UPDATE: It seems I’m going to be on Patt Morrison’s radio show regarding this issue at around 2 pm today, Wednesday. (KPCC - 89.3) I’m far too sleepless to be terribly choate, so please think positive thoughts about me completing my sentences. (It’ll be available online later here.)
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I have an Op Ed in this morning’s LA Times about an issue I blogged about last March that has finally really come to a head. Here are the high points:

Violent crime is down in L.A. by 7.8%, property crime by 3.4%. That’s the good news. The bad news is that, as of this morning, up to 800 gang and narcotics officers who helped make that drop possible are deciding whether to leave their jobs — all because of the inability of a federal judge to make a sensible decision.

Here’s the deal. According to the provisions of the federal consent decree, LAPD officers at the rank of lieutenant or below who work in either gang or narcotics details have to sign disclosure agreements documenting all their personal finances and giving the department access to their financial records. The idea is to ensure that these officers are not stealing money, drugs or other “valuable contraband.” The provision has never been enforced — until now.

In reaction, the Los Angeles Police Protective League says that about 500 of the officers directly affected will either request transfers out of the gang and narcotic units or will simply retire. Plus, the union plans to sue.

“It’s not just about disclosing assets and liabilities,” said Hank Hernandez, the union general counsel. “It’s about having to turn over documents that confirm those disclosures, things like mortgage papers. And then who has access to the documents? We see the kind of record-keeping they do at police headquarters. I can show you photos of stacks of boxes in the hallways that are open to the public.”

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