Female Quota Set for LAPD

I read with great interest “LAPD Minorities Voice Concern on Female Quota” (Sept. 11). For the past two years, I have been a white male applicant to the Los Angeles Police Department. I can sympathize with the minorities’ concern over quotas. Due to a consent decree from the federal government, the LAPD is forced to hire minorities and females, despite in some cases the higher scores of their white male counterparts. In my opinion, this is obvious reverse discrimination. Now that the City Council has passed a plan to increase the percentage of women on the force (Sept. 10), this makes another roadblock in the process of hiring the best possible applicant regardless of race or gender. Everyday police officers deal with life-and-death decisions and the safety of the public. When the most qualified applicants are not hired, the safety of the public is compromised.

Society cannot come to grips with racial and gender discrimination while still discriminating against other segments of the community. What we need is a level playing field where the hiring is done strictly on the basis of the ability to do the job. I am in favor of effective recruiting and workshops to help integrate all segments of the community into the Police Department, but not discriminating against anyone. It is possible to make the testing process color- and gender blind, which would eliminate any possibility for discrimination.

BRIAN M. WILSON, Santa Monica