‘Far-Fetched’ Ideas Included in LAPD Report : Law enforcement: Turning over the Valley to sheriff’s deputies is one option in a preliminary list of ways to increase the number of officers by 3,000.

In a preliminary analysis of how to expand the Los Angeles Police Department by thousands of officers in four years, top LAPD brass have produced a list of ideas that includes such options as contracting out the entire San Fernando Valley to the Sheriff’s Department.

The preliminary report, obtained by The Times on Thursday, was produced by Assistant Chief Frank Piersol and his staff. The report was submitted to Police Chief Willie L. Williams on July 12 but has not been publicly released.

In his introduction, Piersol warns that “some of the concepts are pretty far-fetched,” but adds that he and his staff elected to consider all options that might allow the department to put 3,000 more officers in the field within four years. Although some of the ideas are familiar ones, others would almost certainly stir controversy.

Asked about the report Thursday, Piersol stressed that it is little more than a brainstorming document produced by him and several assistants. “We have really stretched our imaginations to come up with ideas,” he said. “I would imagine that 90% of this won’t make it into the final report.”

In addition to the proposal to contract out LAPD services in the Valley--presented in a single sentence in the report--Piersol suggests that the LAPD consider hiring out all city traffic operations to the Highway Patrol, hiring off-duty officers from other departments to provide police services and increasing the number of police officers hired from other departments.

Some of those proposals might win support from the City Council, local law enforcement observers said. But the idea of turning over the Valley to the Sheriff’s Department would almost certainly find rough going.

“That’s dead on arrival,” one local political source said. “It’s a silly suggestion and would never pass the council.”

Laura Chick, a newly elected council member from the Valley, agreed.

“Absolutely, positively no way,” she said. “I’m very interested in bringing our force up to 10,000 officers, but not this way.”

Mayor Richard Riordan was elected largely on the support of Valley residents, and the LAPD enjoys its strongest backing there, observers said. Contracting out that portion of the department’s operations would strip it of its most enthusiastic constituency, a move that political pundits predicted Riordan would be extremely hesitant to make.

“Some of these ideas are going to be off-base,” Piersol conceded. “Some are them are going to be right on target. Some are going to be in-between.”

Piersol said department officials hope to send a final report of recommendations to Williams by Aug. 16. The chief will review that set of ideas and will deliver his own recommendations to Riordan in late August.

Piersol’s report also lists a number of more traditional solutions to the LAPD’s staffing woes. But even with all of them taken together, the suggestions fall short of meeting Riordan’s goal of building a 10,500-officer force by the end of his four-year term.

The LAPD has about 7,600 officers, and Riordan has said his top priority as mayor is to hire 3,000 more. Williams, however, has warned that it may be impossible to hire and train that many officers in four years.

According to a preliminary chart attached to Piersol’s report, the LAPD would add about 300 officers per year--for a net gain of 1,200 in four years--once attrition is taken into account. But although Piersol’s ideas would fall short of Riordan’s goal in that sense, they would add 3,300 more officers on patrol within four years. Most of the additional patrol officers would be drawn from existing ranks.

That would be accomplished by hiring more civilians, using reserve officers more extensively, improving technology, replacing worn-out equipment and funding the department’s overtime budget, among other things.

The overtime budget alone would put an additional 460 officers a day on the street at an estimated cost of $47 million a year, Piersol said in his report. Funding 80% of that budget would add 320 officers a day to the force, the report added.

Williams already has endorsed the idea of boosting LAPD overtime pay, which could produce quick results. Williams also has asked the city to hire civilians to fill a number of vacancies at the LAPD. In his report, Piersol suggests that civilians could be hired to fill existing vacancies, adding that 640 LAPD positions currently staffed by sworn officers could be filled by civilians.

Some of the ideas in Piersol’s report are more general and their impact is harder to quantify. But they are likely to strike a responsive chord among rank-and-file officers. Many have long complained about the deteriorating quality of their equipment, for instance, and Piersol echoes those concerns.

“Much of the equipment officers must use is old and breaking down all too frequently,” he said. “Cars are the biggest problem. Detectives frequently must wait for an available car to file cases, interview suspects or talk with victims and witnesses. Police officers spend valuable time putting a broken car out of service and outfitting another car to continue their watch.”

Among the most difficult issues for the LAPD as it struggles to boost its depleted ranks is the question of speeding up training at the Police Academy. Increasing class sizes or increasing the number of academy classes--two ideas that Piersol offers for consideration--would add to the LAPD’s training capacity.

But those ideas fly in the face of reform proposals that have stressed the need to improve training, not speed it up.

Williams has vowed not to put partially trained officers on the street under any circumstances. City Councilman Marvin Braude, who chairs the public safety committee, also has said that he would oppose any plan that threatened to lower the quality of LAPD training.