LAPD...NO WAY

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Cpl_Mike, increased representation of women on the force – ok.  But can you imagine a fully “representative” police force of %60 women?  What would that be like?  How would riots be handled - with meetings to discuss the "feelings" of everyone while the city burned?  Or with “better” negotiations with rioters…  How many women do you know have the biological edge that that men have to take a bit of a risk in resolving a violent confrontation?  At its core, police work requires a certain biological edge to resolve many situations.  Does the public want the police to handle all law enforcement situations or just the mundane?

It looks like to me that the pendulum did not hit the stop on 9/11, we are still swinging toward more crime in LA until something happens that is as hyped by the media as much as the Rodney/OJ/Perez issues were, but in the opposite direction.  If you work for the city you know the direction of things right now.  One day the media will take notice when some “celebrity” is murdered because the cops took an hour and half to arrive to a code 3.

Mario could help the citizens of LA, if he was given the chance.  Like your say, mature/realistic views come with training, experience and time.  But, “political correctness” will lead to mediocre, not excellent policing.  Not all shouts of outrage need to be watered down…<br>

[cpl_mike]

Lets just bury this topic! LOL Yes ,I do Work for the City of L.A. and I can tell you that NO ONE is being kept out of the academy because of discrimination or reverse discrimination-!!!!!!! It is due to actual #s available to fill a class(don't forget -most people applying  for LAPD have also applied for L.A. Co Sheriffs Dept, Beverly Hills Pd, etc and sometimes opt to go to the most attractive and less problematic Depts!) as well as personnel Dept. and Training Div. authorization to start classes! Are more officers needed ?yes! But its all politics here too! the City is on the verge of voting for a Break -up( meaning a smaller L.A. and communities that are currently part of L.A. becoming their own independent cities!)and lets not forget law suits and Bond issues- how are you going to pay for more officers with less money?(9/11 put a dent in the City pocket book).State wide almost every agency is hiring and can give ol' L.A. a challenge for the hearts and pocket books  of intersted candidates-Heck even lil' Simi Valley PD (voted an All American City and safest in Calif.) can nearly match the current# of LAPD applicants!!It is frustrating for everyone now ,especially when you figure in that private industry (non-police work) can attract people away too!Bottom line- YOU who apply will and must wait patiently(Please)!!!! As for the affirmative action in civil service issue-since when did affirmative action = less qualified? Affirmative action IS NOT a give away!it has been a "quota system , though, and quotas  are unfair for non-minority applicants and DOEs tend to stigmatize the QUALIFIED minority applicants as being less" than qualified"-NO ONE GETS IN WITH LOW SCORES -PURE FICTION ("urban" legend -LOL and the Civil Service Commission for City of L.A. doesn't allow it!).As for your issue about physical skills Leo, have you been on a ride along with a Female or smaller statured Male officer?Yes they get Mobile Field force training ( what we call crowd/riot control training in Calif) and I was deployed for the  L.A. DNC and  obs'd plenty of those "weaker" sex officers HOLDING THEIR OWN against the pseudo anarchists(id'ed by their trendy watches,designer black clothing ,$200.00 nikes,and starbucks coffee cups), gang bangers, and other typical Southland whackos we deal with everyday- and might I add ,many were right up front taking the rocks, bottles and fists and GIVING back boots, OC and pr-24 strikes with great skill and assertiveness(aggressiveness is not "PC" anymore-LOL)I worked patrol during Rodney King Riots and didn't see any officer runnning away,regardless of gender- so please if you don't know ,don't comment.Also If you are here in L.A. stop by 1880 N.Academy drive (old academy) or the Ahmanson site (westchester,CA Academy),rio hondo Academy(Whittier,CA) or LASO Academy (Whittier,CA) and I doubt if you'll see many of those "affirmative action privileged" that you commented about running around at P.T. or to class!But whether male /female, Yellow,White,Green,Purple,Black ,or BLUE- they all MADE the grade and EARNED their right to be there! And it is not the police Depts fault in this issue-when your local City council and politicos lay down and roll over everytime an Ambulance chaser sues ,what do you think officers are going to do?(Civil court is a hard place to be,especially when you are right).Also,I AM sick of the disciplinary system! Hanging officers out to dry here is the big show in town and many perspective applicants can see this(Santa Monica, Culver City,The Beach Cities PDs' aren't affected by this strange sickness).Anyway I could debate the many problems of Nuestra Dama La Reina De Los Angeles ( L.A.) for weeks and turn blue in the face, but guess what? I'd rather spend time encouraging you guys to apply and get hired! Thats what Cops2be is about, and as a working officer , I think thats what I should be talking about! Nuff Said?...

[midcoaster]

Well said cpl_mike.

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Affirmative action IS NOT a give away!it has been a "quota system , though, and quotas  are unfair for non-minority applicants and DOEs tend to stigmatize the QUALIFIED minority applicants as being less" than qualified"-NO ONE GETS IN WITH LOW SCORES -PURE FICTION


Well Mike_CPL, what do you have to say about an asian male that I know who got a 75 on his oral, compared to my 90, and he got in quicker???

[Charlie]

Mario and others--

You folks can get mad at Cpl. Mike, me or anyone else here about the injustices you've experienced at LAPD or any other agency for that matter. But remember something.....Cpl. Mike or anyone else here at cops2be (to my knowledge) does not run the "hiring & firing" departments at LAPD!

Again, if you carefully read what he's telling you in his posts, I think you'll find a wealth of helpful insider information.

A lot of people have some legitimate gripes about the hiring process at LAPD or any other agency but the bottom line is: There are realities out there that you will have to deal with to get on board somewhere. It's just that simple.

I agree with Cpl. Mike, cops2be is something to hopefully help everyone to get hired somewhere. People like Cpl. Mike, JimCMR and many others including myself can only make suggestions, share thoughts, ideas, experiences, etc. We often times have similar concerns or views like many of you have too.  8)

Nothing is guaranteed in life and, it's not always fair. That folks, IS the reality out there in the real world. Like it or not.

Charlie

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I'm at work right now, but had to just check in  - Thanks ,Charlie for your post! Mario and to everyone else , don't get sidetracked or uptight over the politics! I'm dealing with a bogus I.A. complaint and the same will also be here for all of you when you join whatever agency(including Marios' desire to be LAPD) you apply for! (I'll beat the complaint though 'cause I'm right!!)
Believe me , there is PLENTY of negativity on this job and bringing more to it before you've begun to build it as a career is "suicidal"-FOCUS,FOCUS,FOCUS,FOCUS!!!
Focus on getting the interview,passing the tests,passing the academy, making new friends learning the job, and reaping the rewards of the job. The City of L.A. is sold on the Consent Decree  and  whether you feel it is a quota system or not- unless you bring it to a vote here (tantamount to social/political suicide),you'll not change the system!Keep your mind focussed on what you want- to get hired and please,please be patient .if you can't wait-try officer.com and look under CA.agencies-everyone is hiring-GOOD LUCK...

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Your, right!  Cpl_Mike, Charlie, others, I agree with what you say.  Female officers are great!  In no way did I mean that individual female officers were in some way inferior, that they do not hold there own, or are not valued for there skills (and companionship).

I did try to make a point (a joke?) about organizational structure, tactics and such when and if LAPD is sex representative.  Cpl_Mike’s 60% female general population number is probably wrong.  By the 2000 census LA County is 50.6% female (no numbers on the city).  Never the less the point I tried to make was policing has been a male occupation since antiquity.  This means that the organization, tactics and such are male defined and the female officers today perform this male defined role.  Certainly females bring change.  That’s the point!  A police force of 50.6% female would, by definition, change the nature of policing from male mindset/tactics/etc to she/he mindset/tactics/etc.  Which is anyone’s guess as to how it would work.  I did take the thought of a 60% female police force too far.  Maybe it was just an odd dream…<br>
In relationship to LAPD hiring and gender/ethnic quotas, every segment of the population bitches for a piece of the pie – even the police pie.  Old boy club, quotas, discrimination, reverse discrimination, ethnically privileged whatever you want or don’t want to call it, is here and has always been here!  It’s just that the public can count, discuss and mold police hiring that’s new!

Point is, an ordeal taking 6-12 months to get hired by any organization reduces the number of candidates, creates a suspicion of unfairness, and is simply not competitive with other departments, businesses and industry.  (Ideally) In this day and age, I do not understand why the LAPD hiring process cannot be laid out with candidate test numbers, sex and ethnic goals AND the available/filled class slots for all to see (maybe on a website; no names just a coded IDs or whatever).  The written/oral/PAT/Medical can be dispensed in short order – maybe 2 weeks – right then, candidates above a certain score (lets say 85% - no exceptions) would be assigned a class with available seats for their type (with pending background or after).  Class assignment is based on open slots for ethnicity and sex (i.e. type).  If there are not enough Scandinavians or whatever for that class then others types get to fill the available slots on a representative bases.  Background dropouts and other dropouts cause those waiting on a current slot to move up.  The process is open for all to see.  If a class starts with 60% Asian, 20% Hispanic, 10% Black and 10% White, or whatever, then it is the result of other factors (community involvement, recruitment practices, etc) and not the hiring process.  Someone could write a computer program to automation the whole seat allocation process…<br>
Well maybe LAPD will get there before the city cracks in two …<br>
In the mean time Mario, tough it out if you want to work for the 2nd largest city in America.  As the eagle rises, LAPD can give you a career like no other.  They are all good men and women trying to do the best job of getting you on board.  The “system” is just lethargic, but one day, a good leader will get the blood moving again…<br>
Cpl_Mike, thanks for your insight and will to help/inform board readers.  Certainly LAPD needs people like you!

[sir112]

hello, its me sir112. i was reading up on this topic. and i like to say that im still here and waiting for a call from the city of la? i heard their was a hiring freeze? but i dont know. in regards to the white, black, asian background. it does not matter! im a pacific islander (filipino) and i have been in the process for almost 2 years now, and done with everything in the process. backgrounds take a long time especially if you have a red flag in their from your passed history. as for me im still waiting!!! but i talked to my public safety rep. and she said that not to many candidates are well qualified at this time? but ill keep everyone posted on what is happening.

[midcoaster]

cpl_mike,

          Sorry to hear about the I.A. complaint,    
  I hope it all works out ok.

Take care,

Lisa