Wachs Proposes Rewarding Tipsters in Narcotics Cases

Saying that those who live near drug-dealing operations are often reluctant to report the illegal activity, Councilman Joel Wachs on Wednesday proposed setting aside a tipster reward from the money and goods seized during drug raids.

Under current law, the property taken is turned over to the state or federal government. Most of it is later distributed among the local law enforcement agencies that made the seizure.

Wachs said the idea for making some of that bounty available to informants occurred to him after the Sept. 28 discovery of 20 tons of cocaine and $12.4 million in cash in a Sylmar warehouse. He would like to dedicate a set percentage of such proceeds to informants whose tips lead to the seizures.

“It seems impossible that drug warehousing operations of this scale can exist for very long without someone in the area developing suspicions,” Wachs said.

Wachs’ deputy, Greg Nelson, said the councilman recognizes that money will not erase the fear that deters people from telling law enforcement agencies of their suspicions. But Nelson said he hopes it will provide additional incentive to come forward.

The City Council forwarded Wachs’ proposal to its Public Safety Committee and asked the Los Angeles Police Department to put together a report on the idea for that committee. Details that would need to be worked out, if the program proves legal and feasible, include how much informants would be paid and whether they would have to wait until the city receives its money, which can take several years, Nelson said.

Although he had not yet seen details of Wachs’ proposal, Detective Jim Dumelle of the Police Department’s asset forfeiture division said the idea is not new. State laws governing assets seized from drug operations allow for tipsters to be paid, he said, and the city has long had its own reward program for informants.

Dumelle said that adding another party to the complicated disbursement formula might jam up an already complicated process. He also said that a financial incentive sometimes prompts people to relay false or sketchy information, in hopes of getting a reward.

“I don’t know why people don’t call us, except maybe they don’t care,” he said. “I don’t know how much money would help.”

However, Dumelle said any publicity about the Police Department’s eagerness to receive tips is appreciated.