Post by mikegee on Feb 22, 2003 12:05:08 GMT -5
To all "2bes" and even "on the jobbers" who drop by to visit : It is with great sadness that I have to announce the disbanding of the L.A. City Housing Authority Police Dept .The Agency was over 30 yrs old and with officer #s of btwn 50 -75 (never enough) they patrolled L.A.s mean streets and roughest projects in the ever thankless job of trying to help keep sunny Southern Calif just a bit more safer for all residents ,whether in the projects or in the "more affluent" neighborhoods. though a tiny force by Calif. standards the LAHAPD had high arrest stats, motivated and hard charging officers,and the team work to stick it out despite lower pay then everyone else( avg pay was $3000-4000/mo in area where the "lowest" agencies make on avg $1000 /month more!!!) What did them in -politics. New mgm't with backwards,reactionary" the police are the problem " late 60s mindset, and poor civilian mgm't budgeting( they'd rather spend $$$$$ on over priced lighting that gets broken in one day,than pay a few dollars one the very cops that STOPPED the gangmembers from breaking the lights ) In a time when L.A. and neighboring cities are desperate to keep cops on the streets,the City of L.A. and its semi independent Housing Dept(they recieve half their budget from the Fed gov't) have literally abandoned the good ,struggling residents of L.A.s public housing and adjacent communities to the savagery of the imposing gangs and their growing menace ( Housing Cops were the "last" of L.A.s gun fighters,thanks to the pre- Bratton politics that neutered LAPD and left L.A. County Sheriffs "battered" ) .some agencies have reached in to take the last of the 40 + officers of LAHAPD (like L.A. Airports, Harbor Dept Police,LAPD, LA School Dist. PD),but the sad truth is that with one less tool of the law enforcement community here, the 250,000 street gang members grow stronger ,crime gets worse and the city gets uglier with citizen despair. Why Did I decide to address you who are on this site? Simply to say this- when you apply to an agency and plan to commit in loyalty to that Dept,make sure they will support you! While most agencies won't lay of officers or Disband, don't naively believe that it can't happen to you!! small Depts and poor local community economy can make for this kind of situation.Throw in a mgm't that see you as little more than janitors with guns, and a career in a weak Dept can be dismal. Please don't just jump at every flyer that comes down the line,take time and check out each agency you apply for- it could save you the pain of hollow promises and no future 
