The LAPD’s 3-day workweek

Re “LAPD’s flex-time dilemma,” Oct. 23

Having served as a police officer from 1962 to 1994, I never was, and am still not, in favor of 12-hour shifts. There is no doubt that this schedule is detrimental to police services of any community. The only ones who support this approach are the officers themselves, who have less dedication to the job and the communities they serve and more emphasis on “decompressing aboard his boat at Lake Havasu.”

Former L.A. Police Chief Bernard C. Parks was right when he opposed the adoption of the 3/12 schedule, and now Chief William J. Bratton has to live with it -- unless elected officials show some common sense. The funniest part of the article was Police Protective League President Bob Baker’s comment that he does not hear complaints from officers about fatigue. What officer is going to complain about a schedule that provides four days off a week?

JIM WEYANT

Big Bear City

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Those who blame the LAPD’s compressed work schedule for increased response time and loss of police service overlook the major factors causing the problem. With the implementation of the federally mandated consent decree, officers are staying off the street much longer, completing additional administrative reporting requirements.

To further compound matters, traffic patterns have changed and the streets of Los Angeles are more congested than ever before. Despite those factors, crime continues to go down.

Let’s examine the real issues at play before we blame a practice that has the overwhelming support of LAPD patrol officers. Even a return to regular work schedules would not guarantee any patrol assets. No matter how one slices the pie, we have lost available patrol officers to increased administrative overhead and traffic congestion hampering response time to calls for service.

ROBERT MOORE

Los Angeles