Parks Calls Cutting Crime Key Test of Success as Chief

Vowing to make Los Angeles “the safest big city” in the nation, Police Chief designee Bernard C. Parks met with reporters and politicians Wednesday and said he should be judged on whether he can succeed in driving down crime.

“If [crime] decreases it is a positive for . . . L.A., if it increases, the chief of police hasn’t done his job,” the 32-year department veteran said at a morning news conference.

Minutes later, Parks and Mayor Richard Riordan, who tapped him to become the 52nd chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, rushed to a hospital upon hearing that an officer had been shot in the back while on duty just blocks away from City Hall.

Such was the day for Parks, who--pending City Council approval--will lead the LAPD into the 21st century. He inherits an organization that has struggled in recent years to define its vision for fighting crime and to adopt reforms aimed at reducing police misconduct.

Parks, in a wide-ranging interview with The Times after his public appearances, said he plans to implement a host of changes within the department to improve the “quality of service” provided to Angelenos.

During his first few months in office, Parks said he plans to:

* Survey city residents to determine what their law enforcement concerns are so the department can better deploy its resources.

* Streamline the LAPD’s top command structure to increase “accountability” and give outlying stations more control over fighting crime in their neighborhoods.

* Restructure the agency’s beleaguered lab and eliminate certain analysis work, such as DNA testing, which would be contracted out to specialists.

* Press forward on departmental reforms recommended by the Christopher Commission following the 1991 beating of Rodney G. King, particularly in the areas of excessive force and officer training.

Noting that the LAPD spends one-fourth of the entire $4-billion city budget, Parks said it is “important the citizens feel they are getting an adequate return on that investment.”

The department’s brass and rank and file, he promised, will be on the “front end of the curve, looking for better ways” to solve problems and “deal with the 4 million people of Los Angeles and provide the service they deserve.”

Although he offered glimpses into the changes he plans to make as chief, Parks declined to provide many specifics, saying he planned to move methodically after consulting with his top staffers in the weeks ahead.

Among those expected to be key players in his administration is Deputy Chief Mark Kroeker, who was Parks’ main competition for the chief’s job.

Kroeker, he said, would have a “visible and important” position in coming months.

Additionally, Parks said that although there are many issues facing the department, he will not immediately prioritize them.

“The single most important thing is not to have a single most important thing,” he said.

In making one of the most important decisions of his administration, Mayor Riordan said he will closely monitor Parks’ performance and hold him accountable for the successes and failures at the LAPD. He said the new chief’s “awesome mission” is, among other things, to implement new technology to track and prosecute criminals and put an end to gang warfare.

“We are putting gang members and other criminals on notice,” Riordan said as he introduced Parks as his nominee. “Los Angeles is not the place for you. We will no longer tolerate your tactics of intimidation. We will use every tool in our power to fight you. Simply put, we will fight crime and we will win.”

‘Does Not Dwell on the Past’

Riordan pledged to work with Parks to provide funding for LAPD programs and initiatives, particularly in the area of community policing. Riordan agreed to help Parks in pressing for a “community-based government” in which all city services, from cops to building inspectors, become more responsive to the residents’ problems.

For Parks, who will become the department’s second African American chief, the ascension to the top post is a vindication of sorts.

Five years ago, the 53-year-old cop came within one vote of getting the position, losing out to former Chief Willie L. Williams. Many department observers said Parks was passed over largely because the Los Angeles Police Commission--which was responsible for choosing the chief in 1992--felt an imperative to bring in an outsider to shake up the department.

Although Parks and Williams tried to work together, their relationship became increasingly strained during Williams’ early years in office. In September 1994, Williams publicly demoted Parks from assistant to deputy chief, blaming him in part for the slow pace of departmental reforms.

Ultimately, Williams would be criticized for the lack of progress on reforms by his Police Commission bosses, who refused to rehire him for a second five-year term earlier this year. Williams, the former chief in Philadelphia, was the first chief to come from outside the LAPD and its first black chief.

Parks, known as a strict disciplinarian and hands-on administrator, said Wednesday he “does not dwell on the past” and is looking forward to a “long honeymoon period” once he is sworn into office.

If his performance at the news conference and at a City Council meeting are any indication, Parks may get it.

Appearing relaxed and confident, Parks joked with reporters, yet set a serious tone for his pending administration.

At one point, Parks took a sharp jab at his former boss, Williams, whose five-year term was tarnished in part because he was found to have lied about accepting free accommodations in Las Vegas during gambling trips. Introducing his daughter, who lives in Las Vegas, Parks warned that he, too, will be making trips to that city.

But, he added: “When I go there, it is to visit my daughter and grandchildren.”

In another exchange, when asked if the LAPD had “the manpower” to effectively fight crime, Parks quickly responded “Person-power,” much to the pleasure of several women in the audience.

Some city officials, including City Council members who will be responsible for giving final approval to the Parks nomination, seemed almost giddy over the selection.

“We’ve been waiting a long time to feel this way about a chief,” enthused Councilwoman Laura Chick. “It’s not only the delivery of what he’s saying, it’s the content.”

Councilman Richard Alatorre said the only problem with the appointment is that it comes so late.

“He should have been chief of police five years ago,” said Alatorre, a longtime Parks friend who was among Williams’ chief critics. “We didn’t have to go through all that heartache.”

As Parks triumphantly made his rounds Wednesday--including the unscheduled visit to the hospital, where he learned the officer was not seriously wounded because he was wearing a bulletproof vest--political insiders predicted swift council confirmation on Aug. 12. They also speculated that Parks would use his honeymoon period to try to win approval of a Police Department reorganization.

Among other things, sources said, Parks may ask the City Council to remove Civil Service protection from the LAPD’s deputy chief posts. If the council agreed, that would free Parks immediately to staff the department’s top slots with his own handpicked favorites--a power that Williams never received.

With such authority, Parks could seek to accomplish a number of goals: He could rid his top staff of deputy chiefs whose talents he does not respect and replace them with officials more to his liking, and he could create a new position that would help focus the LAPD’s crime-fighting efforts on a model pioneered by the New York Police Department.

New York police use up-to-the-minute crime statistics to identify problem areas and determine how to deploy resources. The program is also based on a strict accountability system that holds supervisors responsible for reducing crime in their areas.

Both Parks and Riordan have spoken favorably of that model, and many observers predict that if it is replicated in Los Angeles, the job of supervising it would likely be offered to Deputy Chief Kroeker.

In a news conference outside the Hollywood police station, Kroeker pledged to Parks his full support and urged colleagues in the department as well as city residents to do the same.

“All 12,000 of us should get behind the worthy and competent leader and give him full support,” Kroeker said, his eyes welling with tears. “I want the LAPD to move forward under Chief Parks’ leadership and believe in him.”

Kroeker, who was the most popular choice of the rank and file, said he is “bitterly disappointed but not bitter” about losing out on the top job, and said he is committed to working for Parks in any capacity that the new chief sees fit. He did not, however, rule out leaving the department if a serious--and better--job offer were to turn up.

Sacramento Police Chief Arturo Venegas, the other finalist, congratulated Parks during a news conference in Sacramento and said he had no hard feelings.

Venegas, 48, a native of Mexico who would have been the first Latino police chief in Los Angeles, said he had no regrets and added that he was “honored” to have been considered a finalist, said spokeswoman Pam Alejandre.

Riordan said both Kroeker and Venegas were qualified to lead the department, but in the end Parks proved to be the best candidate for the job.

“Bernard Parks is a person of strong commitment [and] integrity. He’s a tough leader, he sets his mind to goals and he will do a fantastic job for the LAPD,” the mayor said.

Reaction Seems Generally Positive

Parks said he is ready for the challenge of leading the department and the expectations that come with it.

Saying his job performance, at least in part, should be judged by the city’s crime rate could prove a risky proposition for Parks and is something that many police administrators avoid. Some law enforcement experts, in fact, argue that police have relatively little impact on crime rates and that factors such as the age of the population and drug trends are more important. Moreover, crime in Los Angeles--as throughout the country--has been dropping at a steady rate over the past several years, yet Chief Williams was still judged by many to be a failure. Within the LAPD, most officers were pleased that the mayor had selected somebody from within the department to lead it.

“I am extremely optimistic that the LAPD will be on the road to a rapid recovery from the difficulties we’ve experienced over the last several years,” said Deputy Chief David Gascon, who is also expected to play a key role in a Parks administration.

Parks, however, also has his critics. Some rank-and-file officers resent his history as a disciplinarian, some accuse him of favoring minority officers over whites, and others feel he is strongly opposed to allowing them to serve flexible work schedules, particularly a proposal that would let them work three days a week.

“I’d want a chief with more heart and less ambition,” said one police supervisor.

Although there was some diversity of opinion expressed across the city, reaction was generally positive.

“He’s going to prove to be a very strong leader, not only in the community, but in the department,” predicted Councilman Mike Feuer. “Among the rank and file, there’s going to be growing support for his role. He’s really a cop’s cop.”

Times staff writers Beth Shuster, Jim Newton, Patrick McDonnell and Jodi Wilgoren contributed to this report.

* GOOD SIGN FOR CITY: Support across racial lines offers new hope of accords, columnist Bill Boyarsky writes. B1