Feasibility Study of Merging Los Angeles Police Department &

2. Lack of jurisdiction

limited to training Los Angeles Police Officers. Since 1988, over 2,576 recruits have attended the LAPD training academy. This is an average of 515 recruits per year. Of the 2,576 recruits, 29 were from non-affiliated law enforcement agencies.6 The number of recruits attending the academy in any one year fluctuated between 875 in 1990 and 27 in 1992.7 Exhibit II-2 documents the number of LAPD recruits and non-affiliated law enforcement agencies attending training since

The recommended action was in the planning process Changes were in process 4. The 1992-93 Grand Jury understood that organizational cost and efficiency are a continuing concern for both public and private sectors, especially in today's economic environment. A Grand Jury "Report Management System" would provide the ability to efficiently and cost- effectively use Grand Jury Reports and Agency Responses as an information resource. In addition, the system would enable the Grand Jury to efficiently and effectively track agency responses and calendar reminders regarding the need to conduct further action or schedule compliance visits. The anticipated benefits of the system are as follows: It would allow the Grand Jury to make more effective use of its existing work product and therefore reduce the possibility of wasting time by conducting overlapping studies. It would streamline the time required to obtain background information on prior studies, which is currently done manually. It would efficiently track responses and actions of various agencies to Grand Jury report recommendations and allow succeeding grand juries to monitor compliance, if desired. The committee found that improvement in the tracking, reporting, and closeout of Grand Jury

6 The 1992-93 Grand Jury understood that organizational cost and efficiency are a continuing concern for both public and private sectors, especially in today's economic environment. A Grand Jury "Report Management System" would provide the ability to efficiently and cost- effectively use Grand Jury Reports and Agency Responses as an information resource. In addition, the system would enable the Grand Jury to efficiently and effectively track agency responses and calendar reminders regarding the need to conduct further action or schedule compliance visits. The anticipated benefits of the system are as follows: It would allow the Grand Jury to make more effective use of its existing work product and therefore reduce the possibility of wasting time by conducting overlapping studies. It would streamline the time required to obtain background information on prior studies, which is currently done manually. It would efficiently track responses and actions of various agencies to Grand Jury report recommendations and allow succeeding grand juries to monitor compliance, if desired. The committee found that improvement in the tracking, reporting, and closeout of Grand Jury

resources. Even though the LASD and LAPD work cooperatively in many instances, there is no formal agreement for the agencies to share training resources. The LASD provides basic POST recruit training for most of the law enforcement agencies in the County. The LAPD is one of the few agencies in the County that does not train new recruits at the LASD's facilities. When training requirements increase dramatically above levels the LAPD or LASD training divisions are capable of managing, the current alternative is to send recruits to a Junior College such as Rio Hondo to obtain the POST training. The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) is currently

assessing options for encouraging law enforcement agencies to develop regional law enforcement training resources. The Commission on POST has been active in developing a plan to establish regional training centers throughout California as mandated by Penal Code Section 13508.12 Some highlights of Penal Code Section 13508 are as follows: The commission shall do each of the following: Α. Establish a learning technology laboratory that would conduct pilot

Powers Agreements to achieve economies of scale. Also, they are increasingly affiliating with Community Colleges to provide basic POST training as well as other specialized training. Sacramento County The Sacramento County Sheriff, Sacramento Police Chief and the President of Sacramento Community College, on behalf of their agencies are currently drafting a Joint Exercise of Powers agreement to formally create a "Sacramento Regional Public Safety Training Center." The purpose of the training center is to provide professional training and education using the latest advancements in technology, methodologies and facilities. Appendix D provides a full copy of the Draft Joint Powers Agreement. The agreement indicates that a fundamental reason for consolidating facilities is to share the cost of operating, maintain training and education facilities. The proposed training complex will be located at the recently closed Mather Air Force Base Navigator School. The closing of Mather Air Force Base created an excellent opportunity for the creation of a regional training center utilizing existing structures. When operational, the training center will be governed by a board of directors consisting of the following: Chief of Police, Sacramento Sheriff, County of Sacramento Executive Director, Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training President, Sacramento City College, Los Rios Community College District A Public member selected by the Board San Bernardino County The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department has affiliated with the San Bernardino Valley Community College to established a Regional Training Center. As part of the Regional Training Center, the Department has developed an Emergency Vehicle Operations Training Program. The Sheriff's Department and the San Bernardino College have established an agreement to share in the revenue received as a result of attendance at the training center. This will result in an estimated $1 million in revenue for the Sheriff's Department in fiscal year 1992-93. Also, an additional $1 million in revenue will be generated through tuition payments from other law enforcement agencies for training at the Sheriff's Emergency Vehicle Operation Training Center. The revenue generated from the Sheriff's training programs is deposited in a trust fund and used specifically for law enforcement training purposes. For example, the revenue generated by the Emergency Vehicle Operations Center is used to finance the cost of constructing the facility. The following are the probable benefits which would result from merging the

LAPD and LASD training resources. A network of regional training resources could more efficiently accommodate a. fluctuations in training requirements. When one agency's training requirements dramatically increase due to a surge in hiring, the required facilities could be available to that agency. The cost of constructing highly technical training facilities could be shared by b. both agencies. The regional training program could provide a coordinated network of training facilities throughout the County including: firearms training facilities, role playing village for practical applications, and driver training facility. A merging of LAPD and LASD training resources could reduce cost through c. the elimination of duplicate facilities and personnel. d. The potential for revenue enhancement activities could be developed with all revenues dedicated to regional training activities. An example of the potential for sharing revenue is from an Emergency Vehicle Operations Course developed by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Grand Jury has determined that significant monetary benefits may result from the consolidation of LAPD and LASD training resources. I. It is recommended that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in cooperation with the City of Los Angeles order the formation of a Los Angeles County regional law enforcement academy training task force. The task force should consist of members representing the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles. The task force should report its findings to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles City Mayor and City Council by June 1, 1994. Specifically, the task force should do the following: Prepare a cost benefit analysis of developing a regional academy. Α. Inventory all LAPD and LASD training resources to determine how a regional В. training program with a network of regional training facilities could be organized. C. Provide a model management and organizational structure for a regional training program. D. Assess the potential for funding assistance from the Commission on POST as well as other sources. E. Determine how a Law Enforcement Regional Training Program Joint Powers Agreement between law enforcement agencies and community colleges district could be structured to meet the requirements of participating agencies. Π. It is further recommended that neither the City of Los Angeles nor the County of Los Angeles should incur any additional expenditures related to the construction of new training facilities until recommendations from the task force are considered and acted upon. B. CITIZEN'S COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES Concern about substantial payments being made by the County to settle excessive force cases against the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD), together with the then-existing and since resolved, impasse between Sheriff Sherman Block and the Kolts Commission regarding the handling of citizens' complaints, prompted the committee to investigate how such complaints are dealt with by the LASD. The scant time available because of the number of indictment hearings which the Grand Jury had to conduct restricted the scope of the study. The committee examined statistical data and did examine one complaint in detail. The resolution of that complaint took an inordinately long time but this fact did not affect the committee's conclusion. The LASD procedures currently in effect make it highly unlikely that the investigation of any current complaint will take so long to complete. The committee found the LASD to be very cooperative in supplying it with the information that was requested. The statistical data it examined summarized the results of the investigation of citizens' complaints of excessive force which were concluded in 1992. The committee also asked for and was given information on the case it had selected for a detailed review. The data consisted of tapes of interviews conducted by personnel of the Department's Internal Affairs Bureau with the complainant, deputies involved in the incident, and civilians who witnessed it. The data also included summaries of the evidence which had been prepared for and which had formed the basis for the Department's decision. The committee also conducted interviews with various county officials. In making its evaluation, the committee took into consideration information which it received from the Los Angeles County Counsel who represented the Sheriff's Department, and from the counsel for the plaintiff in the same civil lawsuit. All the data was carefully studied by the committee. FINDINGS The complaints regarding the use of force which were resolved in 1992 involved 287 deputies. Complaints against 32 deputies (11% of the total) were deemed by the Department to be founded. In the case examined in detail, the Department ruled that the complaint of excessive force was unsubstantiated. One deputy was found to have committed a relatively minor infraction, and discipline for that was imposed. The committee concluded, however, that excessive force had indeed been employed. Further, it concluded that, in order for the Department to decide otherwise, it had to have ignored the 21