Deputies Criticized For Competing With Arrests, Impounding

KNBC
Oct. 05, 2007

VideoLOS ANGELES -- The Sheriff's Department was under fire from law enforcement experts Thursday over contests to see which Lakewood station deputies could make the most arrests, impound the most vehicles and question the most gang members in a 24-hour period.

An e-mail written Aug. 15 and obtained by the Los Angeles Times described one recent competition -- "Operation Any Booking" -- designed to arrest as many people as possible within a specific 24-hour period, according to the newspaper.

Lakewood-based sheriff's Lt. James Tatreau, the e-mail's author, told The Times the intent was motivational and said the only prize was "bragging rights."

"No way, no how did anyone encourage officers to falsify a report or an arrest," he said.

Another competition, dubbed "Operation Vehicle Impound," aimed at seizing as many cars as possible, according to the Times. It took place July 11 and dramatically increased the number of vehicles seized.

A third competition challenged deputies to see how many gang members and other suspected criminals could be stopped and questioned, according to the Times. That produced a spike in such interviews.

Some police accountability experts, civil libertarians and defense attorneys condemned the competitions, saying they trivialized traumatic encounters such as arrests and having a car impounded, The Times reported.

"It's crazy," Jane White, the associate director of the National Center for Community Policing, told the Times. "I'm at a loss for words. I've never heard of anything like this before."

Hubert Williams, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Police Foundation, which promotes innovative policing strategies, told The Times that the competitions were "highly problematic and inappropriate."

Sheriff Lee Baca told The Times the competitions were well-meaning but ill-conceived.