THE TIMES POLL : Wide Majority of Public Backs LAPD Pay Raise

A wide majority of Los Angeles residents approves of the pay raise that was ratified by the police union last week--a vote of confidence that apparently reflects the public’s increasingly positive view of the long-embattled force, the Los Angeles Times Poll has found.

Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said they back the pay hike for officers, which could amount to as much as 12% over 18 months.

But much of the support for the raise is conditional. The survey found that approval of the package slips to 46% when the public is confronted with the possibility, predicted by some city officials, that the raises will cut into a plan to put more officers on the street.

The Times Poll, directed by John Brennan, interviewed 1,023 residents of the city of Los Angeles on Saturday and Sunday. The margin of sampling error for the entire survey is plus or minus four percentage points and somewhat higher for some subgroups.

The survey brought mostly good news for police officers, who often say they feel overburdened and unappreciated.

Two-thirds of the city’s residents approve of the way the Police Department is handling its duties and clear majorities of blacks and Latinos share a positive view of the force, despite the widespread belief in those groups that the force is still prone to racism and brutality. Police Chief Willie L. Williams maintained his strong positive image, winning the approval of nearly three-quarters of the citizens. And despite continuing unease about crime across the city, most people have a favorable impression of the LAPD’s efforts to suppress crime and reach out to citizens in their communities.

“They are in a life-threatening job. They are out there every night putting their lives on the line,” said Marilyn Roland of Venice, who supports the pay raise. “I feel that something else could be cut to pay for this. . . . I think it will improve morale and maybe get new recruits to apply for the job.”

“They are in a war zone,” said Karen Harris, who lives in South-Central Los Angeles and supports the pay raise. “They don’t get many decent weapons; they might as well give them some more money. It might make them a little more enthusiastic.”

For several months, the police pay raise has been the preoccupation of many officers and much of city government. The Police Protective League, which represents about 7,500 officers through the rank of lieutenant, has argued that officers are leaving the LAPD in droves as the department’s pay slips behind others.

Research has shown that Los Angeles officers are paid less than their counterparts in most of the state’s other big cities--a disparity that has grown sharper in the two years police have gone without pay increases.

Over the past several months, the police union used increasingly aggressive tactics in an attempt to win a larger raise from the city--beginning with a march on City Hall and moving on to a mass sickout by officers and a threat to release embarrassing information about Mayor Richard Riordan and City Council members.

The dispute has been brought to the verge of settlement by a deal that would give police a base raise of 7% over the next 18 months. In addition, officers would receive a $1,500 bonus that some officials said is designed to make up for the two years they went without a pay raise. Patrol officers would receive an additional 1% this year and next as an incentive to keep working the streets.

The police officers union announced Monday that the package had been approved and now awaits the approval of the City Council to take effect. That vote is scheduled for Wednesday.

When the package was described to those surveyed by The Times, 74% said they supported it, 20% said they were opposed and the rest said they did not have a position. Whites were particularly supportive of the package, with 81% approving, but it was also backed by 70% of African Americans and Latinos.

Several City Council members and other city officials have argued that the police raises will cost $15 million more than has been set aside in the municipal budget and take away overtime funds that would put the equivalent of several hundred more police on the streets.

Confronted with this scenario, Angelenos were split on the pay raise, with 46% in favor and 43% opposed.

Both the Police Protective League and City Council members have spent much of their time during the contract dispute impugning each other’s tactics and motives, but neither side has scored a decisive victory in this war of words.

Only a third of those responding to the poll said the city acted unfairly during negotiations. While a bare majority objected to the Police Protective League’s sickouts, a sizable number of respondents said they were justified. Only 2% of those disapproving of the raise cited the so-called “blue flu” as the reason for their opposition.

The poll results were part of a generally improving public attitude toward police officers in the city, whose approval rating hit bottom in the spring of 1991, shortly after the internationally televised beating of Rodney G. King. At that point, just 34% of Los Angeles residents approved of the Police Department’s job performance.

By last weekend that approval rating had nearly doubled to 67%, a post-King beating high, but still lagging behind the nearly three-quarters of residents who approved of the department in 1988.

Whites (75%), Latinos (64%) and blacks (61%) all said they now approve of the LAPD. That view represented a particularly dramatic increase in support from Latinos, fewer than half of whom said they approved of the LAPD in a survey late last year.

Similarly, majorities in every part of the city--the Westside, San Fernando Valley, central and southern regions--said they approve of the LAPD.

The downside for the LAPD is that much of the public still suspects officers of harboring racist or brutal attitudes, but even those perceptions of the department have been somewhat muted.

For the first time since the King beating, The Times Poll found that less than a majority, 49%, consider police brutality “common.” That compares to the approximately two-thirds of Angelenos who expressed that opinion in several surveys after the infamous videotaped King beating.

Opinion on the question of brutality, though, varies widely depending on the ethnicity of those questioned. Nearly three of four African Americans surveyed continue to believe that brutality is common, compared to less than half of whites. Just over half of Latinos believe that incidents of brutality involving the LAPD are common, the poll found.

The same pattern held true when residents were questioned about racism, with blacks (79%) most likely to feel that racist feelings are common among officers, whites (50%) least likely to have that opinion and Latinos (66%) in the middle.

Jonah Carolina, 31, of South-Central expressed the mixed feelings of many in the black community, who said they approve of the Police Department but still are concerned about racism and brutality within the ranks.

“I’ve had encounters with them when I personally detected some sort of racism,” Carolina said. “On the other hand, there are some (police) who are legit and try to do things by the book. If they are right, I am behind them 100%.”

More than two-thirds of the city’s residents said they approve of police efforts to hold down crime and 61% said they approve of efforts to reach out to their neighborhoods.

But despite those efforts, only about half of the people in the city said they feel safe in their communities. That compares to more than 80% of Americans nationwide who feel safe in their hometowns, according to a Times survey conducted in January.

In other results, the poll found:

* Sharp division on the question of whether King received a large enough judgment from the city of Los Angeles for his 1991 beating. Forty-four percent said the $3.8 million award was too large, while 31% said it was adequate and 19% said it was not high enough. Blacks were particularly inclined to feel that the payment to King should be larger, with 48% favoring a higher award and 38% saying it was adequate. Whites were split 56% in favor of a smaller award to 32% saying it was adequate.

A majority of Angelenos also agreed with the judge and jury in the case that King should not receive punitive damages from either the four officers accused of beating him, or from former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

* Disagreement with a position by the American Civil Liberties Union, and others, that it is important for LAPD officers to live in Los Angeles to be more attuned to the city and its problems. A clear majority of 57% said it is not important for officers to live in the city.

* Fifty percent of respondents oppose the reinstatement of Theodore J. Briseno, who was fired after the King beating. He was cleared of criminal charges in the beating but was found by a police disciplinary board to have acted improperly when he kicked King. Nearly two out of five favored his reinstatement.

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll interviewed 1,023 adult residents of the city of Los Angeles, by telephone, Saturday and Sunday. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the city. Random-digit dialing techniques were used so that listed and non-listed numbers could be contacted. Interviewing was conducted in English and Spanish. The sample was weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age and education. The margin of sampling error for the total sample is plus or minus 4 percentage points. For certain other subgroups the error margin may be somewhat higher. Poll results can also be affected by other factors such as question wording and the order in which questions are presented.

THE TIME POLL: LAPD Approval Rating

Approval of the Los Angeles Police Department is the highest since the beating of Rodney G. King. Most people approve of the proposed pay increase for officers, but would balk at the hike if it means fewer extra officers would be hired.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Los Angeles Police Department in handling its job?

*

Do you approve or disapprove of the pay raise being offered to the Los Angeles Police Department? Approve: 74% Disapprove: 20% Don’t know: 6% *

Do you think the pay raise offered to police by Mayor Richard Riordan and other city officials is too much, not enough or adequate? Adequate: 56% Not enough: 30% Don’t know: 5% *

If approving the raise for current officers means substantially fewer extra officers on the street than planned, do you approve or disapprove of the pay raise? Approve: 46% Disapprove: 43% Don’t know: 11% *

Some LAPD officers have participated in job actions to protest their lack of a new contract. Giver their lack of a contract, do you think these actions are justified? Justified: 42% Unjustified: 51% Don’t know: 7% *

What is your impression of the LAPD’s activities in you neighborhood when it comes to: Reaching out to the community Favorable: 61% Unfavorable: 32% Don’t know: 7% Holding down crime Favorable: 66% Unfavorable: 31% Don’t know: 3% *

Do you think incidents of police brutality involving the LAPD are common? Common: 49% Uncommon: 44% Don’t know: 7% *

How common are racist feelings among Los Angeles police officers? Common: 60% Uncommon: 29% Don’t know: 11% *

Many members of the Los Angeles police force live outside the city of Los Angeles. How important is it to you that Los Angeles police officers live within the boundaries of the city of Los Angeles? Important: 41% Not important: 57% Don’t know: 2% Source: Times polls of Los Angeles