Detecting the Potential for Crime

The usual LAPD officer works for a supervisor--a sergeant, say--who works for a lieutenant, and up through the chain of command to the chief of police, who works for the civilian Los Angeles Police Commission.

Except for about a dozen detectives.

Their work is for the commission.

Although they fall under the chief as members of the department, the detectives and about 30 civilians of the low-profile Commission Investigation Division investigate businesses that can operate only with permits from the Police Commission, such as strip clubs, gun shops, legal gambling outlets and massage parlors.

They are among the 62 types of businesses singled out by city law as needing special permits and supervision because they are more likely than others to generate crimes or become involved with criminals, said Lt. Charlie Beck, commanding officer of the division.

Currently, there are 112,000 businesses operating under commission permits, Beck said.

“There needs to be the ability to monitor and make sure those who are in business are operating within the law,” said Raymond Fisher, the commission president.

The division pays particular attention to some businesses that have a significant impact on quality of life--such as massage parlors, firearm sales, live entertainment and shows and charitable bingo, Beck said.

When a business in one of the specified categories applies for a permit at the city clerk’s office, the paperwork is forwarded to the investigators. One of the first things they check is the applicant’s possible criminal backgrounds, Beck said.

They also investigate to make sure the business will follow federal, state and local laws and abide by the conditions established by the commission, Beck said. Those regulations can include, for example, where the business can be located and what training employees must have.

After issuing permits, the investigators continue to monitor those businesses, Beck said. That entails primarily surprise inspections. Investigators also conduct inspections in response to residents’ complaints.

An example of such complaints recently included so-called police and firefighters charity associations’--which are legally allowed to raise funds under some conditions--illegally soliciting while using the name of the LAPD, Fisher said.

Each type of business has the potential to become involved in different crimes, Beck said. For example, he said, massage parlors may become fronts for prostitution. Recently the City Council instituted a requirement increasing to 200 hours the training needed to work as a massage technician.

“People who might use the business as a front for prostitution will not go to school,” he said.

Other businesses with the potential for crime include firearms shops that can become involved in drug dealing, pawn shops that can turn into stolen property trading posts or even locksmiths, who may turn their skills to burglary, Beck said.

The division handles hundreds of complaints per year that result in dozens of revoked licenses and even occasional criminal cases handed over to the city or district attorney, according to investigators.

However, that sort of crime in Los Angeles is relatively under control compared to the situation in smaller cities and unincorporated areas in Southern California where a monitoring mechanism for such businesses does not exist, according to Beck.

“By and large it’s a very successful process,” he said.