LAPD Duplicating Services, Wasting Taxpayer $ at LAX
While the Mayor drains funds and services from City parks and libraries in pursuit of 1,000 new LAPD officers, airport employees are openly questioning why a significant LAPD force still patrols LAX each day.The LAWAPD, the 'LAX police', is the public safety agency tasked with public safety at LAX. This specialized agency maintains a force roughly the size of two full LAPD divisions.
Yet at an unknown cost to the taxpayers, LAPD reportedly has 150 officers every day at the LAX-LAPD substation as well as on motor units, foot beats, acting as detectives, at screening stations, manning K9 units, and so on. With the exception of the Bomb squad, all these officers duplicate positions currently staffed by LAWAPD.
The issue of who should provide public safety services at LAX was effectively decided four years ago. At the time, LAPD Chief Bratton was pushing for an LAPD takeover of LAX. Critics of LAWAPD, both official and unofficial were claiming that LAWAPD officers were incompetent, untrained, and were unable to carry out their mission. In 2005, an extensive $900,000 study by CTI Consultants found that not only should there not be a merger between LAPD and LAWAPD, but that LAWAPD had the training, specific expertise, competency, and size to professionally and successfully manage LAX. The study determined that indeed LAWAPD was carrying out their mission and that they were the best agency based on their specialization to do this job.
Chief Bratton did not accept the consultant's findings. Although the report was pretty clear about keeping LAWAPD in place at LAX, an LA Times article of the time documented Bratton's rejection: "...This is absolutely outrageous... I don't get it. We just spent $900,000 and now they're going to tell us we're going to spend more money and the question wasn't even answered. What's the best model? Should the airport take over or should the LAPD take over?"
In a final effort to marginalize the study's findings, Bratton and the Mayor forced the issue to public vote in May of that year. The public itself resoundingly voted down the consolidation of the LAWAPD into LAPD, prefering to keep the specialized services of LAWAPD in the airport and LAPD patrolling the streets.
Labels: chief william bratton, lapd, LAWAPD, LAX, LAXPD, mayor antonio villaraigosa
Posted by Petra Fried in the City @ 6/19/2009 09:59:00 AM
33 Comments:
The mayor really should start using a smaller tooth brush. I know he smiles big, but this is ridiculous!
Lord I luv that pic of Tony.
Until the day he is indicted then kicked out of office for exactly this kind of waste of taxpayer money, LA won't be safe.
Bratton says: "...This is absolutely outrageous... I don't get it. We just spent $900,000 and now they're going to tell us we're going to spend more money and the question wasn't even answered. What's the best model? Should the airport take over or should the LAPD take over?"
Ah, come on now Chief. My guess is the price wouldn't have upset you if the results went your way. They did answer the question, just not the way you wanted them to.
Question: Who recommended the study? LAPD? LAWAD? Who comes up with these prices?
Maybe somebody should show the L.A. City Council all these old clippings to enlighten their small minds and as they consider the ways to plug budget holes.
Why are they always the last to know? What do they have any staff for? Some replacement with college interns to research oversighta and catch all the recommendations of studies that COST MORE MONEY would help.
They don't care, work on pet projects/personal agendas and the practical WORK that CMs should be watching is BLOWN.
Each month brings us more examples- don't they get tired of holding the bag?
At least the Council didn't have MLK hospital under their jusrisdiction or they could have claimed that running telephone bill as their own tax money-flushing, too.
in cd-14
CM Jose Huizar, show leadership and be CRITICAL WITHIN your own sphere of collegues, i.e., do something with a practical outcome.
6:12, the study resulted from a 2002 action by Weiss's Public Safety committee concerning safety at LAX in light of 9-11.
As for the price? Ask your City officials who authorizes those kinds of prices. I will say that in reading it, it was pretty thorough. The consultant studied a number of models for security at LAX before showing that their data led to the LAWAPD result.
"the study resulted from a 2002 action by Weiss's Public Safety committee..."
Now the mayor wants Weiss to head up Homeland Security at LAX.
Coincidence, I don't think so.
LA Times May 12, 2005
The airport police is small, that's enough to do routine things, but when something significant happens they have to call LAPD. It's much easier for LAPD to talk with LAPD and not go through airport police to get things done." airport police say they need LAPD's specialized units such as the bomb squad, and LAPD says it cannot match the depth of resources provided by the airport police.
The Airport cops are a joke!!!
They are never there when you need them and they sit around and eat donuts all day long.
Throw them out and get in the LAPD to protect our asses from terrorism!!!
Its all about $$$$. Also, LAPD need a place to send their burn out cops they don't dare put in your neighborhood. I'm glad I don't line in the City anymore. The City is a freaking third world sewer. Tony Villar is going to mess up all of our pensions.
Bratton is a phoney and no one challenges him. Compstat is another way to lie with statistics.
BTW Billy, nice response to the LAKERS riots last sunday. Where was the police? Where was Metro?
The gangsters run this City with Tony Villar as the head east side gangster.
From one anonymous to another, clearly you have never actually been to LAX if you think LAXPD is never around; those guys are everywhere. Oh and as for donuts this is California not NY try bagels or Starbucks.
The Airport Police are professionals and understand the unique needs and requirements the aviation environment needs.
LAPD knows the streets of LA and should stay there. The Airport Police knows the footprint of LAX, ONT and VNY and should stay there. Listen to the voters.
Remember, even LAPD needed help during the riots! Mutual aide is not uncommon in law enforcement. The only difference is LAPD remains at LAX, draining much needed resources, and does not go home.
ANON 11:03
your right clown. The late great lapd can show the airport guys how to beat women at children at parks, steal and plant dope on its citizens, and possibly murder people and hide it for a few years before getting caught. wake up dummy your not the only game in town! try learning to work together and get the job done stupid. your screwed up attitude is the reason why no one likes lapd!
grow up lil boy in the blue uniform! your sounding like your knuckle head chief....
This issue was addressed two years ago when Weiss proposed merging the Administrative Police, LA Airport Police and the LAPD.
Funny that he was the one who proposed it.
Al Queda still has Los Angeles on the radar. Because LAPD has one of the best counter terrorism divisions in the country we haven't been hit even though the USB building was on the rada just last year. The 9/11 pilots were as close as Culver City attending a temple. Ask yourselves if LA is hit by a terrorist attack do you want cops who don't have the major police training at a top notch academy known throughout the world like LAPD or LAX cops who are trained at a community college without any specialized units? Remember not that long ago LAX cops got busted for allowing ILLEGALS to be empolyed at the airport as screeners. They also got caught allowing people on the tar mack that hid in with baggage. If those LAx cops can't even handle a small area like LAX
First of all LAXPD are far from jokes!! LAXPD is an agency containing police officers highly trained in the area of law enforcement, aviation security and counter-terrorism. The reason LAX hasnt been hit by terrorist is due to the professinalism,training and dedication of the Airport Police, not LAPD!! Secondly, the so called "college", which by the way is called the Rio Hondo Police Academy, is a POST certified and well respected police academy. Rio Hondo Police Academy is responsible for training police officers throughout California. So if by using Rio Hondo to train police officers makes Airport Police sub-standard, then your calling multiple police agencies throughout CA, sub-standard. For your information the Airport Police has been using the so-called "world renown" Lapd academy for the last 2 or 3years, so update your facts. It boils down to this, the Airport Police is more than capable of policing LAX without LAPD being housed there doing absolutely nothing on the dime of LAX and the taxpayers of Los Angeles. PERIOD!!!!
3:48, thanks for the added promo. I don't post that stuff here and for some reason someone approved the comment here, so thanks. But dignity is something I always have when compared to you based on what I have done compared to what you do. Sorry, you lose. Thanks again. But you're wasting your time posting anything here. No one cares about getting me a job here. And I prefer to just keep making your life more miserable, as I have been doing. YOU ARE LOSING TO SOMEONE IN THE CONDITION I AM IN. TALK ABOUT NOT HAVING ANY DIGNITY, LOSER. LOL!
You wrote about some past issues that LAXPD was supposedly responsible for, well tell ya what. Assuming that what you wrote was true, has your illustrious LAPD not made some mistakes. Do they continue to make mistakes? YES! Lets be real, let LAPD be responsible for the city streets and allow LAXPD to continue doing the job they were created to do, POLICE LAX.
250,000 people went to celebrate the parade. Only 19 arrests all gang bangers. Over 100,000 gang members in Los Angeles and only 1,000 cops on the street at any given time. The gang members violent killings although still happening have gone way down. So excuse me but those are damn impressive numbers by LAPD to you haters. It's usually guys without balls and too afraid to be in a black and white doing the hating.
This is not about LAWAPD verses LAPD, ladies and gentlemen. I side with the consultant when they stated that either agency was capable of performing the services needed at LAX, but that LAWAPD specialized and this was advantageous.
It is about:
- a process we paid a lot of money for, and we VOTED ON already
- continuing duplication of services in spite of the process, and ongoing cost to taxpayers
All agencies have their issues, including idiots on the payroll. Correction and/or termination is part of having employees. LAPD has plenty of their own problems on the payroll, as do LAWAPD.
The comparison and ensuing conflict is not constructive in this case and only detracts from the real, ongoing issues.
What happened to Roderick's LA Observed this week? Does anyone know if he posted? Zuma had two blogs in the Top 20 ranker along with Mayor Sam's blog, but LA Observed isn't even in the Top 20? What happened? Maybe he pulled out of the BNN ranker this week.
Petra fried at 9:40 PM:-I agree with the points you raise. However, I'd like to add to them.
-It's also about a sour grapes police chief not accepting a study because he didn't like the results. Had the results gone his way, my guess is he would have embraced the study, including its cost. Nowhere can I find a quote of him objecting to this study or its cost during the time it was occurring (and he had quite a few years to express that sentiment).
If such a quote exists, I stand corrected.
I agree that the study is thorough. But, I also believe that such a thorough study need not occur at that price.
I'm still curious who prompted the study and its cost. Did the LAPD Commission or management suggested it to Public Safety, or was this solely a Weiss thing?
I think the Villaraigosa commission appointment from January of this year, that Wendy Greuel called, "one of the best commissioner appointments ever" who is original Chair of the CRA as a new Councilmember.
How offensive Villaraiogsa takes Chris Essel and appoints her as LAX commissioner only this January 2009 only to warm her up for the CD 2 chair.
So much for all the big stuff they were talking about at LAX that they were bragging she was going to do during her appointment.
I wonder if she even unpacked or learned anything about the job. HOPE NOT, that would be a big waste if time and resources were wasted bringing her up to speed and actually putting her in charge of anything.
Now she decides to walk away. But really this is just a case of the mayor and Wendy using city positions requiring experience as "resume boosters" and "political bullpen."
VOTE CHRIS ESSEL FOR CD 2: The People need another Villaraigosa political appointment than Wendy Greuel gets down on her knees over.
Probably some political consultant out there ready to take her money and try and sucker people with her. Money is a great motivator. It will get people to push any turd uphill as long as you're getting paid to do it. Who cares the consequences. PUT MORE VILLARAIOGSA APPOINTMENTS IN CHARGE OF CITY HALL.
I'm interested to know why would Petra bring up a topic that is closed and a study done back in 2005? The voters of the city were never allowed to discuss the issue or for that matter didn't know much about it when it was placed on the ballot. It was very confusing and you really didn't know what was being voted as far as LAPD taking over territory from LAX. The law enforcement agenices I know FEDs, ICE, DEA, are in agreement that LAPD does have the specialized units and experience, expertise to patrol LAX until they have better training of their officers. They don't have anyone in a senior position that has that expertise at this time.
Dear Losers,
I didn't post for 72 hours on LADailyBlog this week, but it still came in #3 for the week. And I posted on ZumaTimes.Blogspot.com for only 72 hours (a few posts) AND EVEN THAT BLOG WAS #13 for the week. RODERICK...NADA! So ZD places TWO blogs in the weekly ranker this week and everyone knows what I was going through this week. I'M FUCKING HUGE, LOSERS. All while sleep deprived and going mad on the streets. DAMN, am I amazing. How do I do it, losers. Maybe I should give lessons. And LA Observed...you should give you ad money back or at least give it to me. All of your readers must have been too busy reading actual original content on my blog instead of yours, arrogant doofus. YOU DIDN'T EVEN RANK IN THE TOP 20? WHEN ZD HAS TWO BLOGS IN TOP 20, including #3.
That actually pisses me off that he gets money and I don't. All of you losers. Don't even read my blog, you don't deserve to. Just wait until it comes out in LA Times and link to it, schmucks.
Council File: 04-2468
Cardenes-Zine, Greuel
Title
AIRPORT POLICE
Subject
Motion - The Los Angeles City Charter underwent significant reform several years before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and includes section 636, which provides in full that "The Airport Police shall remain under the independent and autonomous control of the Department of Airports." The current threat of international terrorism to Los Angeles International Airport and other critical infrastructure is much greater than it was when the Charter was redrafted, and certain of the City's laws, policies, and public safety organizational structures may require appropriate adjustments. However, the ability to act responsively will require action by the City Council and the electorate to approve an amendment to the City Charter. THEREFORE MOVE that the City Attorney, with the assistance of the Chief Legislative Analyst, be requested to draft the necessary ordinance and resolution to place a measure on the May 2005 General Municipal Election Ballot amending the Charter to remove section 636 and make any other relevant and appropriate modifications, and provide the Council with the authority to enact by ordinance any additional measures which may be necessary and appropriate to ensure public safety at Los Angeles World Airports' facilities.
http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2004/04-2468_rpt_lawa.pdf
To Interested Parties:
Enclosed is the LA Unified Command StUdy as requested by the City of Los Angeles City Council and authorized by the Los Angeles World Airports Board of
Airport Commissioners. The report addresses the goals and objectives in the contract scope of work.
The report contains some key findings. These include the following:
. The LAWA Police is a highly competent organization.
. There is no compellng reason to consider consolidation of LA Police
Department and the Los Angeles Police Department.
. A unified command process exists at LA between LA Police
Departent and the Los Angeles Police Department.
. The unified command process to be further strengthened by developing:
o Uniform policies
o Uniform training
o Joint exercises
o Clarification of roles
o Strengthening leadership at LAX
Thank you for your interest in this important study.
Sincerely, M. Ray Garza
President
CTI Consulting
http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2004/04-2468_rpt_cla_4-22-05.pdf
REPORT OF THE
CHIEF LEGISLATIVE ANALYST
DATE: April 4, 2005
TO: Honorable Members
Public Safety Committee
Gerr F. Miller ~~
Chief Legislative Analyst
FROM: C.F.#: 04-2468
Airport Public Safety Law Enforcement Service Options
The Public Safety Committee has requested information regarding the costs, implementation
issues, and anticipated time line for implementing improvements to the current method of
providing public safety law enforcement services at the various City airport facilities, including
potentially establishing a single City public safety law enforcement agency with responsibility
over City-owned airport facilities within City boundaries. The first step in developing such
information is the completion of a study by the Los Angeles World Airport (LAW A) regarding
LAW A Police Department (LAW APD) and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) operations
at the City's airport facilities.
On March 24,2005, LAW A released a report prepared by cn
Consulting entitled "Los Angeles International (LAX) Unified Command Study" (hereinafter
"cn Report").
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that City Council:
1) Direct the City Administrative Offcer (CAO) and the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA),
in coordination with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and City Attorney, to
comprehensively review the cn Report and related documents and information, and to
subsequently meet with Los Angeles World Airport (LAW A) and cn regarding areas of
concern and to clarify CTI Report information and recommendations as appropriate.
2) Direct the CLA and CAO, upon completion of their review of the cn Report and related
documents and information, to report to the Public Safety Committee with
recommendations on how best to improve the efficiency of LA W A Police Department
and LAPD operations at City airport facilities and for implementing improvements to the
current method of providing public safety law enforcement services at the various City
airport facilities while maintaining the current level of service or enhancing it.
ETC
If you worked on any local elections or volunteered in any campaign office, you certainly became well-versed on the subject of LAPD and airport police and should they be consolidated. I don't remember it being a done deal with no public input.
Then there was the park rangers.
Now they want the LAUSD police.
RE: Dear Losers
Everyone I know has numbers - multiple numbers.
They're called house numbers. And I don't know qnyone who would trade your single digit for their multi digits.
It's fantastic that you think that you are so awesome but the people I know lead satisfying and productive lives .
If you ran a poll how many people could you find who would be content hitting up a blog site 24/7 ?
Things have changed a lot since 2005.
Janice Hahn and others on the Budget Committee want to reduce the number of LAX cops because they're now wanting to reduce the whole LAPD force or at least not approach the 10,000 figure which the Council promised when our trash fee hikes were tripled.
Remember Parks and Smith have all along wanted to keep that money for the General Fund (some $120 million I read last year alone) and now Rosendahl does too.
This might now change things as far as consolidating their forces if they're both being reduced.
I'm not informed enough to offer an opinion and neither is anyone here. Don't jump to Bratton- bashing off the bat -- look at the other side, Parks' knee-jerk opposition to Bratton, Rosendahl's inability to hold a steady course on anything, and others like Hahn and Perry piping in with opinions that often just undermine things. (Like Perry demanding her sign district in a side agreement with ClearChannel back 2 years, even as others wanted to eliminate them.)
Compared to them Bratton knows what's best and has shown an ability to maximize a small force with CompStat, his "cops on dots." He's also right on not letting retired cops wear LAPD uniforms on movie shoots, by the way.
I remember being at the election night party at Sportsmen's Lodge hosted by the LAWAPD union when they won that ballot measure. The LAWAPD officers were all very cool guys.
Tony Cardenas, who was one of their biggest supporters was there. Tony and I went to high school together and had seen each other over the years.
I was laughing inside because I'm having a nice chat with Tony and he doesn't even realize I'm Mayor Sam.
Oh the days of anonymity.
I thought the LAWA police were all very cool guys too Michael. I worked on a tough election that year and they were awesome. I still have their little pin.
Highly respected, Former Chief Gates eloquently placed the decrease of crime in proper perspective in the L.A. Weekly. “Your recent article regarding the use of crime statistics was most interesting. Los Angeles today clearly cannot be compared to Los Angeles in the early '50s or '60s. To use crime statistics is, of course, meaningless.
"There are so many other factors that need to be taken into consideration as you point out in your article. Crime statistics are difficult to compare because there have been changes in the way in which data are reported.
"For example, multiple crimes committed at the same time are no longer reported today as they were years ago. A carjacking occurs, the woman victim is robbed at gun point and physically assaulted -- all of those crimes would be reported and counted (as) carjacking, auto theft robbery, and (assault with a deadly weapon) in times past.
"Today, only the most serious of the crimes would be counted in the crime statistics. Not necessarily bad, but a change in reporting. There are others as well” (Again, a special thanks to L.A. Weekly for extraordinary journalism).
It’s time for Mayor Villarigosa to roll up his sleeves, stop filling pot holes and having worthless press conferences and get to work on the issues that are important to Angelenos. No more increases in fees or taxes. Enough!
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