Department Responds To The Union’s Claims Regarding The Penalty Guide

April 3, 2001

"Department Responds to the Union’s Claims Regarding the Penalty Guide"
 
Los Angeles – In response to the recent KNX editorial complimenting the Chief of Police for publishing a disciplinary penalty guide, Los Angeles Police Protective League President Mitzi Grazo blamed the Department for being slow to act in negotiating this and other meaningful changes to the disciplinary system. The truth of the matter is that the Department has had such a guide in effect, in one form or another, since approximately 1997.
The guide was originally published as a management reference and not intended to be a proscriptive document. After receiving input from many sources, including the Police Commission, members of the Council, the Mayor’s Office, and the League, the Department was pleased to sit down at the bargaining table and negotiated a new, updated and contemporary guide. The new guide serves as just one part of our strategy to redesign the entire complaint and disciplinary process.
Commander Tom Lorenzen, Commanding Officer of Internal Affairs Group, stated, "We hope to publish a completely new Management Guide to Discipline this July. Included in that guide will be the new investigative procedures, the new penalty guide, and procedures regarding the referral of criminal cases to the Office of the District Attorney. We were happy to work with the League on this project. We took the opportunity to partner with the League and hope to continue to do so in the future. We believe both the Department and the League should share in the success of this important project. The important point to make is that we are working together."
Among the Department’s goals is maintaining the trust of the community. An open and fair disciplinary process is an important element in achieving that goal.
This Press Release was prepared by Commander Tom Lorenzen, Commanding Officer, Internal Affairs Group, 213-473 6672.