The LAPD's next chief will have to meet a long list of demands from city residents
Job description: Reduce crime. Increase transparency. Build trust in police, particularly among African Americans. Motivate officers. Crack down on problem cops. Tackle homelessness. Curb shootings by police. Put more officers on the streets. Stay away from immigration enforcement. Continue police reforms.
The distinct, often-competing needs of a city as vast and diverse as Los Angeles were underscored during the Police Commission's recent listening tour, on which members of the LAPD's civilian oversight panel canvassed residents about what they'd like to see in their next police chief. Their list of demands was long.
The series of meetings offered the first public glimpse at some of the Los Angeles Police Department insiders who are weighing whether to apply, but it also illustrated the challenges ahead for whomever is chosen.
The next chief will have to confront some of the most intractable problems facing the city and policing overall, including ongoing concerns over how LAPD officers use force, a sharp rise in homelessness, allegations of racial profiling, a stubborn uptick in crime and friction with a White House angry at the city's "sanctuary" policies that limit cooperation with immigration agents.
"I believe that what we're looking for is impossible," said Steve Soboroff, the president of the Police Commission. "It's not so much as what the person is right now, but are they on their way to getting to be what we want? Who's got the best chance to do it all?
"We're setting very, very high standards and expectations in a very difficult time."
Finding the city's next police chief will be one of the most closely watched decisions made by Mayor Eric Garcetti, who will make the final selection from a list of applicants narrowed down by his appointees on the Police Commission. Commissioners have said they hope to finish evaluating what could be dozens of candidates and offer Garcetti their top three suggestions in early June, a few weeks before Chief Charlie Beck's last day, June 27. The city began accepting applications for the job last week.
At the recent meetings, several residents called for the next chief to come from within the LAPD's ranks rather than an outside agency. They said they wanted someone who already knows L.A. and the dynamics of the city's different neighborhoods.
"We need someone with deep knowledge and understanding who can be effective right from the start," one resident, Steven Kaplansky, told a police commissioner at Van Nuys City Hall.
In West L.A., Shana Lloyd said the next LAPD chief needs to understand the history of the city's still-evolving relationship with the police, particularly the department's treatment of nonwhite residents.
"We also still have a huge gap between law enforcement and communities of color," said Lloyd, who is black. "I think Los Angeles has taken great strides, and Charlie Beck has done some things, but we can go further.
"For me, as a law-abiding citizen of Los Angeles, I'm still nervous if cop cars roll by if I don't know any of them," she continued. "I am concerned about myself and members of my community, and I want to make sure we can close that gap."