3 FINALISTS NAMED FOR LAPD CHIEF.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Two LAPD insiders - Bernard Parks and Mark Kroeker - and an outsider from Sacramento were named finalists Monday in the selection process for Los Angeles' 52nd police chief.

The Los Angeles Police Commission submitted the names of the finalists - Parks and Kroeker, who are deputy chiefs, and Sacramento Police Chief Arturo Venegas Jr. - to Mayor Richard Riordan, who is expected to announced his decision next week.

Speculation has been strong for months that Riordan had settled on Parks, and nothing in Monday's announcement came as a surprise. The commission ranked Parks first, followed by Kroeker and Venegas.

``I have complete confidence we will end up with the best chief in the nation,'' Riordan said.

Riordan is scheduled to interview the three candidates Thursday, and he has asked council President John Ferraro and Councilwoman Laura Chick, who chairs the City Council's Public Safety Committee, to sit in on the interviews. Riordan is expected to announce his decision next week and submit it to the City Council for confirmation.

Pay for the job ranges from $143,000 to $215,000 a year.

The key factor for the mayor, aides said, is determining the candidate he believes would provide the most effective leadership for the Los Angeles Police Department as it makes its transition from the five years under former Chief Willie L. Williams and as it enters the next century.

``The mayor is looking for someone who will get accountability going in the department,'' one aide said. ``He wants someone who will push the programs forward as opposed to waiting for direction. The mayor also wants to see more accountability and progress in reforms.''

Riordan has said he is going into the interviews with an open mind, but he also has given strong support in the past to Parks, whom he wanted named as interim chief. The Police Commission instead chose Bayan Lewis for that post, saying it didn't want to give an edge to any of the candidates.

The recommendation from the Police Commission followed a more-than-two-hour closed-door meeting.

``I think that, on balance, the commission collectively believes that Chief Parks brings a leadership quality that a great majority of the commissioners felt was most appropriate,'' commission President Ray Fisher said at a news conference where he was joined by fellow commissioners Edith Perez, Bert Boeckmann, Art Mattox and T. Warren Jackson.

Fisher said four of the commissioners voted to rank Parks first. Boeckmann favored Kroeker, although he also said he had no problems with Parks. The five were unanimous in ranking Venegas as the third choice.

One commissioner, asking not to be identified, said the session was not contentious and that the panel came to an early conclusion on ranking Parks as first.

``It was very clear from the quality of the interviews that he was the choice,'' the commissioner said. ``We came to generally the same consensus and these are truly five independent commissioners who had nothing to gain by picking a political favorite.''

Parks, 53, who finished second to Williams in the chief selection process five years ago, said he was pleased to have finished first but was not counting on that leading to his selection.

``We have to let the process work out,'' Parks said.

Like Kroeker, Parks has broad experience in the department and has been serving as head of the Office of Operations that oversees 85 percent of the LAPD's duties.

Parks became the center of controversy during Williams' reign, when the former chief attempted to demote Parks. The City Council eventually intervened, allowing the transfer of Parks from assistant chief but with no loss in pay.

Kroeker, 53, who is now in charge of the Office of Administrative Services, said he was honored to be in the final list of candidates - narrowed from an initial field of 31 people and six semifinalists.

``When you're a young officer, you don't even believe you could make sergeant someday,'' Kroeker said. ``To be a finalist for the chief's job is a great honor.''

While he would have preferred being at the top of the list - ``I'm a competitor and you always want to be the best'' - Kroeker said he was pleased that he and Parks, as LAPD veterans, were on the list.

``And, secondly, I know that this list . . . the mayor has full access to all those names, and in the end I have full confidence that I will remain optimistic that he will select me.''

To win that support, Kroeker said he will strive to stress the leadership skills he can bring to a department that five years after the riots has only recently begun to recover from its morale problems.

Kroeker has been with the LAPD for 32 years and served as commander of the Valley and South bureaus.

Venegas, 48, became Sacramento police chief in 1993 after serving at the Fresno Police Department.

Venegas issued a statement saying that he was honored to be among the finalists and by the attention that has been placed on his successes in Sacramento.

He has been credited with bringing new policing techniques to that city as well as upgrading its computer technology at a time when its budget was limited.

``I look forward to the final interviews and, ultimately, the announcement of who will be asked to lead the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department,'' Venegas said.

Pressure has been building in recent months for Riordan to select an LAPD insider as the next chief after five years of Williams, who came from the Philadelphia Police Department.

Residents involved in community forums have filled out response cards overwhelmingly urging an LAPD insider as someone who not only knows the department but the city.

The Police Protective League also has said it wants an insider for the post.

While the union released a survey showing that more than 75 percent of the officers backed Kroeker, a league official said the officers would work with whomever is selected.

``We believe we can work successfully with whomever the mayor decides to select as the next chief of police,'' said League director Ted Hunt. ``We know Kroeker and Parks and we've had discussions with Venegas and we think we can work with any one of them.''

POLICE CHIEF FINALISTS:

The Police Commission selected two LAPD deputy chiefs and the Sacramento police chief as finalists for the top job at Parker Center. Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan will select the next police chief.

BERNARD PARKS

Age: 53

Current position: Deputy chief, heads the LAPD's Office of Operations

Background: The Texas native has been with the department 32 years, working in the West Valley, Narcotics, Internal Affairs and Training divisions. He is endorsed by the Oscar Joel Bryant Association, a group of African-American officers.

Pro: Strong management skills and extensive experience.

Con: Without union endorsement, may have trouble improving morale.

MARK KROEKER

Age: 53

Current position: Deputy chief, heads the LAPD's Office of Administrative Services

Background: The 32-year veteran headed up the South and Valley Bureaus. He is endorsed by the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers.

Pro: Popular commander in the Valley and South bureaus

Con: Off-duty commitments could distract from the job.

ARTURO VENEGAS JR.

Age: 48

Current position: Chief, Sacramento Police Department 

Background: The former Fresno Police Department deputy chief took the top job in Sacramento in 1993.

Pro: Outsider with strong commitment to community-based policing

Con: After Willie Williams, outsider status draws new skepticism inside LAPD.

CAPTION(S):

Box, 3 Photos

BOX: Police chief finalists (see text)

Photo: (1) Mark Kroeker

(2) Bernard Parks

(3) Arturo Venegas Jr.