which remains under the command of Deputy Chief Gary Brennan. The Organized Crime function will now become its own Section and will be moved to Major Crimes Division. Major Crimes is under the newly renamed Counter Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau (formerly Critical Incident Management Bureau) under John Miller. Vice Division will remain in Detective Bureau. As I mentioned, Assistant Chief Sharon Papa, who heads up the Office of Support Services, will assume command of a large portion of the human resources related duties. Commander Mike Bostic will serve as her Executive Officer and will oversee Planning and Research Division. Personnel Group will fall under Administration and Technical Services Bureau, (formerly Fiscal and Technical Services Bureau) aligning it more closely with the budget and finance component. Ninety-six percent of the Department’s budget supports the personnel function. By combining these two areas, we will be able to operate more efficiently with City Hall and the City Administrative Officer. Additionally, Records and Identification Division will move to Information and Communications Services Bureau. This reorganization supports our 10 percent crime reduction goal this year and is consistent with the Department’s 10 percent crime fighting formula for success; 10 percent of the suspects commit 50 percent of the crime, 10 percent of the victims equal 40 percent of the crimes, 10 percent of the places are where 60 percent of the crimes are committed. By streamlining our systems and structure, we will continue to focus our limited personnel on these repeat offenders, victims and problem locations. With the additional refining and reorganization of the Department, I am confident the men and women of this organization can continue to reduce crime, prevent terrorist attacks and fully implement the Consent Decree. We are working to enhance the quality of life for everyone who lives, works and visits the City of Los Angeles. CRIME STATISTICS - CITY-WIDE Year to Date as of January 29, 2005 Homicide Down -10.5% Rape Down -36.6% Robbery Down -16.9% Aggravated Assault Down -20.6% --------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL VIOLENT CRIMES Down -19.5% Burglary Down -15.4% Burglary/Theft from Vehicle Down -19.6% Personal/Other Theft Down -23.3% Auto Theft Down -15.9% --------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL PROPERTY CRIMES Down -18.9% TOTAL PART 1 CRIMES Down -19.0% 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