Parks Puts Own Stamp on LAPD in First Year

He’s feared and revered, loved and hated. A no-nonsense workaholic leader on a mission to mold the Los Angeles Police Department in his own ramrod-straight image.

As Bernard C. Parks marks his first anniversary this week as the city’s police chief--a job he long coveted--nearly everyone agrees the LAPD has undergone a remarkable transformation. Parks, they say, has provided direction for an organization that seemingly lacked focus in recent years.

Yet despite his tremendous success, there is a growing sense among people both within and outside of the LAPD that Parks’ so-called “honeymoon” status is coming to a close--if it hasn’t ended already--and that more difficult times lie ahead.

“The real issue is not what happened in the first year, but what happens in the second year, third year and beyond,” acknowledged Mayor Richard Riordan, who hand-selected Parks for the five-year post last year.

Over the course of the past 12 months, Parks has alienated many rank-and-file officers, sparred with their union leaders and annoyed several City Hall officials. Even some community supporters view him with a bit of caution, unsure how committed he is to community policing and departmental reforms.

And, while his five civilian bosses on the Police Commission publicly praise Parks up and down, sources say some of them privately grumble that he occasionally leaves them out of the loop and is late to meetings.

“His strengths are that he is an incredibly strong manager [and] he has high expectations of everyone around him. He has very simple tastes: He demands the best of everyone,” Riordan said. “In some ways his strengths are also his weaknesses. Some people think he tries to take too great a control over everything.”

But that’s hardly a drawback, according to the mayor, who wishes more of the city’s top managers were like the chief. Riordan said the only problem he’s aware of is the chief’s lack of punctuality, not exactly a firing offense.

“He’s a time optimist and this is a dangerous thing to be,” Riordan said. “[But] based on his performance, I couldn’t have picked anyone better in the world than Bernie.”

45-Page Evaluation and List of Goals

Police officers throughout the LAPD say that, although Parks can be charismatic and charming, he also is an imposing figure who rules by fear and intimidation.

“All the great chiefs had a certain fear element to them,” said Joseph Gunn, executive director of the Police Commission. “We’re not interested in having a chief who is everybody’s buddy.”

Strong-willed, opinionated and unapologetic, Parks knows what he wants to do and then sets out to do it. There is little discussion or consultation. He didn’t wait for commissioners to conduct a performance evaluation on him. He simply did it himself, sending them a 45-page, single-spaced report outlining his many “Achievements, Accomplishments and Future Initiatives.” The attachments were several inches thick.

“I only touched on the high points,” Parks quipped.

Most of his initiatives have been aimed at improving accountability and focusing every employee on crime reduction.

When Parks was sworn into office last Aug. 12, he said his success as a leader should be judged on his ability to drive down crime. By that measure, Parks clearly would be considered a top-flight leader, having presided over a 13% drop in violent crime during his brief tenure. So far this year, there were 115 fewer homicides than for the same period last year and about 3,000 fewer robberies.

But if it were that easy to link crime statistics to a chief’s success then former Chief Willie L. Williams, largely viewed as a failure at the LAPD, would have been riding high his last few years. In fact, most chiefs throughout the country would be hailed as crime has dropped precipitously nationwide.

“It’s a much broader issue,” Gunn said. “We have to look at his management, his vision.”

Gunn said the commission will review Parks’ job performance in coming weeks, using the same criteria it used when Williams was denied a second term. Parks will be judged on relationships with the community, commission, department and City Hall. He will be judged on his progress on community policing, his effectiveness in ushering in police reforms, his judgment in meting out punishment and a number of other issues.

But it is no secret that his bosses are pleased.

“It’s a no-brainer,” said Commissioner T. Warren Jackson. “He’s met our best expectations.”

Likewise for many City Council members.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, a member of the council’s Public Safety Committee, said he believes Parks is a “tremendous improvement” over Williams.

“The last thing this city needs is a wimpy chief,” Alarcon said.

In fact, some department observers are less concerned about how the chief is running the department and more worried about the quality of oversight his bosses are providing.

“My fear is that the commission is not up to the task of providing oversight to somebody as smart, vibrant and self-confident as Parks,” said one law enforcement expert close to the LAPD.

Commissioners defend themselves, saying that they do scrutinize the chief’s actions, but they prefer to work out any problems they have with him outside the public’s view. Moreover, they said, they have less need to micro-manage the chief because he is far more competent than his predecessor.

When Parks, a 33-year veteran, took over the LAPD’s reins, the force seemed rudderless and without any clear vision. The rank and file was demoralized after years of public scrutiny, first during the Rodney G. King beating and then during the O.J. Simpson murder trial. The command officers said they were pulled in different directions by 21 bosses: the mayor, five commissioners and 15 City Council members.

Parks immediately reorganized his command staff and flattened out the organization to increase accountability and empower his subordinates. Many officers seemed invigorated by the demanding workloads and expectations Parks set.

On most days, top brass don crisply pressed uniforms instead of business suits, which seemed more popular during Williams’ era. In his review of his accomplishments, Parks wrote that he had “stressed pride in wearing the LAPD uniform.”

The chief leads by example, working harder than anybody. From early in the morning to late at night, Parks lives and breathes the LAPD. On weekends, he usually attends several community events.

“I’ll get calls from him at midnight and weekends with things to do,” said Cmdr. Dave Kalish, the chief’s spokesman. “It’s a challenge to keep up with him.”

As Parks put it, “There is always work to be done.”

Among the works accomplished in his first year, Parks has:

* Instituted a computerized approach of using crime statistics to fight crime and monitor risk management issues.

* Created an ombudsman position aimed at resolving disputes among department employees before they escalate into formal complaints.

* Overhauled the complaint process to ensure that all complaints are recorded and adjudicated. The system has been criticized by the rank and file and some supervisors for being overburdening.

* Formed a foundation with the goal of raising funds that will pay for equipment and programs not covered by taxpayer money.

* Sought additional positions for the LAPD’s psychology staff, while stressing that the mental and physical well-being of officers remains a department priority.

* Pressed for ballistic door panels and videotape equipment for all new patrol cars.

* Moved forward on an analysis to consolidate most of the city’s law enforcement functions, such as airport police and park rangers, under the LAPD’s authority.

But while some command officers feel they’ve been run ragged by the pace and breadth of Parks’ vision, some community leaders complain they have been ignored.

Commitment to Community Policing

One of Parks’ most controversial proposals during his tenure has been a plan to move more than 160 community liaison officers back to patrol. Although he contends that it will enhance community policing, many city and neighborhood leaders fear that it will dismantle a successful program.

“He is not interested in what the community has to say,” said Page Miller, a community activist who opposes the chief’s proposed reassignment of senior lead officers. “The chief demands accountability for everyone but himself. It’s dangerous for the community.”

Ramona Ripston, executive director of the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said she also “has concerns about his commitment to community policing and his willingness to listen to people outside the department.”

Nonetheless, she said, Parks has “shown promise. I think he’s a strong leader and has a vision for the department, something we have not had in Los Angeles in a really long time.”

Parks does have tremendous local support, particularly among the city’s minority communities where his predecessor also was extremely popular.

“I would give him high marks,” said Geraldine R. Washington, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP. “He’s raised the level of confidence of the people in our community. . . . But there are still concerns that there are some policemen who are not serving and protecting or living up to the oath that they took.

“There is a lot that Chief Parks has to do,” she said.

One area of concern among some community leaders is whether Parks truly is committed to embracing department reforms that were put forward by the 1991 Christopher Commission after the King beating.

“The jury is still out,” said one community leader, who asked not to be named. “We’re still not sure where he stands on some things. He’s kind of a mystery.”

During his first year, Parks has said he wants to come to some resolution on reform recommendations that were proposed in the Christopher Commission report and other critiques of the department. Later this month he is expected to give the commission an update on which reforms have been implemented and which have not.

Attorney Merrick Bobb, a consultant to the Police Commission, said he believes “there is much to the Christopher Commission agenda that remains to be done.”

Bobb added, however, that he gives Parks “high marks for pulling the department together, putting bright and creative people in positions of responsibility and stopping the department from reeling and giving it the confidence to move forward.”

Some council members agree that the LAPD is moving, but have expressed private concerns about where it’s going. They worry that in a rather piecemeal way, the LAPD is making a much more conservative, traditional return to the paramilitary days of former chief Daryl F. Gates.

Some lawmakers complain that Parks makes his demands forcefully in closed sessions, frequently giving council members the feeling that he would like to say: “I’m the one running this department--not the 15 of you.”

Forceful Leadership Alienating Union

It is the same sort of forceful leadership that has alienated union leaders who represent more than 9,500 of Parks’ officers. Dave Hepburn, the president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said the union’s relationship with the chief is dismal. It was bad from the beginning because of Parks’ decision to abolish compressed work schedules.

“He’s very autocratic and doesn’t care to get the input of the officers who work for him,” Hepburn said. He added Parks has made some cops long for the inept leadership of Williams.

Mayor Riordan couldn’t disagree more.

“Half the things I bring to [Parks] he’s already working on,” Riordan said. “Williams was the total opposite.” He said he doesn’t have to go through the same bureaucratic “foreplay” with Parks that he did with Williams to get things done.

Riordan also said he’s been pleased in the way the new chief has been able to bring out the talent of his officers.

“I’ve seen a couple of people I thought were total zeros under Williams, who have amazed me under Parks,” the mayor said.

Riordan acknowledged that his finance staff had clashed with Parks over budget issues, but their differences never got out of hand.

“I don’t care who you are as a department head, if people say the budgets are tough you have to find ways to live with it,” he said. Like other city managers, he said, “Bernie’s no saint in that respect.”

Money matters aside, Riordan can’t disguise his happiness with Parks. The two greet each other warmly at social and community events. They talk on the phone and hold monthly meetings.

And, when Riordan is trying to impress out-of-towners interested in bringing business to the city, Parks is often by his side.

“Bernie projects a great image for the city and rightfully so,” Riordan said. “It’s not just his good looks, but his great talent. . . . He’s exceeded my highest expectations.”

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Making Strides

LAPD Chief Bernard C. Parks says he has implemented many new initiatives during his first year in office. They include:

* Presiding over a dramatic drop in violent and petty crimes, including a 30% decrease in homicides so far this year. Despite the reduction in crime, arrest numbers are up slightly.

* Launching FASTRAC, a computer-driven policing approach that uses up-to-the-minute crime statistics to fight crime, identify quality-of-life problems and monitor risk-management issues.

* Requiring ballistic door panels and videotape equipment for all new patrol cars.

* Reorganizing his top command staff to eliminate the position of assistant chief, flatten out the organization and increase accountability.

* Forming a private, nonprofit police foundation with the goal of raising funds that will pay for equipment and programs not covered by taxpayer money.

* Reviewing nine outside consultants’ reports and internal task force studies to resolve more than 850 recommendations, addressing personnel, technology and infrastructure issues.

* Overhauling the department process for recording and adjudicating internal and external personnel complaints.

* Creating an ombudsman position aimed at resolving disputes among department employees before they escalate into formal complaints.

* Moving forward on an analysis to consolidate most of the city’s law enforcement functions, such as airport police and park rangers, under the LAPD’s authority