Los Angeles Police Department Meltdown

Transcription

1 SUB Hamburg A/ Los Angeles Police Department Meltdown The Fall of the Professional-Reform Model of Policing James Lasley CRC Press Taylor & Francis Croup Boca Raton London New York CRC Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Croup, an informa business

2 Series Preface Preface Acknowledgments About the Author xiii xv xvii xix 1 Parker's Thin Blue Line: The Professional-Reform Model (PRM) of Policing: Historical Overview 1 The Pre-Parker Era 2 The Political Model and LAPD Corruption 2 Parker Inherits a Tarnished Badge 3 The Parker Era 3 Parker's Police Professionalism 3 LAPD's "Clean Cop" Image 4 Quasi-Military Style of Management 5 The Thin Blue Line 5 Intelligence Gathering 6 The Bloody Christmas 7 LAPD and the Media 8 The Watts Riots 8 Parker Passes 10 The Davis Era 10 Choosing Parker's Successor 10 The "New Age" Crime Wave 11 The Gates Era 12 The War on Crime Continues 15 Changing Times 17 New Officer Diversity 17 The King Incident and Gates' 10-Point Plan 18 The Christopher Commission 19 The Los Angeles Riots 20 References 25 Vll

3 viii Contents 2 The Study: A Qualitative Analysis of LAPD's Organizational Dying Declarations 27 Criminal Intent and Organizational Death Determining Whether or Not to Pull the Plug The Thin Blue "Flat" Line Admissibility of the Evidence Missing in Action Research Methodology: Preparing for an Organizational Autopsy Officer Sample Theme Development Presentation of Findings Study Limitations and Database References 3 Assessing the Meltdown Was There a Meltdown? 43 Theme 1: Temporary Damage "Things Will Go Back to Normal" 43 Theme 2: Permanent Damage "The Department Is Melting Down" 45 How Extensive Was the Meltdown? 47 Was the Meltdown Rapid or Slow? 49 Subtheme 1: Persistent Problems Were Ignored 51 Subtheme 2: Discontent Over Hiring Practices 52 Subtheme 3: Poor or Inadequate Training 53 Subtheme 4: Ineffective or Unresponsive Administration and Management 55 Subtheme 5: Inadequate Equipment and Poor Working Conditions 56 What Caused the Meltdown? 58 Did the Meltdown Kill the Professional Model? 58 References 60 4 The Rodney King Incident 61 Possible Explanations 61 The Justified Use of Force Explanation 61 The "Few Bad Apples" Explanation 64 The "Tip of the Iceberg" Explanation

4 ix Officer Statements and Themes 66 Theme 1: Media Distortion and Political Manipulation of the King Incident ' 66 Theme 2: Unjustified Treatment of Patrol Officers Following the King Incident 71 Theme 3: The Rodney King Incident Is LAPD "Business as Usual" 74 Theme Analysis 76 Conclusions 77 References 78 5 Politicians, Special Interest Groups, and Community Influences 79 Possible Explanations 79 Opponents Got Stronger 79 The LAPD Got Weaker 82 Officer Statements and Themes 83 Theme 1: LAPD Is "Running Scared" and "Kowtowing" to Attackers 83 Subtheme 1A: Cops Should Run LAPD, Not Politicians and the Public 88 Subtheme IB: Chief Gates Was Targeted and Hit by Political Attacks 90 Theme 2: If LAPD Buckles to Critics and Enemies, Crooks Will Rule the Streets 93 Subtheme 2A: LAPD Will Become Like Other Large Police Departments 100 Subtheme 2B: Officers Will Respond to Attacks by Working Less 102 Theme Analysis 105 Conclusion. 106 References Hiring, Promotions, and Affirmative Action 109 Possible Explanations 112 The Conformity Explanation 112 The Individual Identity Explanation 113 Officer Statements and Themes 113 Nonminority Male Officers 114 Minority Male Officers. 125 Female Officers 128

5 Theme Analysis 131 Conclusion 131 References Management and Administration 133 Possible Explanations 135 Officer Statements and Themes 135 Theme 1: Chief Gates 136 Theme 2: LAPD Administrators/Managers Don't Care About Street Officers 144 Theme 3: LAPD's Administrators/Managers Are Out of Touch With the Street 149 Theme 4: LAPD's Administrators/Managers Used Street Officers as Scapegoats 153 Theme 5: LAPD's Administration/Management Is Self-Serving 158 Theme 6: LAPD's Administration/Management Failed to Support the Professional Model 161 Theme Analysis 167 Conclusion 168 References Quantitative Analyses 169 The Total Sample 169 Officer Gender 171 Officer Race 172 Officer Age 174 Officer Experience 176 Chief at the Time of Hire (or the Chief Effect) 177 Conclusion Conclusions and Policy Recommendations: Reconstructing the Meltdown 181 What Went Wrong? Acquiescence to Outside Forces Punishing Aggressive Enforcement Heeding Enforcement ADVICE From the Community Forcing "Friendship" on the Streets Removing the "Force Multiplier" of Patrol ' Failure to Address Morale Issues Dissention Among the Ranks 187

6 xi Assessing the Manner of Death 188 Rethinking the History of Policing 191 Lessons Learned for the Future 193 References 195 Appendix: Officer Statements. 197 Index 261