EDITORIAL ABUSING PRIVILEGE PRACTICE OF GIVING HONORARY BADGES TO POLITICAL HACKS MUST END.

BADGES are the supreme symbol of authority. The power they wield is the reason they are handed to police officers only after they prove their worthiness to carry one.

But the power of the badge is in danger when people who don't need or deserve such a symbol of authority are allowed to carry one. We hope the practice of handing out badges to every political hack who wants one is on the wane.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown has announced the recall of 1,200 -- 1,200! -- honorary badges to staff attorneys in Los Angeles and around the state to avoid continued misuse of them. It's a wise move; no one who isn't a sworn law enforcement officer or agent should be allowed to carry a badge.

Just how often these badges are abused isn't known, but an aide of Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton, provided a good example by flashing a badge when he was being arrested on suspicion of DUI. Apparently, Dymally had purchased a number of legislative badges and passed them out to his staff, his family and even some political donors.

Since then, the badge pipeline has been turned off for legislators. But plenty more nonsworn workers in California still have access to them, including city council members, county supervisors, dispatchers, dogcatchers and even courtroom clerks.

There's no compelling reason to hand out badges to people who don't need them -- and, indeed, the potential for misuse and the resulting liability is huge.

Every agency that hands out honorary badges should do law enforcement personnel and taxpayers a favor and discontinue this shameful practice of political favoritism.