Ombudsman to Mediate LAPD Conflicts

As part of a major reorganization that will be announced this week, Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks plans to establish an internal ombudsman’s position in an effort to resolve conflicts among LAPD employees before they become larger, more serious problems.

The position, believed to be the first of its kind at the department, would be aimed at creating a better working environment for the LAPD’s 12,000 employees. Parks is planning to name an as-of-yet undetermined high-ranking command officer to fill the post.

Among other duties, the ombudsman would seek to mitigate and resolve conflicts between two or more individuals before they reach the point of personnel investigations, Parks said this week in a meeting with Los Angeles Times news executives and reporters.

“The position of ombudsman is one of the key components to a completely new mode of operation for a Los Angeles chief of police. There are many other facets to be disclosed but this is one of the key positions,” Deputy Chief David Gascon said. “The chief has demonstrated great creativity and it’s obvious how important he considers being proactive in preventing problems from festering or becoming significant issues for the employees of the organization.”

Attorney Merrick Bobb, who is a consultant for the city Police Commission, praised the idea, saying that such a post might ease the workload of the department’s overburdened internal affairs investigators.

“I would be all for a system that would attempt to resolve a situation by some consensual process without the necessity for a full-blown internal affairs investigatory process,” Bobb said.

The ombudsman would provide another avenue for employees to address their concerns about co-workers and work conditions at the department instead of filing complaints directly with internal affairs investigators. Currently, some officers also lodge complaints with the department’s inspector general--who is the civilian watchdog over the agency--the women’s coordinator, or a newly formed anti-discrimination unit.

In recent months, the inspector general has been the recipient of a number of complaints that traditionally have been internal affairs matters--a situation that has irked some department brass. An ombudsman, according to some sources, might serve to keep the LAPD’s dirty laundry within the department, rather than putting it into the purview of a civilian watchdog.

Parks is expected to unveil his overall reorganization plan Thursday.

Although he has remained tight-lipped, Parks has acknowledged that he wants to reduce the department’s command structure so there are only “two levels” between the chief’s office and patrol operations.

Sources say Parks is likely to eliminate all three currently vacant assistant chief’s positions. Cutting the command structure will help increase accountability among all ranks in the department, Parks said.

Additionally, Parks has said his top priorities include improving the mental and physical health of LAPD employees. Last week, he said he hopes to create an incentive program to encourage officers to stay physically fit.

In his meeting with The Times, Parks said he plans to hire enough psychologists so there is one doctor for every two stations within the department. Physical and mental stress, according to Parks, is a factor in many of the department’s personnel problems.

Parks’ reorganization plan is also expected to call for a new high-level position to coordinate an LAPD pilot program modeled after a New York City police crime-fighting technique that utilizes up-to-the-minute crime statistics to identify problem areas and better deploy officers.