Thanks to Wanda over on PT’s facebook page for pointing out this gem. The trial of the eight of the city’s administrators, including the city manager who made $800,000 a year, is under way and every day is a new revelation. This one is a grabber.
Seems the police department was playing baseball with parking citations and other police activity. The game was set up so that an officer could accrue “hits” based on the number and type of citations written. A simple parking ticket got a single, a misdemeanor arrest garnered a double, a felony arrest a triple, and a home run was a felony arrest when the crime was observed by the officer. You can see the complete list here. The LA Times reporters seemed horrified by the revelation. I’m not so sure.
It all goes back to how aggressive we want our police to be. The idea of posting officer’s successes and letting the entire world see, and using a sports analogy to reflect them, seem rather inventive. I may have a problem with officers who ‘nail’ someone who parked 30 seconds past the meter time, but a judicious selection of citations and arrests could make the program work well.
For instance. What if you gave home runs to officers who received kudus from citizens? What if a normal first time parking tickets got no hits, but the discovery of a scofflaw got you a double. Red zones could be singles, and fire hydrants and street blockages triples. You could adjust the list to fit the needs of a neighborhood, or requirement of the city. If there are a lot of burglaries in an area, maybe a home run for catching a perp would motivate a few extra drive throughs.
The idea of police officers focusing on finding felons, seeking out problems, keeping a sharp eye on areas that attract bad elements seems good to me.
It’s a management tool. It must be used with supervision and with a thoughtful hand. But rewarding officers for doing a good job, even if it’s only peer recognition, seems like a good thing, even in the corrupt city of Bell.
JVH
