3-12 Workweek: Serving the Police or the City?

The short workweek being proposed by Mayor James Hahn is not the way to improve the Los Angeles Police Department. Madison Shockley’s “Getting the Time to Moonlight Is What’s Behind the 3-12 Plan” (Commentary, Sept. 25) points out that a 3-12 workweek, if it could be called a week, would make being a police officer a part-time job. I couldn’t agree more. What kind of performance can you expect from an officer who has been on duty for 12 hours? In addition, this kind of work schedule would make it practical for officers to live far outside of Los Angeles--Simi Valley, Big Bear, even Fresno--which would make them less concerned about the city they are to serve.

Here’s my idea. Give interest-free home loans to any officers willing to live in Los Angeles. That is an incentive that would increase their concern for the city that employs them. Hahn made a deal with the devil when he promised officers a short workweek in exchange for their support.

Peter Lucey

Los Angeles

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Re “Cop Workweek: Play It Safe” (editorial, Sept. 25) and the Shockley commentary: It is interesting that LAPD deployment is such a fascinating topic for the people of Los Angeles. The issue does not really require the wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth communicated by the two articles. Compressed work schedules have been successfully used by many law enforcement agencies for several decades. They were tested by several LAPD divisions a few years ago without any compromise to public safety, lack of deployment flexibility or other horrors suggested by its foes.

In fact, when the LAPD requires additional manpower to meet the needs for emergency deployment it implements 12-hour shifts without batting an eye. The deployment of thousands of officers on 12-hour shifts during the Democratic National Convention is proof of that.

Trivializing the issue through nonsensical fantasy on how officers spend their off-duty time serves no legitimate purpose. It is guaranteed that far more officers have families than off-duty jobs. Agencies that use compressed work schedules have experienced increased manpower, improved morale, improved productivity and improved recruitment and retention.

Daniel Witman

Chino