L.A. OFFICIALS SPAR ON REPORTING OF DOMESTIC ABUSE EX-CHIEF PARKS SAYS CHANGE MAY HAVE SKEWED FIGURES.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

An ongoing dispute over how the Los Angeles Police Department reports and handles domestic abuse cases escalated Wednesday with several sharp exchanges between city officials over whether a reported drop in crime over the past year is real.

The LAPD reported a 28 percent drop in violent crime in 2005, the same year that domestic assault cases were reclassified to reflect whether a victim suffered minor injuries or had no injuries.

But Councilman Bernard Parks, a former police chief, challenged the way the department under successor Chief William Bratton is reporting crimes, reducing most domestic abuse cases to a less serious status and saying that not all crimes committed are included.

``You have gone to an incident-based report where you only count one crime,'' Parks said. ``It is not the way we have done things in the past.''

But Assistant Chief George Gascon and his aides defended the department, saying it always has used a hierarchical structure in reporting only the most serious crime committed.

Gascon said the department reclassified domestic assault cases to comply with federal guidelines on uniform crime reporting, and said that to do otherwise would constitute fraud.

``The federal guidelines were established to have uniformity in how jurisdictions report crime,'' Gascon said. ``It is important for the city of Los Angeles to be in compliance. It does not change our commitment to the eradication of domestic violence. But we cannot continue to misrepresent the numbers.''

The exchange came after several months of ongoing debate over whether the LAPD has purposely reduced categorizing most domestic abuse cases -- from the more serious Part I crimes to less-serious Part II crimes -- to try to show a drop in violent crime.

Gascon continued to emphasize Wednesday that the department has not changed how it responds to domestic abuse calls or how it pursues prosecution.

Parks, however, said he was concerned the department had dropped a previous council-approved policy on how the crimes were to be handled and it could give the wrong impression to residents about the crime rate.

``What we don't want to do is have misinformation given to the public about the crime rate in this city,'' Parks said. ``Just because we aren't reporting them doesn't mean they aren't occurring.''

Gascon said the department still tracks all domestic abuse cases, but simply lists them in a separate category to comply with the city's desire to emphasize the nature of the crime while abiding by federal regulations.

Paula Petratta, head of the Commission on the Status of Women, said she is working with the Police Commission to examine how well the city responds to domestic abuse cases.

But she said it has been difficult to track information from the department, and an initial review shows there has been a significant drop in arrests in domestic abuse cases and a decline in followup efforts.

Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller told City Council members that so far it appears the department's reporting change has not affected any federal funding received by either nonprofit or city agencies that help victims of domestic abuse.

Councilwoman Janice Hahn said she is concerned that victims of domestic abuse will stop reporting the crimes.

``I was recently at some housing projects and all the officers told me was about the drop in violent crime,'' Hahn said. ``What they didn't say is that they weren't including domestic abuse. We all know that in our housing projects, of all places, there is going to be domestic abuse.

``What upsets me is that if people think we are giving it a lower priority, they will stop calling in when they are victimized.''

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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