Poor Morale Rife in LAPD, Survey Finds

The first independent survey ever conducted of Los Angeles police officers’ attitudes toward their department portrays a divided and demoralized force in which many officers not only lack confidence in Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, but frequently avoid responding to reports of crime because they fear criticism by their supervisors, according to sources familiar with the study’s findings.

The survey, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, will be part of a wide-ranging report to the civilian Police Commission on issues raised by the ongoing Rampart corruption scandal. The commission expects to formally receive the study next month.

According to sources familiar with the officers’ responses, both veterans and newly hired officers are dispirited and distrustful of the LAPD’s top management and some believe the department does not administer discipline fairly. An overwhelming majority, according to the sources, expressed the belief that morale would be improved by Parks’ removal.

Many respondents, according to the sources, said they spend a great deal of time simply cruising the city rather than actively looking for criminal acts.

Older officers who completed the anonymous survey expressed disgust and anger over what they see as declining standards and diminished levels of loyalty among their colleagues. Younger officers, disillusioned by low morale, often view the department as a steppingstone to better-paying jobs with other law enforcement agencies, the sources said.

Los Angeles Police Department officials declined to comment on the survey’s findings. But they questioned its methodology and timing, saying morale has improved since last month’s Democratic National Convention.

“Our employees did a fantastic job on the DNC,” said LAPD Cmdr. Dave Kalish. “Consequently, they feel more confident and supported.”

Police Commission President Gerald L. Chaleff, who refused to discuss findings that he has not yet seen, said, however, that if the survey results are as the sources describe them, “we need to try to determine why morale is so low.”

But the officers’ union, the Police Protective League, which has been outspoken in its criticism of the chief, said the survey’s findings coincide with its members’ sentiments.

“The biggest problem we have right now is a void in leadership,” said Ted Hunt, president of the police union. “We have leaders, but they are afraid to do their jobs. Just like the patrol officers are afraid, so are the captains, lieutenants, commanders. They know if they take a risk and they fail, they’re done, they’re finished.”

The survey, which was sent to 9,300 of the department’s 9,475 employees including Parks, is the first of its kind and was approved by the department and the police union. About 2,500 questionnaires were returned, a number the independent professional services firm said was sufficient for an accurate statistical sampling. The firm is finalizing its report to the commission, but sources familiar with the statistical results confirmed its major findings.

James Prince, a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers who is involved in the survey, said the officers who responded to the questionnaire reflected a good cross-section of the department’s demographics, including veteran and less experienced officers.

Prince refused to speculate about specific attitudes expressed by the officers. But he said the frank, detailed responses surprised those who conducted the survey.

“We have thousands of pages of handwritten comments we did not expect that indicate police officers have a lot to say to an independent source,” Prince said.

Sources familiar with the results said that many officers, driven by departmental rules that measure performance in terms of response time, said they falsify their whereabouts to avoid responding to radio calls. Some said that they would report that they had arrived at a crime scene while still en route.

Police officers, the sources said, admitted knowing of other officers who have engaged in corrupt practices ranging from purposely avoiding taking reports to making false statements.

A veteran officer familiar with the attitudes expressed by survey respondents confirmed that police officers said they avoid radio calls reporting crimes out of fear that they will be criticized by the department hierarchy for their actions at the scene.

The officer alleged that since Parks’ appointment, top police officials have been closely evaluating officers’ actions in the field and that police officers were receiving disciplinary notices for even minor violations.

An overwhelming majority of officers pointed to the chief as the main impediment to improved morale. One of the survey questions states: “Please finish the statement. If I were to improve morale at the LAPD the first thing I would do is. . . .”

According to people familiar with the responses, the majority said that Parks should be removed. Another large number indicated that they would implement a more flexible work schedule that Parks has opposed.

Other respondents indicated extreme dissatisfaction with the standards for entry into the LAPD. They specifically blamed affirmative action practices designed to increase the number of minority and women officers as hurting the force.

The sources who are knowledgeable about the study’s results said that many officers believe that affirmative action led the department to hire people involved in the Rampart corruption scandal.

One of the survey questions asked if officers would favor the introduction of a system allowing anonymous reports of misconduct by colleagues. Sources said a substantial majority indicated that they would support such a system. LAPD officers now face discipline if they fail to report misconduct by others.

The survey and the report were commissioned in the wake of the Rampart Division scandal. Using information provided by former Los Angeles Police Officer Rafael Perez in return for a lesser sentence on cocaine theft charges, about 100 criminal convictions have been overturned because of improper police actions ranging from falsifying reports, to planting evidence and even placing weapons on the bodies of unarmed people shot by police officers. Five officers have been arrested and charged with various crimes related to the Rampart scandal. Seventy officers face internal departmental discipline.

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Shuster is a Times staff writer; Schodolski is West Coast bureau chief of the Chicago Tribune.