Congratulation to our new President, Matt Johnson. I speak for all of his fellow Commissioners when I say we are committed to supporting your efforts and look forward to working with you to help a great City and a great Police Department.
Just two years ago I began my Presidency with a pledge to emphasize two words: Body Cameras
Similarly, I now begin my Vice Presidency with a pledge to emphasize two words: (1) De-escalation (2) Off-ramps
(1) All of us, on both sides of the body-cam, need to find additional tools to help us de-escalate conflicts before and during those critical seconds where the outcomes can be so tragic for all. From anger management, communication skills, less lethal physical alternatives, training, and respect for one another, there is not one of us in Los Angeles that can't benefit.
(2) There is one freeway that seems to get faster and faster even though more people are on it : the Freeway to Jail. The on-ramps are easy on for so many underserved men and women, boys and girls and there seem to be so very few Off-ramps. So, we must build bigger and more, but it can not be the sole responsibility of the LAPD to provide them.
There are virtually hundreds of service-providers in Los Angeles who provide ways off (I call them off-ramps) The Freeway to Jail. Gang Intervention programs, early childhood programs, substance abuse programs, mentoring programs, jobs programs, mental health programs, sports and cultural programs, counseling , after school and parenting programs, etc, etc. We have the service providers who have the abilities but they are horribly underfunded.
Without these programs it is virtually statistically impossible for underserved kids and teens to stay out of jail. And when they do get out, without enough guidance or opportunities, almost 70% wind up back in jail within a few years.
With these off ramp expansions will come an historic decrease in crime, and without them I don't even want to speculate the ramifications to ALL of us.
LAPD provides some great off-ramps: The Cadets program has 6,000 participants, we have little free libraries in many of our police stations, and all kinds of involvement with schools and sports. This weekend I'm going to a game of my favorite football team, The Watts Bears.
If we wait for government funding of the off-ramps, it will take decades and cost 10x. We need to all look in the mirror and say "Am I Doing All I Can"
The top 10% doesn't seem to have empathy for the bottom 40%. Ignoring homeless and gang violence does not make the problems go away.
Building off-ramps should be party talk, country club talk, dinner talk, parent-kid talk because it's cool, it's prestigious, it should be honored and publicized.
That's gonna be tougher than body cameras but it's worth it.
Thank you.
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