AND NOW, A FEW WORDS FROM L.A.'S NEW TOP COP.Byline: Daily News The following are excerpts from William J. Bratton's remarks during his confirmation hearing Friday before the City Council. From Bratton's opening comments: This was a process that contributed to my growing knowledge of this city, its history, its current situation and also to share the mayor's vision and your vision of what its future might be - a future I hope to significantly contribute to by working with the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . , men and women who are
committed to working with the community to make this city truly fill the
vision Mayor Hahn has so often articulated - safest large city in
America.
It will not be easy. It will take time. It will take a lot of hard work. But we will succeed, I have no doubt about that. Part of my desire to come to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. was to share in an environment that understands the importance of (community policing) - a philosophy that is making America safer, and the philosophy that can fulfill the vision. I want to be a part of what is happening here. I want to be part of the partnership that focuses on the problems, that appreciates what government is all about is the obligation, the first and foremost obligation, to provide public safety for all its citizens - no matter their race, creed or background. I also want the opportunity to work with this police department, a department I have admired from afar for over 40 years, a department that has seen more than its share of troubled times in the last 10 years. I would like to see it as a capstone of my career that I participate in restoring it to what it once was, and can certainly be again - the unquestioned most professional and successful and caring - and I emphasize caring - police department in this country. I appreciate very much the opportunity to have gone through a process that was fair and open and intense ... to appreciate the commitment you all have to this city, the love you have for this city. My commitment to you is to match that love, match that caring and to work with you to fulfill the dream we all have, that the city of dreams City of Dreams is a historical novel by Beverly Swerling, published in 2001. It is the multi-generational history of a family of immigrants set in Nieuw Amsterdam and early Manhattan. become the city of reality - the safest large city in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Excerpts of Bratton's answers to council member questions on the following issues: Consent decree A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. : I intend to (make) it very clear that I embrace and support totally the purposes of the consent decree, what it's attempting to correct, what it's attempting to create. Racial profiling The consideration of race, ethnicity, or national origin by an officer of the law in deciding when and how to intervene in an enforcement capacity. Police officers often profile certain types of individuals who are more likely to perpetrate crimes. : Racial profiling is morally and legally wrong. It will not be tolerated. It will not be practiced while I'm chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. Morale and recruitment: The learning experience I have had in five previous organizations, including New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , which so closely parallels what you're dealing with, I think perfectly positions me to do what I do, which is to inspire the cops, to get them to embrace community policing. In this case, to get them to embrace the benefits of the consent decree rather than just seeing it as a negative. But most importantly Adv. 1. most importantly - above and beyond all other consideration; "above all, you must be independent" above all, most especially , and I think for your purposes, most significantly, to get them to embrace the community. The idea being that if you expect to be respected, you better give it in the first place. And I think this department, from what I've seen over the last number of months, is truly prepared to do that ... and I'm hoping to serve as the catalyst to make that happen. Murder rate and gang violence: Mayor Hahn has made it quite clear that as one of my first jobs, there is to be a resource allocation resource allocation Managed care The constellation of activities and decisions which form the basis for prioritizing health care needs of the department to see are there officers currently available who might be freed up for enforcement action as well as expansion of the SLO SLO Slovenia (ISO Country Identifier) SLO San Luis Obispo (California) SLO Service Level Objectives (information technology services) (Senior Lead Officer) concept. And that will be one of the first priorities - more officers on the street addressing crime and disorder, and more personnel to deal the community policing component. Community policing: Very early on, I will attempt to do here what I have done in New York City and Boston, which is to decentralize de·cen·tral·ize v. de·cen·tral·ized, de·cen·tral·iz·ing, de·cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To distribute the administrative functions or powers of (a central authority) among several local authorities. very quickly, reorganize re·or·gan·ize v. re·or·gan·ized, re·or·gan·iz·ing, re·or·gan·iz·es v.tr. To organize again or anew. v.intr. To undergo or effect changes in organization. so that the 18 - soon to be 20 - divisions of this police department, the commanding officers of those divisions effectively are able to function as police chiefs, so they're in a position to respond very intimately to the various needs of the various neighborhoods, to empower them, to resource them to the best of our ability, and also ... to hold them accountable. To make sure they are responding to your issues as City Council members as well as the issues of your community. Secession secession, in art secession, in art, any of several associations of progressive artists, especially those in Munich, Berlin, and Vienna, who withdrew from the established academic societies or exhibitions. : I was criticized for my early-on comment, something to the effect, I can't even begin to imagine why you'd want to take one of America's greatest cities and break it up. I'm a proponent One who offers or proposes. A proponent is a person who comes forward with an a item or an idea. A proponent supports an issue or advocates a cause, such as a proponent of a will. PROPONENT, eccl. law. of cities; I love cities. I think I understand their importance in our society. ... Inspector General: Effective with my appointment, the days of adversity ad·ver·si·ty n. pl. ad·ver·si·ties 1. A state of hardship or affliction; misfortune. 2. A calamitous event. are over. I intend to run a very transparent organization to you and the council ... having a spirit of inclusion in my relationship with the Inspector General. I'm not afraid of being looked at. I'm not afraid of being criticized, particularly if that criticism is well-intended and focused. Deployment: My commitment to you, to citizens of this city, is to very quickly come in, put in place a system that will allow us to truly analyze where are the problems occurring and assign resources based on that issue. Disagreements with the mayor: I intend to handle it by ... encouraging input, encouraging new ideas "New Ideas" is the debut single by Scottish New Wave/Indie Rock act The Dykeenies. It was first released as a Double A-side with "Will It Happen Tonight?" on July 17, 2006. The band also recorded a video for the track. , by encouraging objection to ideas that are proposed, by inclusion. ... He encourages, as do I, debate, ideas and also the understanding that when a decision is made... you get behind the decision. ... I'm very comfortable with that. Park safety: There is a belief that the Los Angeles Police Department is not coordinating its activities to as great a degree as possible with the park police. ... I think I can commit to you ... that will be one of the areas of concentration and prioritization. Traffic safety: In terms of assignment, of priority, of coordination ... traffic has to be looked at as a priority. We just cannot afford to continue losing the lives that are lost every year in this city. Homelessness: As police chief, I have two obligations. One is as a human to deal with that population in as compassionate a way as possible, and to ensure the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department in their interactions do that also. ... But secondly, of necessity, I also have to focus not only on the status of the individual ... but on the behavior. ... I would hope to ... do what I did in the New York City Police Department. We created ... a homeless outreach unit staffed by all volunteer officers to deal with the behavior, but also to deal with the status in a compassionate matter. Terrorism: The whole idea here is to share, that no one city or community has cornered the market on this new paradigm New Paradigm In the investing world, a totally new way of doing things that has a huge effect on business. Notes: The word "paradigm" is defined as a pattern or model, and it has been used in science to refer to a theoretical framework. that we're going to live with the rest of our lives. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: William Bratton laughs at a joke during his confirmation hearing before the council. Michael Owen
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