Understanding the Riots--Six Months Later : A New Blue Line / REMAKING THE LAPD : A New Direction

“Law enforcement is a ‘thin blue line’ which stands between you and the organized forces of crime.”

-- Then-Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker, September, 1952.

After flames, gunfire and looting burst across the city, an angry cry went out: “Where were the police?” Besieged since the Rodney King beating, the Los Angeles Police Department was criticized as ill-prepared, indecisive and slow to respond to last spring’s riots. Despite individual acts of bravery, police leadership and tactics were excoriated. The department’s very ability to protect and serve was questioned. Calls for fundamental change became a chorus.

Today, six months later, the LAPD has a new man behind the chief’s badge and a new direction. This special section examines important developments--within the department, at City Hall and on the streets--and outlines LAPD’s challenges for the 1990s. The section feature a poll that gauges public confidence in the department, exclusive interviews with Chief Willie L. Williams, a study of the department’s strengths and weaknesses, plus the voices and faces of the men and women who are the new blue line.