Grant to L.A. Could Add Hundreds of Officers

A high-level delegation of Los Angeles officials has snagged a federal grant large enough to pay for hundreds of new police officers over the next three years, sources familiar with the discussions said Thursday.

Although a spokeswoman for Mayor Richard Riordan declined to confirm or deny any aspect of the grant, other sources said they have been told that the LAPD will receive enough money to hire up to 710 new police officers and pay about 90% of their salaries over the next three years.

Officials would not disclose the grant’s size, but the city--according to Police Chief Bernard C. Parks--pays about $70,000 to add an officer. Over three years, that would bring the size of this grant to about $150 million.

That would represent the largest federal policing grant ever given to Los Angeles, and would at last put the LAPD over the hump that Riordan built when he ran for mayor in 1993 and pledged to add 3,000 officers over four years. The mayor missed that deadline but, if hired, the new officers would bring the LAPD’s total strength to just over 10,000 for the first time in its history.

Though she refused to discuss the grant, mayoral press secretary Noelia Rodriguez emphasized Riordan’s past achievements in securing federal money for LAPD expansion.

“Mayor Riordan was elected to make Los Angeles safer,” she said. “He has had that as his No. 1 priority since he was elected.”

The money may run into some trouble at home, however. The City Council has been wary of taking large sums of federal money that are destined to expire and leave the city with the burden of continuing to pay the additional officers’ salaries.

Some council members also have expressed concerns about the city’s ability to pay for the necessary facilities and equipment that hundreds of new officers would need. For every five officers hired, for instance, the department needs to buy at least one patrol car.

“It’s hard to turn down a gift, but even gifts can be costly,” said one City Hall official familiar with the grant negotiations.

That official predicted that the city would only hire about 200 officers because of the future funding and infrastructure issues.

City Councilwoman Laura Chick, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee, declined to discuss the grant, but said that “if this is true about further federal grant money, I’d be thrilled to explore the opportunity.” She added, however, that if additional money becomes available, she would want it to be used to improve school safety and crack down on juvenile crime.

Seeking to head off potential council concerns, Riordan administration officials conferred with some members Wednesday and urged them to accept the grant. Only a few key council members were consulted, however, and it was not immediately clear how much--if any--resistance there might be to accepting the money.

For now, any reservations about taking the grant have taken a back seat to the euphoria over having been offered it. Vice President Al Gore is scheduled to be in Los Angeles on Monday to make the formal announcement, and top city officials are planning to greet him with fanfare and gratitude.

Gore’s office confirmed that the vice president expects to be in California early next week, but would not disclose the purpose of his visit.

The new infusion of federal cash is the latest in a long string of grants and loans that have helped Riordan pay for the enormous police buildup that he launched soon after taking office in 1993.

Determined to increase the department dramatically despite a cash shortage at home, the mayor for years has lobbied for federal government help. Combined with the political needs of an administration that has badly needed support in California, Riordan’s approach has delivered millions of dollars to the Police Department.

According to city records, the federal government has contributed a total of $193.1 million to Los Angeles for law enforcement-related programs since 1993. Of that, the vast majority has been spent on hiring new police officers, though other grants have helped the LAPD expand its civilian ranks, develop domestic violence programs and create an anti-gang unit.

California also has been a source of support, though in far more modest amounts. City records show that the state has given Los Angeles $39.2 million for policing programs, most of them directed at juvenile crime and drug abuse.

Occasionally, Los Angeles has come up short. City officials were stunned earlier this year when a round of federal grants did not include the city but did tap a number of other areas whose successes in driving down crime were not as notable as Los Angeles’. Riordan critics blamed him at the time for what some saw as a slap at his lobbying prowess.

Responding, Riordan and a bipartisan collection of local congressional representatives--including Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills)--complained loudly and urged the White House to include Los Angeles in the next round of grants.

Meanwhile, Parks has consistently argued that his department needs to grow to maintain the city’s lower crime rates, which have dropped significantly in recent years.

Two months ago, he said the department needed to increase its ranks by at least 1,000 more officers over five years.

Parks was with Riordan this week in Washington, D.C., when the grant money was secured. He returned to Los Angeles late Thursday.