LAPD Blog

Notes from the November 3, 2009 Weekly Police Commission Meeting

•Police Cmmission President John Mack said he and the other members of the Board would be participating in Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's press conference to announce his selection for the new Police Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.

•Police Commissioner Alan Skobin said the In-Car Video Cameras have rolled out in South Bureau and have been in use by Senior Lead Officers for one week.  He added there have been some minor glitches with the system but the vendor has been very responsive to those needs. 

•Temporary Chief of Police Michael Downing said being appointed Chief was completely unexpected but was honored to serve, even for a short time.  He said he is taking the job very seriously and is looking forward to the future challenge.  Chief Downing added he observed the operation in Hollywood Division for the Halloween festivities over the weekend.  He said the operation went flawlessly with only a few minor incidents.

•The Department's report, dated October 28, 2009, relative to the Urban Police Rifle and Shotgun Slug Ammunition – Renamed: Miscellaneous Department Manual Sections – Revised; and Special Duty Assignments – Established, was approved.  

•The Department's report, dated October 23, 2009, relative to the Professional Services Agreement with Phillips Services Corporation for Hazardous Materials/Waste Management Services, was approved and transmitted to the Office of the Mayor.

•The Department's report, dated October 26, 2009, relative to the Professional Services Agreement with Clean Harbors Environmental Services for Routine Hazardous Materials/Waste Management Services, was approved and transmitted to the Office of the Mayor.

•The Department's verbal presentation, discussion and possible Board action concerning the status of the Law Enforcement Explorer Program was given Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger and Sergeant Joseph Kuns.  Sergeant Kuns outlined the Department's plan to transition the Explorer program away from the Learning for Life Organization to an independent program run entirely by the Department. The new program would require entirely new uniforms for members including new logos and a new name.  The Department would seek public input on various aspects of the program and would launch the newly formed program sometime in February of 2010.  The Board of Police Commissioners then filed a motion to terminate their current contract with Learning for Life and transition the program to Department control without interruption by no later than December 31, 2009.

Notes from the October 27, 2009 Weekly Police Commission Meeting

•Police Commission President John Mack expressed his gratitude to the Police Protective League for working with the City to reach an amicable agreement on a new contract for police officers.  He added it was a true reflection of the solid partnership with the leadership and rank and file employees of the Department.

•Police Commission Vice President Andrea Ordin attended the grand opening ceremony of the new Police Administration Building on Saturday and said it was a great day of celebration for the new facility.

•Police Chief William J. Bratton announced today would be his last formal appearance in front of the Police Commission.  He thanked the Commission for their support, guidance and leadership throughout his tenure and expressed the importance of civilian oversight to the continued success of the Department. 

•The Department's report, dated October 14, 2009, in response to City Council Motion (Council File No. 09-2163), relative to Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Security, was pulled and continued.

•The Department's report, dated June 30, 2009 and Inspector General's report, dated October 1, 2009, relative to the Non-Categorical Use of Force Investigation Audit (IAID No. C08-004), was approved.  Inspector General Andre Birotte stated the audit was originally conducted during the Consent Decree and his office agrees with the findings.

•The Department's report, dated October 9, 2009, relative to the Criminal Case Filings Rates of Individuals Arrested – 3rd Quarter Report (July 1, 2009 – September 30, 2009) was approved. 

The 2009 Essay Contest Winner

The 6th Annual LAPD Essay Contest was open to students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District and schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  Students were asked to write what they would do that would have the greatest impact on the community if they were a Los Angeles Police Department officer for a day.  Each of the ten winners and their essay are featured on the Department’s website, one each week.  The following essay is one of the ten winning submissions.

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were an LAPD officer for a day?  If I had that chance, I’d do as much as I could so that it could make a difference.  The three things I’d do would be to help people when they are in trouble, influence small children, and help the community in the best way I could.  Further in this essay, I’ll explain these things more.

First of all, if I could be a police officer for a day, I’d help as many people as I could.  I would help people because people need help even if it’s a small problem.  This would be a really good experience because I know that helping is very important.  People should always help; officers should also share their help.  Many people would find this experience interesting.

Secondly, if I had the opportunity to be an officer I would try to positively influence small children.  I find influencing children very important because they need to know what’s right.  All children should know what things are okay and what things they should not go.  If I was able to influence them, I’d show them all I know so that could make right choices.  I would influence small kids because that would definitely be the correct thing to do.

In addition, if I was able to be an LAPD officer, the final thing I’d do would be to help the community.  The things I’d do would be to always be on the lookout.  I would also make sure that all the people would be safe in the city.  I would also be checking for people that were up to no good.  Surely, those are the things I’d do for the community.  

In conclusion, I’d try to have as big as an impact as possible.  I’d do as much as I could.  As you read, the three things I’d do would be to help people that might be in trouble.  I would also influence children as well as help the community as much as I could.

The 2009 Essay Contest Winner

The 6th Annual LAPD Essay Contest was open to students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District and schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  Students were asked to write what they would do that would have the greatest impact on the community if they were a Los Angeles Police Department officer for a day.  Each of the ten winners and their essay are featured on the Department’s website, one each week.  The following essay is one of the ten winning submissions.

   
My Day as an L.A.P.D. Officer

I would love to be an LAPD officer for a day because I would help the community eliminate violence and crime.  I would also help the kids with trouble they are having that they cannot resolve.  I would do a lot of great things for them.  I am going to show you one of many projects I would like to do if I was an officer.

The project that I would like to have would be a boot camp for kids.  This boot camp will be for both girls and boys.  This boot camp will include physical education, moral education, and teachings of right and wrong.  Physical education will include courses, running tests, and games.  This will promote sense of competition and help the kids to stay fit.  Moral education will include the teachings of how to become a better person.  I would have a psychologist who would talk to the kids and help them solve their problems.  I would have a psychologist who would talk to the kids and help them solve their problems.  I would invite famous baseball, football, and tennis players to talk to boys and girls about their childhood and how they became successful in life.  The teachings of right and wrong will include speeches or presentations on living drug and graffiti free.  I would organize clubs of interests, for example RC car racing.  And last but not least, I would organize Kids Patrol – neighborhood watch program where boys and girls with their parents would patrol the school area and prevent vandalism.

There are a lot of things I would like to do if I was an officer for a day.  I think these projects will make a big difference in the community.  This project will help the kids learn that there is no need for violence in the world.  If I could I would have been an officer for much longer.

Hollywood Rolls Out the Blue Carpet for Safety

 Hollywood footbeat

In the early 2000's, the Hollywood community invested $2 billion to restore and revitalize the iconic city.  The areas surrounding Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue increased in popularity as a worldwide destination, and the LAPD recognized the need to ensure public safety.  During the news conference, Mayor Villaraigosa and Chief Bratton announced the deployment of additional officers and resources to the Hollywood area to continue the reduction of crime and to increase the quality of life for those who work, live and visit the entertainment capital of the world.
    

Pacific Division Formal Inspection

 Despite being early in the morning the temperature was already warm, and the sun was beating down on Pacific Area Officers as they stood at attention for their annual formal command inspection. The ceremony opened with the marching of the LAPD color guard. The rank and file looked impeccable as they stood at attention, displaying shimmering badges, spit shine boots, properly tailored and pressed uniforms. Joined by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, and Command Staff, Chief William Bratton attentively inspected the officers, and particularly praised individual officers for their outstanding appearance.

Chief Bratton commented on how impressed he was with the inspection, stating that one of the things he enjoys the most of being Chief is attending divisional inspections and the celebration of tradition. “Your individual as well as collective appearance, and the military precision of the inspection were outstanding. One of the strong foundations of the Los Angeles Police Department is its tradition and its respect of its semi- military origins”.

Chief Bratton further thanked the Officers for making the LAPD the leader in law enforcement in the country, he stated that there was no other place like the LAPD, as it relates to tradition, appearance and sense of self. “We are recognized all over the country, we are looked up to, we are admired, and we are respected”. 

Pacific Area with two substations is one of the city's busiest divisions in the City. The beach substation is located in the heart of Venice Beach. Venice is “world famous “for its beach and it draws crowds in excess of 500,000 during summer weekends.

Pacific Area also has an LAX Substation, Officers assigned to the substation are not only responsible for the security and safety the residents of the City of Los Angeles, but also for the millions of national and international travelers who pass through one of the busiest airports in the nation.

Chief Bratton Pacific Inspection

The 2009 Essay Contest Winner

The 6th Annual LAPD Essay Contest was open to students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District and schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  Students were asked to write what they would do that would have the greatest impact on the community if they were a Los Angeles Police Department officer for a day.  Each of the ten winners and their essay are featured on the Department’s website, one each week.  The following essay is one of the ten winning submissions.

As a Los Angeles Police Department officer for a day, I think that getting kids out of gangs and preventing kids from joining gangs would be a good start and would have a huge impact on the community.

    To get kids out of gangs and prevent kids from joining gangs, I would make after school programs.  That would give former gang members something to do instead of gang play.  The after school programs would include sports, art, dance, photography, band, and theater.  It would also cut back the amount of kids joining gangs.  That would have a huge impact on the overall gang members.

    Another thing that I would do to prevent kids from joining gangs and to get kids out of gangs is a family program.  A family program would help because gang members often join gangs because they have problems with family members, and have nowhere else to go, but to the gangs.  Also, it would make sure that these families have family bonding time.  Also the kids that might join gangs in the future will feel more comfortable and won’t have problems with their family.  I think that this will also have a huge impact on the community.

    I also think that fundraisers for public schools would help.  I think that this would help because some schools don’t have enough things like text books and computers.  It would also help because if the gang members see that they can do more at school, they would go more often.  That is another thing that I think would have a huge impact on that subject.

A Terrific Police Department

Michael Jackson, we can hope, now rests in peace. Embarrassment over the way Los Angeles handled his memorial service may be with us for a while.

It's not like the city is incapable of doing anything right. By all accounts, the Police Department and traffic officers handled their end of Tuesday's event flawlessly. But in so many other ways, City Hall bumbling makes Los Angeles look laughably low-tech, shamefully disorganized, simultaneously an easy mark and a swindler, and cheap and pathetic besides.

First, there's sandwich-gate, which new Controller Wendy Greuel, to her credit, is making into an issue. It's great to feed the overtime workers, but nearly 50 grand for catering from a shop in Wrightwood? That's in San Bernardino County. In the mountains. Up a winding road. Greuel said Subway could have done it for $17,000. OK, so maybe one Subway shop in L.A. can't throw together 3,500 lunches in a few minutes. But we're pretty sure there are at least a couple of other lunch places in the city as well.

Or how about the plea to the public for a few pennies to defray expenses? Los Angeles is not New Orleans, and a memorial service is not Katrina. Yes, the city is grappling with a deep budget shortfall and is furloughing workers, but could we show a little dignity? Yes, it makes sense to call on AEG, which ran the show and owns the facilities, to foot the $1.4-million bill. But not publicly, on the day of the funeral. And let's not forget that the city does have an emergency fund for exactly these kinds of unexpected and extraordinary occurrences.

Then, when fans actually start sending in money, would it be too much to ask of City Hall to be ready to accept it? Apparently it would. A high schooler with a parent's credit card (and permission, of course) can get a PayPal account in about 60 seconds, but the city's Information Technology Agency and treasurer couldn't come up with a way to connect would-be donors to the city until the night before the funeral. And then the website crashed and was down all day.

And what does the donation page say? "HELP GIVE MICHAEL THE WORLD CLASS MEMORIAL HE DESERVES." Are we erecting a statue? The city isn't really asking fans "to help us celebrate his life and music." It's asking for a reimbursement for police protection.

Meanwhile, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is on vacation in Africa. The mayor is entitled to his vacation, but after four years in charge, he left the city in the hands of a terrific Police Department and a bumbling, uncoordinated jumble of other agencies. Fixing that dysfunction, and restoring some dignity to the city, should be at the top of his agenda when he comes home.

Los Angeles Times Editorial
Friday July 10, 2009

LAPD's Central Division Formal Inspection

This morning, Central Area's finest were proudly on display as they held its annual Formal Command Inspection. Displaying shimmering badges, spit shine boots and perfectly pressed uniforms, officers stood at attention. Chief William J. Bratton, accompanied by Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz, Commander David Doan, Central Area's Captain Blake Chow, along with Councilmember Jan Perry inspected the Division's rank and file. While closely inspecting the Officers appearance as they walked the lines, Command Staff also thanked and praised the Officers for the great work they do.

"You are second to none in terms of commitment and integrity. In this 140th year, you are also second to none in the support you have generated from the public". said Chief Bratton after the inspection. He informed the Officers of the polls generated by the Harvard Institute and the Los Angeles Times, which indicated the Los Angeles Police Department is at an all time high in terms of public satisfaction. Chief Bratton acknowledged the trust and approval from the community is due to the hard work officers due individually and collectively, day in and day out.

Central Division, according to Chief Bratton, is the most diverse of the twenty one divisions. 
“There's no command or area with more complexity than this command, it is a city onto itself. This past week the world was intensively watching during the Jackson funeral, and at no time did they see any activity of the Department that was unprofessional or not caring, they saw the LAPD at its best. I thank you for the privilege of being the Chief of this Department, and for allowing me to tell the story to the world.”

Central Area is staffed with approximately 400 sworn and civilian members of the LAPD. It encompasses an area of 4 ½ square miles and has a population of approximately 40,000. The Central Community Police Station serves neighborhoods such as China Town, Little Tokyo, and South Park among others.

Download Chief Bratton

The 2009 Essay Contest Winner

The 6th Annual LAPD Essay Contest was open to students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District and schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  Students were asked to write what they would do that would have the greatest impact on the community if they were a Los Angeles Police Department officer for a day.  Each of the ten winners and their essay are featured on the Department’s website, one each week.  The following essay is one of the ten winning submissions.

The first thing I would do is choose a neighborhood elementary grade school and visit each classroom and speak to the students about different topics that I thought would impact the community.  I would prepare myself for the discussion by selecting which topics I would discuss and have pictures to show the students.

The topic that I would talk about would be gangs, drugs, alcohol, guns, emergency and safety.  The first topic is gangs and I would tell the children not to get involved in gangs because it is dangerous and people can get hurt or killed from gang violence.

The second topic is drugs and alcohol and I would tell them not to take drugs or drink alcohol because it destroys your body, it’s addictive and you can die from using it.

The third topic is guns.  I would share with them that guns are not toys and are very dangerous.  Children should tell an adult right away.  People can get injured or killed from playing with guns.

The fourth topic is what to do in an emergency.  Call 911 if it is a life threatening emergency or you see someone that needs help or get an adult.

The last topic is safety which is sharing with them not to play with fire, do not cross in the middle of the street, do not talk to strangers, do not get in the car with strangers, make sure you wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, and make sure you have your seatbelt on when you are riding in a car and obey the law.

The second part would be to discuss my uniform and why I carry a gun, baton, and handcuffs.  I would talk to them about the police car and let them sit in it and explain the different equipment in the car and how it works.  I would tell them as a police officer that my job is to protect and serve the community.  Finally, at the end of my shift I would give them a little treat, a LAPD goodie bag with all the wonderful things in it.