Reno Praises LAPD Recruits Hired With Crime Bill Funds

Addressing the first class of Los Angeles Police Academy recruits hired with funds from the 1994 federal crime bill, U.S. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno praised the new officers for their commitment to public service and the LAPD for its efforts at community-based policing and modernizing its technology.

“I congratulate each one of you for the seven months you have strived and trained for this wonderful undertaking,” Reno said to the 89 new Los Angeles police officers at Friday morning’s graduation ceremony.

Reno also issued a “special challenge” to the graduates: battling youth violence.

According to Reno, gun violence kills a child every two hours.

“We need to work together to get guns out of the hands of young people and make sure the people who put the guns there are held accountable,” she said. “If you respond to a case of child neglect or abuse, you’re not only correcting the abuse at the moment, you are interrupting a cycle of violence that can be perpetuated as that child grows.”

She urged the officers to become role models in their communities. “Reach down to that five-year-old,” Reno said. “The way he views you is the way he will view police officers as he grows up.” If you give him a pat on the back, he is going to think the world of police officers.”

The new officers are part of President Clinton’s push to put 100,000 new law enforcement officers on the streets nationwide. Los Angeles-area police departments have received about $118 million in grants funded by the crime bill, which will translate into 2,400 more officers, Reno said. About 1,600 of those officers will be in the LAPD, Reno said.

Upgraded police equipment--funded by an earlier crime bill grant--will free up an additional 640,000 hours of police time a year, the equivalent of 350 full-time officers.

“That’s doing it the smart way,” Reno said.