POLICE WATCH : A Step for Change
When the Christopher Commission issued its landmark report on the Los Angeles Police Department in 1991, one of its valuable recommendations was to set up an independent body that would investigate quickly and thoroughly civilian complaints against police abuses. In the worst cases, the new office of inspector general could take disciplinary action against cops who abused the system by using excessive force.
The inspector general’s office, together with community-based policing, was supposed to form the cornerstone of greater police accountability. But more than four years after the idea was put forward, the office is far from what it could be.
Certainly there is blame to share. The City Council dragged its feet because of a hiring freeze. The city’s Charter required that the Police Commission go to the voters to exempt the inspector general from Civil Service rules, giving the position more independence. And there was the Police Commission itself, which failed to provide the vision needed for the new agency to succeed.
New Police Commission President Deirdre Hill has taken an important first step for change by hiring as a consultant Merrick J. Bobb, the Christopher Commission’s deputy counsel.
Bobb, who has considerable experience working on complaint patterns against Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, is an excellent choice to help build new momentum toward reform.
The task will require perseverance. And not just in the inspector general’s office.
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