ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : The Badge of Good Police Work

Police departments all across the country are facing enormous pressures to combat increased crime and drug-related violence in times of dwindling resources and budgets. Yet a recent California Department of Justice report found that two Orange County police departments were state leaders last year in solving serious crimes, despite the increasingly difficult climate for law enforcement. Santa Ana and Anaheim deserve a “well done” for their effective detective work.

As these and other police departments have struggled to do more with less, their caseloads have increased because of growing populations and more gangs, drugs and related crime.

The same report found, for example, that the Long Beach Police Department, once considered one of the best-run departments in the country, had deteriorated in performance to the point where in 1989 it had the worst record of any major city in California for solving serious and violent crimes.

Long Beach is a case study in what happens when a department is beset with internal labor strife, including accusations by the chief that officers have been involved in the use and sale of narcotics, an increase in violent crime, and an influx of drugs. But Santa Ana and Anaheim, which have had their share of urban problems to deal with, have managed to turn in laudatory performances, despite the obstacles.

In Santa Ana, for example, police solved 81% of reported rape cases, which was nearly 30% better than police agencies on the average in the state’s other 10 largest cities. And in Anaheim, police made arrests in 71% of rape cases and lead all other major cities in cracking assault cases, solving four of five, which was 20% more than the average.

Still, these successful departments have had to set priorities because of the caseload, and the deterioration evident in Long Beach serves as a cautionary tale. A good report on police work is a badge that, to paraphrase the old airline commercial, has to be earned every day.