The Region - News from Sept. 19, 1986

After a six-day operation by 124 officers, the Los Angeles Police Department reported the roundup of more than 250 of about 1,200 suspected street-level narcotics violators with outstanding warrants for their arrest for failing to appear in court. Police Chief Daryl F. Gates said that while the operation showed “some success” it also demonstrated the Police Department’s problem in complying with a California Supreme Court decision requiring police to exercise continued “due diligence” in following up on warrants or risk the dismissal of charges. Gates challenged the ruling as an “idiotic concept” requiring police officers to arrest suspects, then redo their work at great expense to the taxpayers.