Daryl Gates on Michael Milken

When Judge Kimba M. Wood sentenced Michael Milken to 10 years in prison, she also sentenced him to three years probation. She imposed a special condition of probation that requires Milken to “serve full-time community service, 1,800 hours per year for each of the three years, in a program to be determined by the court.”

In anticipation of such condition being a part of Milken’s sentence, I wrote a letter to the judge. The letter has been an object of considerable public attention and comment, especially by the media. While most people who have followed the Milken case are aware that I wrote the letter, they are not aware of what was said in it.

I did not ask the judge to be lenient nor did I suggest to the court that Milken be assigned to DARE, the Police Department’s drug-abuse prevention program. I left no room for doubt on either of these points by stating in the letter, “I am not one to plea for leniency nor is this letter a plea for leniency.” To the contrary, I merely presented a plan for the judge to consider. I outlined a proposed program I called a Domestic Peace Corps.

The Domestic Peace Corps is a program I have envisioned for the past few years that would function as a companion to DARE by addressing the needs of inner-city kids in a way that DARE cannot. A kid has to be in school for DARE to help. Far too many inner-city children are not in school.

A Domestic Peace Corps with heavy investment and commitment by private corporate citizens could begin to turn around the 40%-50% dropout rate from our inner-city schools. It can teach non-violent conflict resolution in an area where being the victim of a homicide is the leading cause of death for black males. It can be a catalyst for government, business and industrial complexes to cooperatively provide adequate, quality job opportunities.

While my personal knowledge of Michael Milken is limited, I did meet with him on one occasion a few years ago in connection with our DARE program. I went away from that meeting tremendously impressed. He had obviously thought deeply about how to turn around inner-city kids--to move them in constructive, positive ways.

My ideas about a Domestic Peace Corps have encountered considerable skepticism. I mentioned DARE in my letter to Judge Wood because only eight years ago it, too, was but a vision that skeptics said would never work. They were wrong. DARE works not only in Los Angeles but throughout the United Statesa and in an increasing number of foreign nations.

In light of the judge sentencing Milken to 5,400 hours of community service, I have written another letter to her which I conclude by saying, “My offer still stands.”

DARYL F. GATES

Chief of Police, Los Angeles