Kilrtoy
01-03-2007, 08:35 PM
Mayor backs 2nd term for chief
Villaraigosa endorses Bratton, citing five-year drop in crime to levels last seen in 1956. Gang violence remains a troubling exception.
By Patrick McGreevy and Tony Barboza, Times Staff Writers
January 3, 2007
Graphic
L.A. crime statistics
click to enlargeCiting a dramatic reduction in crime in Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Tuesday that he supports giving Police Chief William J. Bratton a second five-year term.
Standing beside the sometimes outspoken chief during a police roll call at the Central Division station, Villaraigosa gave Bratton a surprisingly early endorsement, considering that the Police Commission won't formally take up the issue until March, although it recently gave him its highest possible rating in an annual performance review.
Bratton's current term ends in October.
If he is retained, Bratton would be the first chief to be kept on since the 1992 revisions of the City Charter, which gave the civilian Police Commission power to reappoint the chief.
The progressive Latino mayor's backing of a tough-on-crime chief is all the more meaningful because Bratton was appointed by former Mayor James K. Hahn, whom Villaraigosa defeated in the 2005 election.
The mayor made his comments at a news conference, noting that the overall 7.7% reduction in serious crime marked the fifth consecutive year of decline now to a rate last seen in 1956.
Gang-related crime increased about 14% through November, and Bratton said he intends to make that a department focus in the year ahead.
"I think the numbers speak for themselves," Villaraigosa said. "The fact that morale is up in the department. Crime is down in almost every category. The fact that we are the second-safest big city in America with only half the resources that New York has. The fact that we haven't been, on a per-capita basis, as safe as we are in Los Angeles since I was 3 years old in 1956. So I can tell you I do support another five-year term for Chief Bratton."
Villaraigosa endorses Bratton, citing five-year drop in crime to levels last seen in 1956. Gang violence remains a troubling exception.
By Patrick McGreevy and Tony Barboza, Times Staff Writers
January 3, 2007
Graphic
L.A. crime statistics
click to enlargeCiting a dramatic reduction in crime in Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Tuesday that he supports giving Police Chief William J. Bratton a second five-year term.
Standing beside the sometimes outspoken chief during a police roll call at the Central Division station, Villaraigosa gave Bratton a surprisingly early endorsement, considering that the Police Commission won't formally take up the issue until March, although it recently gave him its highest possible rating in an annual performance review.
Bratton's current term ends in October.
If he is retained, Bratton would be the first chief to be kept on since the 1992 revisions of the City Charter, which gave the civilian Police Commission power to reappoint the chief.
The progressive Latino mayor's backing of a tough-on-crime chief is all the more meaningful because Bratton was appointed by former Mayor James K. Hahn, whom Villaraigosa defeated in the 2005 election.
The mayor made his comments at a news conference, noting that the overall 7.7% reduction in serious crime marked the fifth consecutive year of decline now to a rate last seen in 1956.
Gang-related crime increased about 14% through November, and Bratton said he intends to make that a department focus in the year ahead.
"I think the numbers speak for themselves," Villaraigosa said. "The fact that morale is up in the department. Crime is down in almost every category. The fact that we are the second-safest big city in America with only half the resources that New York has. The fact that we haven't been, on a per-capita basis, as safe as we are in Los Angeles since I was 3 years old in 1956. So I can tell you I do support another five-year term for Chief Bratton."