Preparing For Destruction : A Management Plan For The Los Angeles Police Department's 1925-1939 Collection Of Cellulose Nitrate Negatives

This thesis examines the collection of nitrate negatives produced by the Los Angeles Police Department between the years of 1925 and 1939. The thesis is divided into two sections. The first section contextualizes the collection and explains how a plan was developed for re-photographing, cataloguing, and storing a digital database of the negative collection that will eventually be destroyed. The second section provides a management plan for the collection. Accompanying the management plan is an inventory documenting the current physical condition and the contents of each negative box.

Preparing For Destruction : A Management Plan For The Los Angeles Police Department's 1925-1939 Collection Of Cellulose Nitrate Negatives

This thesis examines the collection of nitrate negatives produced by the Los Angeles Police Department between the years of 1925 and 1939. The thesis is divided into two sections. The first section contextualizes the collection and explains how a plan was developed for re-photographing, cataloguing, and storing a digital database of the negative collection that will eventually be destroyed. The second section provides a management plan for the collection. Accompanying the management plan is an inventory documenting the current physical condition and the contents of each negative box.

Operations of the Los Angeles Police Department Threat Management Unit and Crisis Support Response Section

The Los Angeles Police Department has developed a systematic approach to investigating and managing cases involving stalking, workplace violence, and threats to high-profile individuals, including celebrities and elected officials. The authors note that there is no checklist or “one size fits all” formula to successfully manage these cases. From the law enforcement perspective, successful case management comes from experience, a fundamental understanding of threat assessment principles, in-depth familiarity with applicable laws, and knowing the available resources within jurisdictional control. This chapter explores the nuances inherent in investigations of this type, the necessity to integrate multiple avenues of prevention and intervention, and the critical role that mental health plays.

“I Don’t Think I Have, But I’ve Heard.”: Examining Perceptions of Race Relations in the Los Angeles Police Department Among Male Mexican-American Police Officers

Male Mexican-American police officers in the LAPD were interviewed about their perception of race relations in the department. The data shows that while officers are aware of the existence of racial tensions, they do not believe or are unsure about if they have experienced racism or discrimination in the department. Respondents do describe hearing claims of racism and discrimination, mostly by African-American officers. It is argued this is due to officers being unversed in how modern forms of racism and discrimination are manifested, as well as respondents comparing their experiences to African-American officers and in the process reifying their version of the Black/White racial binary in the institution, more accurately manifesting as a Non-Black/Black binary.

The Potential Impacts of Pandemic Policing on Police Legitimacy: Planning Past the COVID-19 Crisis

One of the biggest challenges facing modern policing in recent years has been the lack of police legitimacy. The tipping point of this phenomenon is often attributed to the Rodney King incident in Los Angeles in 1991, where Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers were videoed assaulting a lone black male. They were arrested and charged but eventually all were acquitted, thereby etching deep distrust between communities and police. Now the Rodney King example is an extreme and criminal act by police but it was the beginning of communities and media focusing on what the police were doing and how they were doing it. This lack of legitimacy coupled with what is referred to as the militarization of policing have lasting consequences and impacts on police–community relations and how interactions between police and community shape society today. In the wake of pandemic policing due to COVID-19, there are tales of two eventualities for police legitimacy that will be explored in this article: (1) The police response to the pandemic results in further militarization and draws deeper divides between police and communities or (2) the police response is compassionate and build on procedurally just operations resulting in the rebuilding of police legitimacy post-pandemic.

To Help “La Gente”: Examining Helping People as a Motivation for Becoming an Officer in the Los Angeles Police Department Among Male Mexican American Officers

The most commonly declared motivation for pursuing a career in law enforcement is helping people. As part of a study focusing on male Mexican American police officers in the Los Angeles Police Department, data were collected on initial motivations of police officers. The data reveal that a significant motivation for respondents was not only helping people but specifically helping minority communities receive improved services. This motivation stems from their interactions and perception of police while growing up in minority communities. Based on the findings, this article concludes with a call for a more grounded approach to research on Latinos in law enforcement.

Epilogue

Not until the Rampart Scandal (the exposure of wide- spread corruption in the LAPD’s Rampart anti-gang Community Resources against Street Hoodlums unit) in the late 1990s led to a federal consent decree did the LAPD face rigorous oversight. While leading to a new era in the LAPD’s history, such oversight also opened possibilities for expanded police authority because decades of get-tough policies embedded police power in urban politics. As the conclusion to Policing Los Angeles, this chapter demonstrates the continued operation of the police power as well as the ways activists and residents in Los Angeles have continued to push for reform and restructuring of the Los Angeles Police department.