He’s Got the Plan, Who’s Got the Money? : Mayor has an excellent plan to put more cops on the streets

Several observations need to be made immediately about Mayor Richard Riordan’s ambitious plan, announced Wednesday, to increase the Los Angeles Police Department from its present level of 7,594 officers to 11,935 by 1998:

1. Angelenos Should Applaud the Mayor’s Leadership.

The mayor and Police Chief Willie L. Williams laid before the city a serious and complex plan to increase the presence of uniformed officers. No doubt the plan will be picked over carefully in the days to come. (One obvious question: Where’s the money going to come from?) But at least there is now a plan to work with. Do we need this personnel buildup? Yes. Will people support it? Most likely. Is this what voters elected Riordan to do? Clearly.

2. The Plan, Developed by Chief Williams, Is Comfortingly Complex.

Los Angeles is fortunate to have a very professional police chief, one who doesn’t believe in half-baked ideas. The plan involves not just the hiring and training of rookie officers but (a) recruiting from other departments (“lateral officers”), (b) “civilianization,” using civilians for some desk jobs, thus freeing more uniformed officers for street duty, (c) labor-saving automation and computerization, (d) the judicious use of overtime and buy-back of holiday/vacation time to get more out of the existing force, and (e) a major effort to keep more current officers on the force. The plan would also improve LAPD training capability and equipment.

3. The Plan Emphasizes the Christopher Commission Reforms.

Indeed, this absolutely necessary reform program is mentioned in the very first sentence of Riordan’s report, which we regard as a measure of priority. Indeed, community policing as envisioned by the Christopher Commission all but requires a significant buildup of officers. Community policing, whatever its many virtues, is labor-intensive. Los Angeles does need it, but this means more LAPD officers.

4. The Plan Is Vague, to Say the Least, on the Financing:

Skeptics will seize on this point. How real is a plan that doesn’t spell out the funding mechanisms? The mayor frankly acknowledges that he prefers to remain vague on this point for now. One reason is that, with police-union contract negotiations under way, he doesn’t want to say; also, given the reality of the fractious and often-independent City Council he has to work with, he can’t say. Perhaps a third reason is that if new taxes (such as a bond issue or a special designated property tax) are required, the mayor knows he will need to wring more out of other city services before asking the voters for more money.

5. Existing LAPD Officers Ought to Take the Mayor’s Plan as the Best Kind of Compliment.

What he is saying is: This city is in trouble, and having more people like you is part of the solution. One section of the mayor’s plan says this about LAPD morale: “Lack of appreciation by supervisors and management was among the most noted reasons for resigning from the department. Greater sensitivity on the part of managers and supervisors should serve to improve the workplace environment, raise morale and improve productivity, making the department a more desirable and efficient place to work.” Certainly officers should feel no lack of appreciation from the new mayor, or from the chief. Or, for that matter, from all the decent and caring citizens of this city. Los Angeles cannot emerge from its current troubles without a continually improving LAPD.