CRIME FIGHT IN L.A. IS POLITICAL HAHN, PARKS STILL BATTLING OVER ISSUE.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and Councilman Bernard Parks sparred for a third day Thursday over the mayor's approach to fighting crime, with Parks challenging him to justify his support for the LAPD's flexible workweek.

Parks, who served as police chief from 1997 until Hahn replaced him in 2002, accused Hahn of capitulating to the police union in giving officers the flexibility to work three 12-hour shifts or four 10-hour shifts a week.

Parks said the schedule contributed to an increase in homicides and what he perceives as a lack of police presence around Los Angeles. He also sent a letter to Hahn, challenging him to oppose the compressed work schedule.

``There's no one in the public that when you explain that officers are working three days a week, support it,'' said Parks, who is challenging Hahn for mayor next year.

Parks, who opposed a compressed work schedule when he headed the Los Angeles Police Department, raised the issue this week after Chief William Bratton conceded that the LAPD would not meet his goal of reducing homicides by 20 percent this year. As of Sept. 4, homicides were up 4.2 percent from 2003 levels, according to the LAPD.

Hahn, who on Wednesday called Parks' tenure as police chief a ``failure'' marked by rising crime and officer attrition, fired back Thursday in a letter to Parks.

In it, the mayor defended the flexible schedule as an important tool to attract and retain officers. And he said violent crime is down in every major category compared with Parks' last year as police chief.

``The flexible work schedule has been key to our crime reduction efforts because it gives the LAPD the flexibility to put officers on the street when they are most needed,'' Hahn wrote.

James Nash, [phone]

james.nash(at)dailynews.com