Crime is down, arrests are up and the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department are finally on the rise. Yet, Police Chief William J. Bratton continues to struggle with the task of mending historic divisions between the LAPD and some of the city's most troubled neighborhoods as he seeks an unprecedented second five-year term.
"A major reason why I came to Los Angeles was to deal with this issue of the divisiveness in the city in a sense that it never seemed to be able to heal itself," the chief said in an interview last week.
"I really felt that I could be that catalyst to use the police for racial healing rather than racial divisiveness," Bratton said. "So if I were to get reappointed I would hope it would be around that idea, that the healing process is further along than it was five years ago."
The department has taken a number of steps to bridge the gap, winning the praise of reform advocates, including former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who believe the LAPD is better today than it was when Bratton took over.
Christopher, a Los Angeles attorney, headed a panel that recommended reform of the LAPD after the videotaped police beating of Rodney King.
"My impression is that he has maintained a sound balance between the onerous requirements for effective law enforcement and concern for civil rights and the protection of minorities," Christopher wrote in a letter to the Police Commission. "It is reassuring that Chief Bratton acknowledges that there is room for improvement."
By most accounts, Bratton has made significant enough progress, especially in reducing crime, to win the confidence of Los Angeles' political leadership, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
As a result, he is likely to be reappointed by the mayor's civilian Police Commission next month, becoming the first chief to receive a second term since the City Charter was revised in 1992.
Serious crimes declined 29% from 2001, the year before Bratton became chief, to 2006, meaning last year there were 55,035 fewer victims of robberies, rapes, assaults and other felonies than in 2001.
"The goals that were set for me" by former Mayor James Hahn and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa "and those of the Police Commission -- I've met the goals they set," Bratton said. "Just the numbers alone indicate that the city is a lot safer."
