ORANGE COUNTY 1990 : Police Entering Era of Swifter Technology, Cultural Readjustment

In the 1990s, crime is not expected to increase disproportionately, but criminals might have a tougher time of it. Lawbreakers will be up against not only more sophisticated police forces, but also extraordinary improvements in automated equipment.

For example, a police officer today who stops someone on the street might compare the person to a written description of a suspect wanted by another agency. But in the 1990s, says Orange County Forensics Director Frank A. Fitzpatrick, the officer, within seconds, could have a digital picture of the suspect in his patrol car.

It will also be commonplace in a few years, Fitzpatrick suggested, for police officers to carry in their cars a scanner for taking fingerprints.

“We’ll eliminate the ink-and-paper way of taking prints,” Fitzpatrick said. “The new digital prints will be clearer. Also, the officer out on the street will know within seconds whether the person he has stopped is wanted for anything or has a criminal record.”

Other crime-lab sophistication will include a centralized fingerprint system connecting all the western states (an expansion of the statewide “Cal ID” system), and routine use of DNA fingerprinting--in which lab experts can match a suspect with sperm in a rape case. The technology would have a one-in-a-billion chance of error.

“In the 1980s, we saw computerization in law enforcement; in the 1990s, we’re going to see more automation,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’ll reduce our manual labor so our people can spend more time doing what they are trained to do.”

But new technology will not be enough, said Fullerton Police Chief Philip A. Goehring. His concern is having a police force ready to effectively deal with the city’s growth in minorities.

“Call it culturization,” he said. “We need officers who not only can speak the language, but understand some of the cultural barriers.”

One problem will be recruiting Vietnamese officers, he said. But the chief views his recruitment problems as even greater than that.

“Because of the Orange County real estate situation, we not only are faced with a difficult time hiring new people, but some of the surrounding communities want some of the officers we have.”

Others also see more minority recruitment in the 1990s.

“We gave up on trying to keep up with all the dialects in our city,” said Garden Grove Police Chief John Robertson, who said there were more than 90 at one time, representing 44 different ethnic backgrounds. “The only way to deal with them all is to treat everybody the same, with dignity and respect.”

But Robertson said it will be essential for police departments in cities such as Garden Grove to recruit more minorities, especially Latinos and Vietnamese.

“The downside of the 1990s is that we’re going to see an even greater problem with gang-related crimes,” Robertson said, “especially the Asian gangs. And we’ve got to have officers who can make major inroads in that area.”

But Robertson also sees an up side to law enforcement in the next decade--in the fight against drugs.

“In the ‘80s, it was primarily law enforcement talking about the war on drugs,” Robertson said. “But in the ‘90s, we’re going to see a lot more community involvement. We’re going to win the war against drugs in the next 10 years because of a grass-roots campaign by the people to stop it.”

One concern of all law enforcement officials is whether Orange County will have enough jail space to accommodate the population’s growth. Sheriff Brad Gates has predicted that the county’s jail needs could double by the year 2000. While the county supervisors have been wrestling with plans to build a new jail to help with the growth, no final decision has been made on a new jail site.

“We’re already at a crisis stage,” said Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters. “It’s imperative that we do something immediately about our jail needs.”

Walters said the biggest problem facing his officers is educating immigrants who recently became legal residents.

“We’ve got to convince them that law enforcement is a service, not something to fear like in the countries where they came from,” he said.

But Walters is optimistic about the 1990s.

“I think we’re going to see a partnership between law enforcement and the community that’s going to be pretty exciting,” he said.