A Framework for Reform : Update shows progress, despite obstacles, in L.A. Sheriff’s Dept.

Not so long ago, Los Angeles was a town of two publicly embattled police departments. In the case of one--the Los Angeles Police Department--a chief was forced out and a new one recruited from another city to assure needed reforms. In the other, the department responded to a highly critical review by working, for the most part, with the critics to achieve reforms.

That second department is the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Last year a commission headed by Judge James G. Kolts reviewed the department for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and found “deeply disturbing evidence of excessive force and lax discipline.” Sheriff Sherman Block and Kolts, working together, resolved some initial disagreements and settled on a course of action last January. And, according to the first official assessment of reform implementation, issued over the weekend, more good things are happening than bad. The review by special counsel Merrick J. Bobb noted “significant progress” in better control of the use of force. “Progress to date is worth commendation,” says the report, particularly because it occurred while the department faced budget restrictions.

Among the reforms in progress are:

* Creation of a Professional Standards and Training Division, to consolidate formulating, recommending and ultimately implementing a department-wide strategy to track and eliminate excessive force by deputies.

* Training in diversity, use of force, conflict resolution, sexual harassment.

* Citizen advisory committees.

* An independent ombudsman and a panel of retired judges to help resolve citizen complaints.

Much remains to be done. Changing the Sheriff’s Department culture will not occur overnight, and women and minorities are still scarce, particularly in upper ranks. Money remains a problem (Passage Nov. 2 of Proposition 172, continuing the extra half-cent sales tax, would help.) Even so, a healthy measure of reform is under way within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. And that is the good news of the day.