LAPD ARRESTS DOWN VALLEY CRIME CLIMBS AS DEPARTMENT STRUGGLES TO RETAIN, RECRUIT POLICE.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Staff Writer

Even as crime continues to climb, arrests have fallen 20 percent in the San Fernando Valley largely because of a police officer shortage, the Daily News has learned.

Police commanders blame a good economy and mass retirements for the exodus of officers, leading to fewer arrests and cuts in some crime- fighting programs, including in the San Fernando Valley.

But patrol officers contend Chief Bernard Parks' strict discipline policy and the prospect of further monitoring under a proposed federal consent decree have pushed officers off the force and led others to avoid making as many arrests.

What is not in dispute is that from Jan. 1 to Sept. 16, there were 17 percent fewer arrests citywide and nearly 20 percent fewer valleywide, as compared to the same period last year.

At the same time, violent crimes, burglary, larceny and auto theft were up by 11.2 percent across the city, and in the Valley, those crimes increased by 9.9. percent, according to police statistics.

And as of last week, the department had just 9,230 officers, down 820 from the 10,050 department goal, officials said.

``If you have fewer officers, you can't make the same number of arrests,'' said Deputy Chief Mike Bostic, the Los Angeles Police Department's commanding officer for the Valley.

This month's police academy class was canceled because there were too few people.

And since July 1, only 99 officers have been hired - not nearly enough to replace the 140 who have left during the same time period.

``Recruitment is an ongoing effort that has been very, very difficult,'' said Cmdr. Betty Kelepecz, in charge of the LAPD's hiring.

With fewer officers, police have cut back on programs that they say have worked - bicycle patrols and the career criminal unit at the LAPD's Foothill Division, for example.

Foothill Division was down 24 officers over last year, while response times have risen by as much as a minute, said Capt. Kenny Gardner.

``I suspect we have more people out there committing crimes before we can get to them. We could definitely use more people. Now we're playing catch-up,'' Gardner said. ``The proactive details just aren't there.''

Patrol officers contend that the department's close scrutiny, lack of a compressed work schedule and fallout from the recent Rampart scandal have kept away prospective recruits.

And the looming consent decree that would bring in a federal monitor to deal with a series of police reforms will make matters only worse, they say.

Hundreds of LAPD officers have taken out extra insurance policies in the past year to protect themselves from the added scrutiny, according to Clay McQuiddy, president of POLICE Insurance Services, which stands for Peace Officers Legal Issues Coverage Exchange.

For officers, the added insurance covers what their union does not.

``Officers are scared. They're asking, How is this going to affect me?'' said an officer from the North Hollywood Division who asked not to be identified.

Although still under negotiation, the decree would establish a monitor who would record the race of people whom officers stop to determine whether racial profiling exists within the department.

In Pittsburgh, police have been under a federal consent decree since April 1997.

Serious crimes have risen more than 14 percent since the decree was signed and arrests have plunged, said Chuck Bosetti, second vice-president of the police union, the Fraternal Order of Police.

``When you intimidate the police from policing, you increase crime and decrease arrests,'' Bosetti said.

``This is causing the police to turtle-up. They will not be proactive. Creativity and officer discretion have been outlawed.''

In 1994, Pittsburgh residents filed 193 complaints, far short of 600 complaints lodged last year, when the decree was in place, Bosetti said.

And in the first nine months following the decree being signed, arrests for felonies and misdemeanors dropped 18.5 percent, he said.

``It's as though complying with race-gender statistics is of more interest than establishing innocence or guilt,'' Bosetti said.

The department also has lost about 175 officers since the decree was signed.

Los Angeles police have the same fears.

For the first time in his 15 years on the department, a North Hollywood officer took out liability insurance, paying about $100 every three months to cover lawyer costs and compensation pay if he was suspended.

The officer said he fears frivolous complaints.

``Every contact with a gangster brings up the odds that something bad's going to happen.''

Instead of doing proactive patrolling and pulling over suspicious people, many officers said, they are only responding to routine radio calls.

``We are what you call a blade of grass in the lawn of life. Officers show up to work, eat their lunch and go home. And the ones who are doing their work are impulsive and haven't seen the reality of the situation - that they could be indicted or sued,'' said another officer in the San Fernando Valley.

One Foothill Division officer is particularly concerned about pulling over minorities.

``Who's going to want to do the work if they're going to get labeled as a racist for stopping somebody that you had just cause to stop?'' the officer asked. ``It's just ridiculous. You can't be effectively policing while being second-guessed.''

Bostic defended the department discipline policy, saying that more than 50 percent of the discipline cases stem from off-duty misconduct. ``It's domestic violence, neighbor disputes and drunk driving committed off duty.''

And he said the Rampart scandal proves extra scrutiny is needed.

``Every single one of us have more complaints than we've had before,'' he said. ``We're establishing credibility in the community that we will investigate the misconduct of officers and we will produce a fair and impartial investigation.''

Dennis Zine, vice president of the LAPD's Police Protective League, which represents the rank-and-file, said the consent decree would serve only to embitter officers.

``Everything they do is questioned. They feel that their careers are in jeopardy,'' Zine said. ``It's another document tracking them in their career. And at what point do we say this is ridiculous? I think the avalanche is just going to continue.''

Yet the department continues to scramble for recruits.

Kelepecz is hopeful the newest recruitment media campaign called ``The Satisfaction of the Career,'' launched on July 17 will have an impact. The $2,000 relocation fee begun in May for out-of-state recruits may also help, she said.

Patrol officers believe it is fruitless.

``These officers are voting. They're voting with their feet,'' said one North Hollywood officer who has sent out his resume to several other departments. ``It's the old Titanic joke: We're going down, and there ain't no band playing.''

CAPTION(S):

box

Box: ARRESTS FALLING

SOURCE: LAPD

Daily News