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Police
Commission rejects the Chief's bid for reappointment
The LAPD Board of Police Commissioners,
the five person civilian group charged with oversight of the Department,
voted four to one to deny
the Chief's request for a new five year term.
Here is the entire text explaining their decision, which was delivered
by Commission President Rick Caruso at Parker Center today:
Los Angeles Police Commission Statement
April 9, 2002
The
Police Commission made a commitment to the Chief of this City that
the reappointment process would be fair, honest, thorough and guided
by the interest of this great City as a whole. We have listened
carefully and candidly to those passionately committed to making
this City better for people living throughout Los Angeles with differing
views and opinions, yet who are all united in a deep desire to do
the best possible for our City. We have worked within the limits
of our City Charter that was recently adopted by the citizens of
Los Angeles.
I am proud of the hard work and dedication of my fellow commissioners.
This process has been difficult due to the volume of material, genuine
care and concern that we feel for this City, separating fact from
fiction and avoidance of unproductive political rhetoric. Today,
we stand here with a decision that may not be liked by all, but
will hopefully be accepted by the residents because it is arrived
at by relying on facts, on those things which can be measured, can
be gauged, can be assessed and weighed, which are beyond dispute,
along with this Commission's experience in working with Chief Parks.
Looking at the facts we can see, under Chief Parks, if crime has
risen or fallen. We can know what kinds of crimes are increasing
or decreasing. We can see how Los Angeles compares to other similar
cities across America. Is there a trend showing that our City is
safer in recent years? Are neighborhoods throughout all of Los Angeles
less victimized by violent crime? Is the Department healthy, in
top shape under his leadership?
And so over the course of the last few months, we have carefully
and deliberately looked at and examined Chief Parks' record based
upon merit as he asked to be judged. Chief Parks has done any noteworthy
things as Chief and during his long career with LAPD. He has made
the Department more diverse; has launched the computerized crime
response system known as FASTRAC and has demanded a more disciplined
Department. In Chief Parks record, there are also many areas where
his actions do not measure up, where his leadership has fallen short.
Although his prior evaluation has noted the need for areas of improvement
as a leader in dealing with the Commission, the need to be more
flexible in considering alternative methods of addressing problems,
and acknowledging that officer morale is his responsibility, we
have seen no improvement nor a measurable effort to give this Commission
confidence that the Chief will make a sincere commitment to change
in these critical areas. And although the Chief should be complimented
on instituting a discipline system that demands respect for all
residents, he has failed to respond appropriately and quickly to
revise the system to provide a sense of fairness and equity in dealing
with the officers. It is that type inflexibility and denial of a
systemic problem within the Department that in part has caused poor
morale and attrition of officers.
Violent crime has continued to rise, while according to FBI statistics,
cities such as New York and Chicago are experiencing a drop in violent
crime. In the first three months of this year, homicides in Los
Angeles are up over 30%. In fact, since 1999, violent crime is up
and continues to rise; a trend this Commission can not and should
not ignore.
The rise in crime needs to be juxtaposed against another fact. LAPD
is over 1100 officers short. As crime rises, LAPD's ability to fight
crime is diminished. LAPD statistics show that although crime is
up, arrests are down. The Department is suffering a profound loss
of confidence. Today, the Los Angeles Police Department is a department
in crises, a Department losing officers at an alarming rate, while
other neighborhood police agencies, such as LA County Sheriff's
Department, have increased the number of officers. Veteran officers
are abandoning the LAPD in record numbers as our academy struggles
to fill classes. Trust and confidence between those in uniform and
their Chief has been mortally wounded. The Department, similar to
all organizations, needs a leader who is demanding, but fair; accepts
responsibility and seeks solutions; who is capable of energizing
and motivating the men and women in the field and who can communicate
and relate to his subordinates. This organization is near the point
where it finds itself no longer having the capacity to perform at
its required potential. In order to effectively fight crime, the
LAPD needs larger, stronger and more motivated force. The residents
of this City spend over $1 billion per year to ensure their safety.
The residents are paying for and deserve the best law enforcement
agency in the country.
The facts have led us where we are today. The Chief's evaluation
for the period starting June 1999 reaffirms our concerns. A subsequent
review, cited by the Chief, lays out dramatic improvement on the
Chief's part, however, this review was never approved by the prior
commission.
Many things have been said about Chief Parks, pro and con. Yet in
the end, every man is the guardian of his own honor while on the
job by virtue of what he does. Words-positive or negative-are of
little consequences, of little value, when seen against the clarifying
light of actions. In the end, our ideals are only as good as what
we do, our actions. To Chief Parks, who has given 37 years to the
Police Department, we offer a deep and abiding thank you, an appreciation
for a past that belongs to an honored tradition. Today we continue
moving forward. There will not be backsliding from the reforms and
advances made to date. Today we begin a shared new chapter in our
City's history, not to turn back to old policies, but to continue
moving forward to building a greater Los Angeles Police Department.
As this Commission said at the outset, when all of us started on
this shared mission many months ago, our task is to be fair and
to truly look at the facts and to reach a true and just decision.
And this we have done.
With regrets, the Commission by a vote of four to one, must deny
the Chief's request for a new five year term.
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