Merger of Police Agencies Explored

In a reversal of the position it took just one year ago, the Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday asked Chief Bernard C. Parks to explore taking control of other city law enforcement agencies, including park rangers and airport police.

The commission’s approval of Parks’ “one city, one police department” goal is a further sign that the civilian oversight panel has a confidence in Parks that it did not have in his predecessor, Willie L. Williams, who made a similar proposal last February.

“There was not the level of confidence in Williams at that time in his career that there clearly is in Parks at this point in his career,” said Deputy Mayor Joe Gunn, who advises Mayor Richard Riordan on police matters.

Moreover, city and department officials last year were trying to negotiate a merger with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s police force and the idea of consolidating with other agencies seemed premature to some officials.

With its 4-0 vote Tuesday, the commission endorsed the concept of consolidating other city-funded police agencies under the LAPD, and approved a further study to determine all the benefits and drawbacks of such a plan. Last year, the commission refused to endorse the plan, but did pass it along to several City Council members for their consideration.

Parks will bring his proposal to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee next week for its review.

“It’s an interesting concept that deserves scrutiny and thoughtful exploration,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick, who chairs the Public Safety Committee. “I have an open mind. I want to hear the pros and cons.”

Under Parks’ proposal, the LAPD would absorb 539 officers and security guards by merging with the law enforcement agencies that patrol city parks, the port, the airport, housing projects and municipal offices. The consolidation would occur either through outright mergers or through service contracts much the same way that the department recently absorbed the duties of the city’s transit police.

“As the employees of all five agencies are already city employees,” Parks wrote in a report to the commission, “it is anticipated that most, if not all, of their existing personnel will be absorbed into and become sworn or civilian employees of the LAPD.”

LAPD officials believe that consolidation would not pose a financial burden and might save the city a significant amount of money through elimination of duplicative administrative functions and overhead. Parks said the consolidation also would improve public safety and eliminate any confusion over which police or security agency a person should call in an emergency.

Some city officials, however, are not convinced that one large police agency can effectively manage so many specialized policing functions. Several officials also expressed concern that Parks may be taking on more than he can handle, particularly given his reputation as a hands-on manager.

City Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. said Tuesday he is concerned that Parks’ plan is a “badge grab” to bolster the LAPD’s ranks with minimal expense as a budget crisis looms for the coming fiscal year.

“While I believe Chief Parks’ proposal deserves serious consideration, I have some concerns over the assimilation of the Port Police into the LAPD,” said Svorinich, whose district includes the harbor.

At the commission meeting, several public speakers, including business people who work near the Port of Los Angeles, urged the panel to reject the LAPD’s proposal to take over the 53-member port police force.

“This is a case where I feel that if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” said Tom Warren, business agent for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. “These officers are specialized and deal with port problems very well.”

Parks said the LAPD is not “looking toward eliminating the uniqueness of these organizations. . . . We are merely trying to gain some cohesiveness to the city’s law enforcement security resources.”

Support has been growing for the proposal since September, when airport police failed to arrest a gun-toting traveler at Los Angeles International Airport. The Minnesota man, who was wanted on an out-of-state felony charge, was forced to surrender a cache of weapons but airport police allowed the man to leave without being arrested.