LAPD Survey Finds Supervisors in Disfavor : Police: Rank-and-file officers say superiors are insensitive, and inept in crises. Many report high racial tension in department.

An in-house survey of LAPD officers and civilian employees taken after the 1992 riots determined that the department is beset by complaints about supervisors and increased racial tension, according to a copy of the report sent last week to all LAPD commanding officers.

“The overwhelming majority of complaints focused on the failings of the department’s managers,” Police Chief Willie L. Williams wrote in an accompanying memorandum, which, along with a fact sheet detailing the report, was obtained by The Times. “Employees generally felt that management is insensitive to their needs and incompetent as leaders, particularly in crisis situations.”

The report was ordered by the department and prepared by its Behavioral Science Services Section based on interviews with officers over several months last year. In addition to its conclusions about employee perceptions of management, it also found that many officers were apprehensive about the LAPD’s hiring and promotion policies intended to increase the number of minorities at all levels of the department. “One of the negative consequences of this has been an increase in racial tension,” the report found.

In a third blunt finding, the report added that many officers feel unfairly attacked by the media and local politicians.

“They feel the media has intentionally and unfairly portrayed the department in a negative light,” the report said. “They also feel that city politicians have actively participated in the destruction of the department’s image while advancing their own personal agendas.”

Those findings are sure to bolster the arguments of police union leaders and rank-and-file officers, who have complained vocally in recent weeks about abysmal department morale. They also pose daunting challenges for Williams as he embarks, along with Mayor Richard Riordan, on an effort to bolster the LAPD’s depleted ranks and move beyond the crises that have undercut public confidence in the department in the past two years.

Dr. Debra Glaser, acting director of the LAPD’s Behavioral Science Services Section, said most of the interviews for the study were done in group sessions, though some were in one-on-one discussions. She said that although researchers did not tally the total number of officers interviewed for the study, officers in every division were interviewed.

Williams was unavailable for comment Tuesday, but Police Commission President Jesse A. Brewer said the report pointed out areas where the department needs to pay special attention.

“All those problems are serious ones,” Brewer said. “We need to tackle them, no question about it.”

Brewer, a former high-ranking LAPD officer who is completing his tenure on the Police Commission, agreed that complaints about management have been commonplace since the 1992 riots, when many officers felt let down by their supervisors and pilloried by politicians and the media. But the commission president said he is confident that Williams is aware of the problem and is taking steps to restore the confidence of rank-and-file officers.

The survey and its findings are accompanied by a list of recommendations, and Williams said in his memorandum that many of those already have been put in place. The chief cited the department’s formalized riot plan, developed in case unrest accompanied the end of the federal civil rights trial over the Rodney G. King beating, as well as $1 million that has been earmarked for the purchase of riot equipment.

Williams also noted that the department has recently ordered pepper spray for all police officers, a move that has won praise from many rank-and-file officers. “There are just a few examples of what is being done to improve the department’s performance in crisis situations and its overall image,” Williams said in his memo.

Other recommendations made by the study include the publication of a department newsletter on LAPD matters, encouraging supervisors to be more visible in the field, dealing with racial and gender complaints “quickly and openly,” and improving the equipment issued to officers.

In the longer term, the report advocates development of a leadership training program for management-level employees and creation of a diversity training course similar to one run by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, among other ideas.

“While the (recommendations are) certainly not intended to be all-inclusive, (they) should provide a framework from which to begin improving the department,” the report says. “It is clear that managers have failed in some areas.”

In an effort to improve department communications, Williams has encouraged captains and other department supervisors to attend roll call sessions. The LAPD also has commissioned outside studies of how to improve management and leadership practices, Brewer said.

“We have found a lack of leadership,” he added. “Over the years, the department has emphasized management to the detriment of leadership.”

Although department officials say they hope to address each of the recommendations outlined in the report, Brewer said the status of race relations within the LAPD remains troubling. Brewer attributed the report’s finding of racial tension in the ranks to a number of factors, including the department’s ineffective attempts to explain its court-ordered affirmative action policy to its rank-and-file officers.

In addition, Brewer said reaction to the federal verdicts in the recent civil rights trial of four Los Angeles police officers was heated and mixed. Many officers were furious that two of their colleagues were convicted of violating King’s civil rights, while others believed that the officers who beat King deserved to be punished.

He added that the department’s affirmative action efforts also appear to have antagonized some officers, particularly Anglo males who feel there is little chance for promotion during a time where much attention is being focused on increasing diversity in the LAPD.

In his memo, Williams said he has asked that the survey become an annual fixture at LAPD, and he urged all officers and employees to cooperate in the process.

“It is my goal to diligently work toward improving this department and restoring its image and reputation to what it once was,” Williams wrote. “Only by working together can we restore the proud reputation of the LAPD.”

Surveying the Force Here are some of the recommendations made in a departmentwide survey of LAPD officers and civilian employees after the riots: * Clearly define the goals and mission of the department. Define the parameters within which the department will operate to achieve the goals and mission.

* Commanding officers and managers should conduct regular one-on-one interviews with subordinates, sworn and civilian, to open lines of communication.

* Publish a newsletter to disseminate accurate information concerning occurrences within the department. Currently, the only source of information provided to officers is the Police Protective League’s Thin Blue Line.

* Develop a comprehensive approach to dealing with cultural diversity and human relations within the department.

* Develop a policy to address the special needs of employees, such as child care.

* Develop a full-scale, comprehensive mental health approach to improving morale.

* Encourage staff and command officers to routinely work within the patrol environment in addition to their regular administrative duties.