Union Says LAPD Has Few ‘Soft Jobs’ : Police: Chief-designate Williams draws sharp criticism for remarks about redeploying officers.

He had not even spent a full day in Los Angeles when the city’s new top cop plunged into a volatile debate over officer assignments--an issue that strikes at the core of how the Police Department uses its resources to fight crime and serve its citizens.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Willie L. Williams, who was named this week to succeed Chief Daryl F. Gates, said one of his top priorities will be to shift more of the LAPD’s 8,100 sworn personnel out of “soft jobs” behind desks and into uniform. He also pledged to convert more of the department’s huge fleet of unmarked cars to “uniform” black-and-whites. “Street patrol is No. 1,” Williams said.

But a similar initiative in Philadelphia has proved highly controversial--and achieved only limited success. And there was no indication Friday that Williams will face fewer obstacles here. He received qualified support from top Los Angeles officials. But resistance from rank-and-file officers, rigid union agreements and a recession-driven city budget crisis may leave Williams little room to move, much as they did in Philadelphia.

On Friday, his “soft jobs” comment brought a rebuke from the LAPD officers’ union, which appears to be on a collision course with Williams, who will not assume his new duties until early June.

“We take offense at the word soft , “ said Police Protective League President Bill Violante. “We don’t have ‘soft jobs’ in the Los Angeles Police Department the way they might have them in Philadelphia.”

Williams emphasized the redeployment issue again Friday in a national television appearance on the “Today” show and at a news conference at Philadelphia’s City Hall.

In Los Angeles, Mayor Tom Bradley has taken a strong position of support for Williams’ plan. A spokesman said the “mayor will support any step, within reason, that increases the size of the patrol force” on the street.

Police Commission President Stanley K. Sheinbaum said he supports the concept of placing more officers in patrol duties, but cautioned: “If there’s any indication it (will cost) more money, it’s just not going to happen.”

There have been many proposals to redeploy officers to street positions.

Just days before Williams was named to the post, the City Council ordered further study of a proposal to shift 400 desk workers to street patrol. The effort is an outgrowth of a Times investigation this year that found an average of only 315 officers per shift assigned to ride in patrol cars and answer crime calls in all of Los Angeles.

But Violante, whose union has battled earlier efforts to force investigators and others to rotate back into uniform patrol units, said there are only a small number of desk jobs that can be eliminated to boost patrols.

The real issue, he said, is that the Police Department is grossly understaffed for a city of nearly 4 million, with an officer-to-population ratio only about half that of Philadelphia.

“You’re not going to solve the problem by moving a few people here and there,” he said, because many desk jobs are “necessary, sensitive and crucial” and should be filled by officers.

But some officers who have worked their way off the street do not want to go back. “Ouch! Ouch!” squealed one happily desk-bound officer at Parker Center when asked about Williams’ plan.

Lt. John Dunkin, an LAPD spokesman, said more patrol officers could mean fewer detectives solving burglaries and other crimes and fewer plainclothes officers combatting gang violence. Street patrol has “always been a priority,” Dunkin said. “We try and strike a balance, and meet the needs of the community.”

Williams has cited his efforts to redeploy officers in Philadelphia, but observers say he has had only limited success.

A spokeswoman for Williams said she could not provide figures on how many in the 6,300-officer force had been placed back on the streets. The popular police band was eliminated, research staff was cut and officers in a graphics arts unit were sent to the street.

However, the latter group fought successfully to return to their desk jobs through a union challenge. “It has made more officers visible,” Sgt. Theresa Young said. “But it hasn’t been easy to do.”

In Los Angeles, the police union went to court to block a Gates’ proposal to send officers with desk jobs back into the field for two days a month. It took two years to negotiate a compromise--still being implemented--to allow the city to redeploy officers to the field one day a month.

In addition, moving officers from desks may require the hiring of lower-paid civilian employees. With the city facing a $200-million budget deficit and strictly enforcing a hiring freeze, few believe that the department will be hiring anyone soon.

Williams, who will return to Los Angeles next week, said he expects to implement his plan “at our present strength (without saying) give me 200 more officers out there to do it.”

To aid in his transition, the chief-designate will receive a $1,000 monthly rent subsidy for six months, as well as travel expenses, said city personnel chief Jack Driscoll.

On Friday, after his return to the East Coast, Williams appeared to be sharpening his criticism of LAPD practices.

On the “Today” show he said the Police Department’s reputation for racism and brutality under Gates was at least partially justified. “I mean, clearly, when you look at the level of complaints, the fact that it was a significant level of minorities . . . Latinos, Asians and blacks that made these complaints over and over again, there has to be some validity there.

“You can’t say that it’s an aberration or anything like that.”

Later, he told reporters in Philadelphia that he will have to rebuild relations with community groups “almost from the ground up. They (LAPD) do not have anything close to the normal relationships that we have here.”