LAPD RAIDS ITSELF AGAIN SPECIALIZED OFFICERS MOVED TO BOOST PATROLS.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

Desperate to put more cops on the street, the Los Angeles Police Department has raided an elite anti-crime unit and eliminated the detective training program in the face of a worsening manpower crisis, officials said Wednesday.

The actions mark the second time in recent months that the patrol force has been beefed up by redeploying officers. Problems recruiting and retaining officers are draining an average of 26 officers a month from the department's total force.

Police union officials criticized the latest move, saying it will only worsen morale among rank-and-file officers and could create serious problems providing necessary public safety services.

``Most divisions can't even deploy their minimum units,'' said Bob Baker, vice president of the Police Protective League. ``This department is in crisis, there's not enough officers on the street.''

Today, Mayor Richard Riordan and Chief Bernard C. Parks will launch an ad campaign featuring the line ``Do Good,'' designed to boost officer recruitment and put more cops on the street.

Beginning June 3, about 10 percent of the Metro Division - which consists of specialized crime suppression units - will be sent back to the field to work as training officers, said LAPD spokesman Sgt. John Pasquariello.

By the next scheduling period, 73 detective trainees will have been sent back to the field. The department has put a moratorium on detective training.

Continuing problems recruiting and retaining officers have left the LAPD with a little more than 9,000 officers, about 800 below its level two years ago.

In December, the LAPD dismantled several specialized units to put more officers on patrol. In the Valley, 115 officers were reassigned from units targeting violent criminals, sex offenders and auto theft, among others.

Deputy Chief Michael Bostic, who is in charge of the department's Human Resources Bureau, said the LAPD does not have a manpower crisis. He said there is no shortage of cars on patrol and that area captains have the authority to move resources around to match the needs of each watch.

``All we're doing is redeploying people to the field when we need them,'' Bostic said.

LAPD Metro Division Sgt. George Rodriguez said 25 Metro officers assigned to the crime suppression unit will be redeployed.

``That will affect our ability to deploy to certain situations,'' he said, citing demonstrations taking place simultaneously at different locations as an example.

Rodriguez said the shift will make more officers available to answer calls for service.

``We're supplementing whatever is out there now,'' he said.

Bostic said field operations like patrol must be given a priority, and he said detective trainees will be replaced by detectives with more experience from specialized units.

``They'll actually be better off because they'll have experienced detectives replacing trainees,'' Bostic said.

Lewis Yablonsky, professor emeritus of criminology at California State University, Northridge, said he believes more police officers out on patrol will better serve the community.

``They're probably trying to utilize their resources as effectively as possible,'' he said. ``The LAPD has been under the gun so to speak since the Rampart scandal, so I don't see any major problem with them doing this.''

The deputy chief said the LAPD is not experiencing a shortage in personnel. He said there are more officers now than the 7,200-officer average the department has carried over the past 25 years.

He said the LAPD reached a high of 9,800 officers two years ago.

If the City Council passes a budget proposed for the next fiscal year, the LAPD will be budgeted for 8,750 personnel, Bostic said.

Over the course of the next fiscal year, as the department loses officers, many through retirement, Bostic said the LAPD will get to its authorized strength. That would leave it more than 1,000 below its peak and 2,000 below Riordan's original promise when he ran for mayor.

``Is the reduction going to hurt? Of course it is, but we still (will) have 8,750 people ... a lot more than we've had in our recent history,'' he said.

Bostic said as the numbers decline, personnel will continue to be drawn from the specialized units because field operations are the LAPD's top priority.

But Baker of the police union said taking LAPD detective trainees out of the program would leave detectives mired in work.

``I think it's going to put a huge burden on detectives trying to clear their cases,'' Baker said.

He said the redeployment has led to further morale problems in a department already plagued by the Rampart Division corruption scandal, a discipline system officers don't like and a squabble over work schedules.

``I've got two boys and they said they wanted to come on the job,'' Baker said. ``I said there's no way I'd allow you to go into the LAPD.''

Parks said the department is stepping up its efforts to strengthen the force.

``The Police Department is committed to hiring and retaining as many qualified police officers as possible,'' he said in a statement.

With more than 800 openings, the department has had a hard time getting as many as 100 applications at a time, officials said. The recent initiation of polygraph tests for candidates has reduced the number sharply.

A Daily News analysis of police records showed one in nine officers who left the LAPD in 2000 went to another department.

CAPTION(S):

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Chart:

THINNING BLUE LINE

Numbers of sworn police officers for the city of Los Angeles during the past year has dropped by 322 officers, or 3.5 percent.

Source: LAPD