Police Chief Beck's Q&A With Chamber

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, who chatted in a casual question-and-answer session during the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday, agreed with last month’s City Council decision to end the controversial red-light cameras.

“It was a bad precedent for police,” Beck said. “I should not have to make money, that should not be the motivation. ... It’s not the American style of police work and it’s not the American style of justice.”

Beck appeared as the noontime speaker before about 80 audience members at the on Ventura Boulevard. He gave a few introductory remarks but spent the major portion of his time answering audience questions.

Beck said the red-light camera program had promise but was poorly executed, with traffic courts failing to collect fines on tickets that the program generated. Further, studies were inconclusive on the program's effectiveness, showing a reduction in collisions within intersections but an increase in the number of fender-bender accidents when drivers slammed on the brakes.

Beck said other communities nationwide may use the same kind of program to increase revenues but he believes police work should remain a public service, not a money generator. If such unpopular programs cause ill will toward police, they need to be weighed carefully.

The chief also weighed in on the death of Ron Thomas, a homeless, mentally disturbed man who died after a violent confrontation with Fullerton police on July 5.

“Los Angeles has suffered far worse,” Beck said, referring to the beating of Rodney King and subsequent riots in 1992 and the beating of Stanley Miller in 2004. “It’s my intention not to go down that road again.”

Beck said since those incidents, the LAPD has changed how it investigates any major use of force by police officers. The investigation is conducted outside the chain of command of those involved, district attorney investigators are brought in and a task force of investigators, as many as 20 if needed, collect evidence and testimony of witnesses, he said.

Within 72 hours, Beck said he receives a full presentation with all evidence and witness testimony and decides how to inform the media and general public. Plus, the investigation is made public.

In other remarks, Beck said he faces two major challenges. One is funding. Although his budget was cut last year by $100 million, he said he was able to keep the ability to hire new officers to replace those retiring.

“Ten thousand officers sounds like a lot,” Beck said, “but London has four times the number of officers per capita, New York two and Chicago two.

“We certainly can’t get smaller and still do the same job,” he added.

Another challenge, according to Beck, is a piece of recently enacted legislation that will release low-level offenders from state prison to serve their terms in county jails. Beck said more felons would end up in county jails or on the streets with an impact much greater in Los Angeles, which has 20 percent of the parolees in the state.

In questions about youth safety, Beck talked about various LAPD youth programs and suggested the community needs to get actively involved with young people and the police programs. He drew a laugh when he said Internet access was kept under scrutiny until his three children were in their teens, adding, “My wife is a sheriff’s narcotics deputy and we always had narcotics dogs in our home.”