Support for Back to Basic Car proposal
Proposed by Twining / BABCNC on February 15, 2017
Motion failed to be adopted by a majority of Councils before the June 2017 deadline
Passed by
- Brentwood Community Council
- South Robertson Neighborhoods Council
- Venice Neighborhood Council
- Westside Neighborhood Council
Motion
Refers to City Council file 17-0078
The _________ (Neighborhood Council / Community Council) supports the “Back to Basic Car” proposal (Council File # 17-0078) authored by Councilmember Mike Bonin and co-sponsored by Councilmember Joe Buscaino — a smart, sensible and achievable neighborhood police patrol enhancement strategy that would result in a larger and more robust LAPD patrol force, and would greatly improve the safety of neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles.
Background
WHEREAS, basic patrol duties are universally considered to be the core function of law enforcement, and cities like Los Angeles with large police departments are no exception; and
WHEREAS, despite strong public support for maintaining a police force of 10,000 officers, neighborhoods throughout the City of Los Angeles continue to lack the most basic police patrol presence and experience response times that are exceedingly long, while crime continues to increase; and
WHEREAS, an abundance of evidence suggests that the strength of LAPD’s field patrol force has not increased in almost a half century, despite the addition of thousands of sworn officers to the ranks of the police department and the addition of three new community police station areas in the last decade; and
WHEREAS, the historic pattern of understaffing our neighborhood police patrols by LAPD’s top brass — especially in light of the significant increases to the overall size of the force — suggests that field patrol duties are neither a priority, nor viewed as a core mission within the police department; and
WHEREAS, the lack of consistent police patrols endangers our community by increasing response times and sends a dangerous message to the criminal element that our homes and businesses lack adequate protection; and
WHEREAS, neighboring cities with significantly smaller police departments have demonstrated that it is possible to provide comprehensive law enforcement services, while also providing robust neighborhood patrols, maintaining fast response times, and building strong police-community relationships using regularly assigned patrol officers; and
WHEREAS, all Angelenos, especially the _________ (Neighborhood Council / Community Council), have the expectation that our police department make every effort to ensure the most efficient and effective use of sworn personnel, which means deploying as many able-bodied police officers back to patrol car beats as possible; and
WHEREAS, residents, rank and file police officers, HOAs, neighborhood councils, business owners, community leaders, neighborhood watches, local schools, religious institutions, labor groups – including the LA Police Protective League, business associations, business improvement districts and chambers of commerce from throughout Los Angeles have united around a single cause: more police patrols.