LACP.org
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Grassroots Call for City Ballot Measure
"Unity and Peace; We Want More Police"
. . . of the People,
by the People, for the People
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Grassroots Call for City Ballot Measure
"Unity and Peace; We Want More Police"
. . . of the People, by the People, for the People

That's what the community asks for ... so, will the community respond?

by Bill Murray

LACP Founder

December 15, 2004

It's always been obvious at our grassroots nonprofit that the Los Angeles Police Department needs more troops. No matter where we go in the City we hear the residents say they want increased patrol.

The efforts of LACP began, almost by accident, as a response to the local consequences of the attack on 9-11. The homicide rate skyrocketed in early 2002, partly because the gangs correctly perceived that the Department was focused on preparing for our own possible terrorism.

In Hollenbeck Division, where I am a Community-Police Advisory Board member (C-PAB), bullets flew almost every day and every night in a turf war for control of the neighborhoods. In an early LACP article I dubbed LA's gang members as "Homegrown Terrorists."

Local residents asked some of us to help organize a march from the police station to Parker Center. The event was widely publicized by the news media.

The main chant was "Unity and Peace - We Want More Police."

Since that time, despite numerous major improvements in LAPD and the City as a whole, which have resulted in a significant drop in serious violent crime, the request has never changed …

Measure A, the countywide initiative on the November ballot intended to fund additional law enforcement officers, recently failed by a narrow margin in the City of Los Angeles.

Because of how the proposed ½ cent sales tax was presented on the ballot, it needed a supermajority to pass, 66%. In some areas within City limits it did so outright, yet citywide it received 64% of the vote, and failed.

As noted, no matter where I go around the City, and no matter who I talk to, I hear the same request for more cops, and we've written extensively about the fact that LAPD has half the number of police officers per capita of any other major American city, and a huge geographic area to patrol (please see the table below).

It's time we did something about it, once and for all, and during these times of fiscal crisis it will be up to the community to take the lead. We need to insure that the Department be given a fair chance at making Los Angeles the "safest big city in America."

The Los Angeles Police Commission discussed the idea of placing a Measure A type initiative for LAPD on the City ballot in May. I immediately committed to helping them through LACP and my many Neighborhood Council and public safety contacts.

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Police Commission Discusses a Ballot Measure
to Hire More Police Officers - November 30, 2004


Police Commission Letter to City Council
Requesting Consideration of a Ballot Measure
to Hire More Police Officers - December 7, 2004


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So ... what can we do? I'm sending out a call through the Neighborhood Councils and to individuals I feel may need and deserve a voice in this. Perhaps as stakeholders we can approach the City from the "bottom up" as we seek alternative ways to increase police presence in our communities.

Let's take the lead ...

LACP / LANCissues email:

Grassroots Public Safety Ballot Measure


There are many of us who felt that "Measure A" on November's ballot,
the proposed ½ cent sales tax, was critically important in order to make Los Angeles a safer city. A majority of the voters in the City of Los Angeles (64 % to be exact) were willing to pay for these improvements.

But, as you know, passage required approval by 2/3rds of the voters in the entire county.

Since then many neighborhood council leaders have been urging the City Council to place a similar measure on the city's May ballot. If so it would need approval by 2/3rds of the city's voters, and all of the money would be spent within the City of Los Angeles.

This provides neighborhood councils and their leaders a remarkable opportunity to design this measure - a grassroots effort.

But time is short, and we have to act quickly.

The City Council must take its first action by January 22, 2005 if any measure is going to be added to this ballot.

As someone who has already devoted many months of his life to work for the passage of Measure A, I am ready, willing, and able to continue the fight.

I would like to know if you, as individuals or spokespersons for your neighborhood council, would be interested in "going to the next level," and I'm asking if you'd participate in special community discussions about designing the specifics of a ballot measure that would pay for improved public safety.

I've already confirmed I can quickly arrange a series of regional meetings with top level city officials to hear your suggestions and answer your questions.

If you are interested, I suggest that you do two things:

First, please contact me to let me know your views. I've set up a special new mailbox and email address for this at: BallotMeasure@lacp.org

Second, let your City Council member know your feelings. You can email them easily through the city's home page at: www.lacity.org

Please continue to monitor our two popular websites, one for LA Community Policing and the other for the LA Neighborhood Council Citywide Issues Group, for updates:

LA Community Policing
www.LACP.org

LANC Citywide Issues Group
www.LANCissues.org

Yours in service,

Bill Murray

PS: Please feel free to pass this along to anyone you like.

PPS: Thank you for supporting your law enforcement officers.

...."Community Policing ... it's everyone's issue"

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LAPD Chief of Police William J. Bratton has struggled to win funding for more officers. Here's a comparison with some other large U.S. cities.

Ratio of police officers to population and area:

American
City
Officers per
1,000 population
Officers per
square mile
No. of officers
on police force
Washington 6.89 58.7 3,604
Baltimore 5.07 41.4 3,350
New York 4.96 128.8 39,779
Philadelphia 4.87 54.8 7,400
Chicago 4.84 61.9 14,075
St. Louis 4.61 17.8 1,100
Detroit 4.34 29.8 4,130
Boston 3.63 45.1 2,164
Los Angeles 2.41 19.7 9,241*

*Authorized in current budget

Sources: LAPD Plan of Action, Book II