LOS ANGELES : Wachs Calls for ‘Summit’ on Low Police Morale

City Councilman Joel Wachs has called for a “summit” meeting of city and community leaders in an attempt to resolve the problem of low morale in the Police Department.

Wachs’s proposal was in response to reports that police--frustrated by the lack of a pay raise and perceived lack of support from superiors--are issuing fewer citations and submitting poorly investigated cases to prosecutors.

Wachs said he hopes to bring together Mayor Richard Riordan, police officers, citizen groups, the police commissioner and others in an attempt to improve pay and working conditions.

The San Fernando Valley councilman suggested that officers should be given a raise and better equipment, but did not say how he would pay for those improvements.