LAPD MORALE LOW, SURVEY FINDS SIX-YEAR STUDY REFLECTS BROAD DISSATISFACTION.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

A six-year study of Los Angeles police released Monday shows low morale among officers, confusion about their job and fear of being disciplined, with 57 percent saying they would take other law enforcement jobs if possible.

The $600,000 study by researchers from UCLA and USC found most officers blamed Police Chief Bernard C. Parks for the difficulties in performing their jobs and the disciplinary system he began in 1998 to investigate complaints.

The study also found 27 percent of officers reported being burned out.

``This is a department that has been under incredible stress for a number of years,'' said professor Wellford Wilms of the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Policy.

Researchers traced problems to the beating of Rodney King, the 1992 riots and subsequent calls for reform.

In the study, officers - often in blunt terms - voiced frustrations at what they see as the politicalization of the department, the public's lack of understanding, media scrutiny and the disciplinary system.

In particular, officers told the researchers they were reluctant to get involved in cases that could lead to complaints.

As a result of Parks' demands, Wilms said only 18 percent of officers give him high marks for leadership, even as they recognize his integrity.

Many officers would feel better toward Parks, the study found, if he was out in the field more with them, as he was during the Democratic National Convention.

``It was great to see the chief walking in the middle of the street with us,'' an officer told researchers. ``It just made you feel that he just wasn't a tourist. And just having the command officers come over and pat you on the back once in a while really makes you feel good.''

Warren Schmidt, professor emeritus at the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning and Development, said the results are disturbing. ``These are troublesome numbers from the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect and serve the city of Los Angeles.''

Not all the results were negative.

Alex J. Norman, professor emeritus of the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research, said researchers found no racial or sexual bias as has been reported in the past.

Norman, who is an African-American, said that while some officers complained about a general lowering of standards and favoritism in promoting women or minorities, more than 90 percent said they trusted their partners and believed their colleagues are doing a good job.

Also, he said, officers highly regarded their immediate supervisors, reported satisfaction in their station and went in to the job for altruistic reasons.

Parks, who has encouraged the study, was aware of its results and was analyzing them, said Cmdr. Sharon Pappa. And, he told the research team he understood why officers were upset with the disciplinary system but believes they will become accustomed to it over time.

``The issue that officers tell us is (they're) victimized by frivolous complaints,'' Parks said in the report. ``But, how do you track these cases and the frivolous complainants unless we investigate each incident? The very thing we need is the investigation.''

Parks said he was looking at ways to improve the system.

Mayor Richard Riordan had no comment on the study.

The study began in 1994 as a way to assess how officers viewed their jobs following the Rodney King riots and reform recommendations from the Christopher Commission. It involved surveys of officers, personal interviews and ride-alongs in patrol cars. Officers from nine of the city's 18 divisions were eventually interviewed, including those from the West Valley station.

Wilms said the researchers made no recommendations.