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Chick Report Identifies Ways to Increase Civilians at LAPD
Potential to Redeploy Over 400 Officers Back on the Streets
Los Angeles -- Calling Los Angeles “… one of the most underpoliced big cities in
America,” City Controller Laura Chick, issued a report today identifying ways to
increase civilian staffing of the Los Angeles Police Department and put more officers
out fighting crime on our streets and in our neighborhoods.
“We found over 500 positions that could potentially be filled by civilians, freeing up
sworn personnel to perform more traditional policing functions. The last chapter of the
report lays out a clear plan, implemented over a three year period that would put these
already trained, experienced veteran police officers, back out in neighborhoods where
we need them,” said Chick at a news conference with LAPD Chief Bill Bratton.
“Over and over again we hear the sound-bite, 'Let’s get officers out from behind desks
and out on our streets.' Yet we continue to impose hiring freezes for civilian positions
resulting in a vacancy level ranging up to 640 and currently hovering at 608 vacant
positions. Who do we think is performing this essential back-up work?,” continued
Chick.
The Chick report also sets forth a three year implementation plan to increase
civilianization at the LAPD. After the three years, over 400 full-duty and experienced
officers would be re-deployed to perform essential law enforcement duties.
“This is not about ‘especially in these hard fiscal times.’ This is about the fact that the
LAPD already absorbs over $1.2 billion every year of taxpayer money, and that amount
continues to increase as we struggle to get the right number of uniformed police on our
streets,” said Chick.
“We do not need hundreds of police officers, at a cost of $30,000 a year more than a
properly trained civilian, performing administrative functions that do not require
carrying a firearm. While Chief Bratton has made major progress in deploying our
officers more effectively, this report challenges us to fully engage in smarter 21st
Century policing,” concluded Chick.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is the Executive Summary:
REVIEW OF INCREASED CIVILIANIZATION OF THE
LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scope of the Review of Increased Civilianization of the Los Angeles Police
Department (LAPD or Department) is to identify and evaluate the feasibility and
potential financial and operational impact of increased civilianization within the
Department. The study involved a department-wide assessment to identity
functions and positions that could be civilianized.
Methodology
This review was conducted from late July 2007 through January 2008 and
included a multi-pronged analysis utilizing a variety of methodologies including:
data and document review, one-on-one and small group interviews, literature
review, and comparative analysis and best practices benchmarking. In total,
nearly 100 interviews and meetings were conducted of key stakeholders,
including all LAPD divisions and bureaus, other relevant City Departments, and
representatives from applicable labor unions.
Best Practices
The literature review, which included studies of similar departments across the
United States, found consistency in the benefits and challenges of civilianization.
Over the past forty years, there has been an increasing trend of civilianization,
which has seen the ratio of sworn to civilians decrease from 8.3:1 in 1965 to
2.1:1 in 2004. Motivating factors that have impacted this trend include:
• The increasing costs of police services delivery and the need to reduce costs,
• Technological innovations which have increased functional specialization,
• An emphasis on increased effectiveness and efficiency in management,
• A need to increase the number of sworn officers available for front-line duties,
• The changing needs of increasingly diverse communities, and
• A desire to increase civilian retention through expanded career opportunities. |
Despite the increasing role of civilians within police departments, there are still a
number of challenges which affect the ability of departments to best utilize the
unique skills sets provided by specially trained civilians. Organizational
resistance to change, opposition from police unions and associations, the need
for police expertise and experience, and challenges related to recruiting and
retaining civilian staff are among the many hurdles that must be overcome to
successfully integrate civilian employees.
This review also included a comparison of the LAPD with other law enforcement
organizations in the United States. The comparative survey was designed to
shed light on the utilization of civilian personnel in other law enforcement
agencies, particularly on issues and functions identified in our field interviews of
the LAPD that warranted comparison. Comparative survey results were
generally consistent with the literature review, demonstrating the increasing
specialization of law enforcement operations, a greater acknowledgement of
civilianization as a best practice, and the growing role of civilians in police
organizations. Of the eight agencies included in the survey, all but one agency
have engaged in a civilianization effort in the past five years. Similarities and
commonalities in terms of functions identified to be best performed by civilians
were more apparent than their differences, which can be attributed to a variety of
reasons, including differing operational structures, organizational culture, and
sworn/civilian staffing levels. For example, the law enforcement agencies on the
East Coast and in Chicago generally had more police officers relative to their
service populations and, thus, would have smaller civilian workforces relative to
their police forces.
Key Issues and Observations
The following issues are likely to serve as the most difficult barriers to increased
civilianization within the LAPD:
1. |
Strong Sworn Organizational Culture:
The Department is characterized by an
entrenched sworn-dominated culture, particularly at the Area stations, that often
subordinates the work and status of civilian employees. While a new cadre of sworn
leadership appears to recognize the important role of civilians in the LAPD, many
civilians still feel that their efforts go unrecognized. In order for civilianization efforts
to be successful, a change must occur at all levels in the organizational culture. |
2. |
Lack of Clear and Viable Career Paths for Specialized Civilians:
For certain
classifications within the LAPD, particularly specialized classifications, there is limited
opportunity for vertical and lateral movement. Conversely, the use of more common
citywide classification creates retention issues as civilians can seek promotional
opportunities to other departments. While specialized classifications provide for
retention of civilian employees in the LAPD, their utilization should be tempered by
considerations for career growth and development. |
3. |
Recruitment and Hiring Challenges for Specialized Functions and Areas:
For
specialized functions that are unique to the LAPD and because of the nature of law
enforcement work, recruitment and hiring present another challenge for civilianization
in the LAPD. The use of citywide classifications for certain specialized functions, is
intrinsically restrictive to recruiting and hiring qualified civilian candidates, especially
from outside the City. Furthermore, the sensitivity and confidentiality requirements
involved in certain police functions present another challenge for recruitment and
hiring. The LAPD’s more extensive background investigation prolongs the hiring
process making other positions within the City more attractive and is a discouraging
factor for some potential applicants considering these specialized positions. Another
important issue cited in the interviews was that certain divisions – particularly Area
stations located in higher crime areas – were less attractive to civilian employees.
This resulted in these Area stations experiencing more difficulty in the hiring and
retaining of civilians than the divisions located at the LAPD headquarters. This
circumstance is compounded by the limited opportunities for promotion within these
Area stations, which are geographically isolated from headquarters. |
4. |
Lack of Pre- and In-Service Training Opportunities:
The LAPD’s sworn
personnel are exposed to rigorous, consistent and ongoing training, but such training
is not available to civilian personnel. These training opportunities are viewed as a
reflection of the Department’s limited investment in civilian staff. The implementation
of a comprehensive civilian training program, with a particular focus on orientation for
employee needs, is a critical component for increasing the effective utilization of
civilians throughout the Department. |
5. |
High Level of Accommodation:
One unique element of LAPD’s sworn culture has
been a desire to “take care of our own” by providing accommodations for officers
assigned to permanent limited-duty status. This practice has had a long-term fiscal
impact on the LAPD as positions which could be filled more cost-effectively by
civilians are currently filled by sworn officers. As of February 2008, estimates
indicate there are approximately 489 sworn officers, or 5% of the total sworn
workforce, assigned to permanent limited duties. While the LAPD’s Special Order
#7, which applies to officers injured after August 1, 2006, would require officers who
cannot fulfill the essential job functions of a peace officer to either transfer to an
alternate (civilian) job classification or retire, there are still a significant number of
officers that were “grandfathered” into positions that should be performed by
civilians. Special Order #7 has been codified in Section 711.76, Volume 3 of the
LAPD Manual. |
6. |
High Civilian Vacancy:
As of August 2007, there were 591 civilian vacancies in the
Department. Among this total are vacancies in key clerical, administrative and
professional classifications, including Clerk Typist, Police Service Representative,
and Management Analyst. However, because of budgetary constraints, not all of
these vacancies are funded to be filled. For the current FY 2007-08, based on
available funding and projected civilian attrition, the Department is projected to
achieve 308 civilian hires. With a projected attrition of 234 civilian employees, the
LAPD projected net gain is only 74 new civilian hires. These vacant positions are
responsible for the Department’s critical non-sworn support functions, many of which
are now performed by sworn officers. |
7. |
Need to “Harvest” Officers:
“Harvesting” refers to the practice of taking full-duty
sworn officers from the field, particularly from patrol operations, and reassigning
them to perform certain essential tasks, duties and responsibilities. The significant
rise in additional critical duties and responsibilities, coupled with the lack of adequate
civilian support, requires commanding officers to reassign or harvest full-duty officers
from patrol duties. For Area stations, the Department has been using a “fixed post”
staffing model that was first implemented several decades ago. The LAPD has yet
to realign Area staffing structure and resources to address new demands, functions
and responsibilities. The lack of clear, codified positions, particularly at the Area
stations, presents a challenge to any civilianization effort. |
8. |
Financial Constraints:
While civilianizing positions that are currently being filled by
sworn officers results in cost avoidance, there are not sufficient numbers of existing
civilians to fill these positions and the City would need to expend significant funds to
hire the additional needed civilian personnel. The estimated cost new civilian
employees to fill the 565 positions identified in this study is over $53,000,000 per
year, which represents a 25% increase in the FY 2007-08 civilian salary budget. The
expected financial impact presents a significant challenge to the LAPD’s efforts in
increasing civilianization and minimizing the practice of harvesting. However, the
successful implementation of a civilianization plan must be gradual, multi-phased
and long-term, so that the cost impact associated with civilianization can be
absorbed over an extended period. Furthermore, increased civilianization should not
be viewed as a stand-alone initiative, but must be considered as a key component of
the overall effort to increase the number of police officers serving the City.
Civilianizing non-police functions and positions is a cost effective strategy to expand
the City’s police force by redeploying full-duty sworn officers back out into the field. |
This study recommends a total of 565 positions and/or functions for
civilianization, representing approximately 6% of the entire sworn workforce. The
estimated “cost avoidance” is approximately $16,000,000 annually. On an
annual basis, the estimated average cost for one of these 565 sworn positions is
approximately $29,000 more than the estimated cost of a civilian employee in
this position or function. The breakdown by divisions is as follows:
4 Operational Bureaus (Central, South, Valley and West):
19 geographic Area stations and Traffic Divisions:
All Other Entities:
Total Positions: |
...24
272
269
565 |
Positions that are recommended to be civilianized include, among many others:
public front desks and equipment (kit) rooms at Area stations, community/media
relations, Teams II (Consent Decree auditing) coordination, crime analysis units
at Area stations, timekeeping and sick/IOD coordination, and training
coordination.
Appendix E is a summary of the positions by office, bureau, group
and division recommended for civilianization.
Conclusion
The Los Angeles Police Department is charged with safeguarding and protecting
the second most populous city in the United States, as well as an expansive
network of resources and infrastructure that is critical to the social well-being and
economic stability of the City, the State of California and the United States. With
this immense duty and purpose, the Department also has the responsibility to
utilize its resources in a manner that maximizes public safety.
Although it is the third largest law enforcement organization in the nation (with
over 9,500 officers), when compared to a number of large urban law enforcement
agencies in the United States, the LAPD has fewer sworn officers on a per capita
basis. One measure of a police organization’s ability to operate efficiently and
effectively is the number and percentage of police officers who are performing
enforcement and other critical police functions. While the City is now committed
to adding 1,000 new police officers to its force, another strategy to maximize the
Department’s resources is to minimize the number of sworn officers performing
functions that can be as effectively or more effectively performed by civilians. In
turn, as more officers are reassigned to law enforcement duties, the number of
police officers directly involved in securing the public safety can be maximized.
However, the process of civilianization in the LAPD is constrained by a myriad of
factors discussed above, including budgetary limitations for the City, as well as
high levels of civilian vacancy and permanent sworn accommodation. This study
provides the first step in the process, by identifying the positions and functions
that are eligible for civilianization, and addressing the constraints and challenges
to a successful department-wide civilianization process. The review includes 12
recommendations (summarized on the following page) that speak to these
identified constraints and issues, and recommends a total of 565 positions and/or
functions currently performed by sworn officers that are appropriate candidates to
be civilianized.
Given the context in which the LAPD and the City operate, any successful
implementation plan must be gradual, multi-phased and long-term, with
measurable short-, mid- and long-term goals. It should consider current civilian
vacancies, existing permanent accommodations, sworn leadership development
positions, and other issues that would impact implementation timelines and
priorities. The plan should include a rigorous civilian training program that offers
consistent opportunities for pre- and in-service training. Furthermore, the plan
should effectively consider and incorporate the budgetary constraints faced by
the City of Los Angeles. And lastly, in order for civilianization to be effective and
successful, the implementation plan must garner the support from all levels of the
Department, other City stakeholders, members of the City Council, as well as
various outside stakeholders. This study proposes an implementation plan which
sets forth a three-year strategy to execute the civilianization of the identified
positions in a gradual, multi-phased process that maximizes operational and cost
effectiveness.
A draft report was provided to LAPD management on February 11, 2008. We
discussed the contents of the report with Department management on February
19, 2008. The Department concurred with the issues, observations and
recommendations identified in this report. We considered the Department’s
comments before finalizing this report. Management has recognized the benefits
and challenges to increased civilianization and has indicated its commitment to
address the report’s identified issues, observations and recommendations. We
would like to thank LAPD management and staff – particularly the Personnel
Division – for their cooperation and assistance during this study. |
The full 203 page report can be accessed at: http://www.lacity.org/ctr/audits/FINAL_LAPD_CivilianizationReport.pdf (pdf format).
Controller Chick web site: www.lacity.org/ctr
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