Chief Martin H. Pomeroy
Speech June 27th, 2002, Occidental College

(Standing ovation) An undeserved response but appreciated nonetheless.

(to Captain Kyle Jackson, Northeast Division) Kyle, you're the host for this evening? And it's my understanding your inviting everybody over to your home afterwards for dessert?

As Chief York will explain in a few moments, tonight's meeting is really two meetings, and in a moment we will conclude our town hall meeting and we in uniform will step down off the stage and give way to the Police Commission, where they will hold a second meeting to discuss the criteria that we should have for our new Chief of Police.

It is my privilege to be with you here tonight and it's my honor to be the Police Chief of Los Angeles. I was so happy to receive that invitation to join all of you for a few moments, a few months. I'm looking forward to a process that will produce a chief that can provide great leadership, great dedication, great service and great altruism to this organization, to this community, and I hope we quickly establish that process and hope we quickly choose that person and, although I would love to stay longer rather than shorter, I think it's important to us to have that new chief begin their responsibilities as soon as we can.

Because that second meeting is about to begin, I'll be somewhat brief in my remarks, but I do need to note several things.

First of all, maybe the best thing I've seen develop in the LAPD since I've been gone is the Neighborhood Prosecutor effort. And I commend all of you. Everywhere I've been around the City you've received high accolades, so I congratulate you and the police department, Mr. Delgadillo, and thank you so much for how you joined with us and partnered with us. It's a wonderful program.

I know we've been through some difficult times, but I think the best part of the LAPD has always been its people. And although it was mentioned just a moment ago, I think I have to mention it again, and that is the wonderful job that our planners and our leaders, and our followers, the line officers, and all those that were involved in keeping our City safe during those few days when we were celebrating the Laker victory, was a wonderful effort, one plan, wonderfully executed, and our officers deserve a great, big round of applause.

And then briefly, I have to say that so often at venues such as this, we talk about crime, and traffic, in terms of statistics, and sometimes we take some solace in the fact that these statistics are down, sometimes we take a little bit of regret with this when we have to inform you these statistics are up, but in all cases I want you to know this about all of us in the police department, our community is not numbers.

Our community is people, and our goal is NO crime, and that's the effective measurement of how we are doing.

And so as long as there is one victim of violent crime, one victim of a property crime, one victim of a traffic collision, we will continue to do our best so that nobody in our community is impacted by these particular crimes.

And its always, ALWAYS our goal, whenever we cannot prevent crime, to arrest the perpetrator, send competent, compelling evidence to court, to find a way to bring back to the community that which has been lost, whether it's help, whether it's property, whether it's a sense of trust in how we as an organization handled your concerns.

Please understand the LAPD is concerned with the individual, not just the statistics.

There is not time to sufficiently report on, or adequately report on, what I think is good about the Los Angeles Police Department. There is a time when we in the organization run around just like the football player after a touchdown, waiving our hand and yelling, "We're number one, we're number one…"

Now the Sheriff's always thought we were just arrogant when we did that, we always thought we were accurately reporting the facts.

And know we've been through some times when you haven't heard that much lately and perhaps a few of our officers, because of those tough times and the controversy, maybe not quite had their shoulders squared as they might have, not quite had the spring in their step that they might have, but I want you to know this, those times when we made that claim and when you looked at us and said, "Boy you are good," those times had the same officers in us, or part of us, that are with the great organization now, and those who might not have been here at that time have been trained to that standard.

So I'm inviting all of our officers, wherever I go, to again square their shoulders back and get their pins up and say, "You know, this is still a good, and a proud, and a fine organization." And I think as long as we say that we will work to that standard.

And as long as you help us say that, then we will meet your standards and your expectations for the reduction of crime and working with you on those great, significant problems, and good things in our community that we should all join together to address.

I think nothing else need be said about the state of the LAPD, other than this: Whether I'm the Chief or someone else is the Chief, or someone who replaces THAT person is the Chief, the LAPD still has the best people serving the public.

And so, in that regard, we are number one, and I think you'll see, as some of the other problems we address such as recruiting, and training and retention, are put to rest, and I think we're putting them to rest, you'll find that we are again capable of providing non-controversial, quick, efficient, police service. I hope that's what you're going to see out of us.

My goal is to turn over an organization that is proud, that's working together, that has its eye fixed on a spot on the horizon we're all marching towards, so that we can legitimately say to the new Chief, just a few months from now, "Here is YOUR new organization, YOU should be proud of it as we are".

Thank you so much.