Everyone Must Help to Make It Work

When the Christopher Commission issued its comprehensive report in July on the Los Angeles Police Department, the kernel of its wise and reasoned findings was that the department had lost touch with the community it is mandated to serve and protect. The “organizational culture” of the department, the commission concluded, “emphasizes crime control over crime prevention” and rewards officers for being “hard-nosed.” The panel wrote, “This style of policing produces results but . . . creat(es) a siege mentality that alienates the officer from the community.”

To re-establish the vital trust so shaken in the wake of the police beating of motorist Rodney King last March, the commission recommended specific changes in the LAPD’s officer recruitment and promotion practices, its training, discipline and assignment protocols. The most far-reaching of these findings was its advocacy of “community-based policing,” an approach that emphasizes citizen and police cooperation and crime prevention--even more than arrests--as the primary role of the police.

While the Christopher Commission’s recommendations were widely applauded, the momentum for change is always at risk of fading. Now comes City Councilman Marvin Braude with a proposal for a community policing pilot project within the LAPD.

Under the proposal, which needs City Council approval, the concept would be tried out at four stations across Los Angeles. Key elements would include making station captains accountable, reducing the power of specialized units that drain personnel resources and assigning officers to small neighborhoods for at least two years to ensure familiarity with local residents.

The proposal is an important first step. It’s controversial because some council members suggest it leaves too much power in the hands of the department. Details to address such concerns can and should be worked out. Successful implementation will be a challenge--it will require the good faith of all citizens and the efforts of all police officers.

It will also need the support of Chief Daryl F. Gates. The chief has said he is behind Braude’s recommendations “100%.” After release of the commission’s report--and the storm of criticism triggered by the King beating--Gates announced his intention to leave the department in 1992 after 14 years as chief. Community policing is not an idea that Gates has particularly championed. But, depending on how he chooses to implement a community policing experiment, it could be his last and most valuable contribution to the department he has served so long.