LAUSD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LIBRARIES STAFFING ISSUES EVEN WORSE AFTER BOOSTED FUNDING
Despite increased money for staffing libraries this year, the number of trained aides running LAUSD elementary school libraries has actually decreased by 20%, leaving around 100,000 LA kids without access to a school library. The problem, LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy says, is that it is very difficult to find specially trained staff willing to work just three hours per day.
(WLA has been following this issue for a while, now. Backstory can be found here.)
KPCC’s Annie Gilbertson has the story. Here’s a clip:
During budget hearings last spring, Superintendent John Deasy promised to spend $6 million to bring back the 192 library aides who would help open shuttered elementary libraries across the district this school year.
In 2011 budget cuts, Deasy and the school board laid off half of the district’s library aides and reduced the hours of many who were left. Without trained staff, schools can’t run a library under state law.
“Students don’t learn literacy skills (in the library). They learn that through trained teachers,” Deasy told KPCC in 2011, after the cuts were announced.
But despite a commitment to rehire staff, the number of elementary library aides have decreased by about 20 percent since last fall.
District officials said its difficult to recruit workers to work just three hours a day, five days a week – the schedule of many library aides.
PROBLEMS WITH USING ADULT INTERROGATION METHODS ON KIDS
The NY Times’ Jan Hoffman has an interesting story on interrogation techniques and why they elicit false confessions from teenagers. Hoffman points to a recent study of 57 interrogations of teens across the country. None of the teens exercised their constitutional rights: they did not remain silent, they did not leave, and they did not ask for a lawyer. Around 37% fully confessed, and 33% incriminated themselves.
Other research shows that kids do not fully understand their rights, and are easily worn down by persuasive interrogators trying to scare out a confession.
(For other WLA posts about problematic interrogation practices and false confessions, go here, here, and here.)
Here’s a clip from Hoffman’s story:
Teenagers, studies show, are not developmentally ready to make critical decisions that have long-term impacts.
“Adolescents are more oriented to the present, so they are less likely than adults to be thinking about the future consequences of what they’re saying,” said Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology at Temple University who writes about teenagers in the justice system and was not involved in this study.
Teenagers, he added, are also less likely than adults to know that the police can lie during interrogations.
“The police often promise kids things in the present. ‘If you just tell me you did it, you can go see your mom,’ ” he continued. “And because the brain’s reward systems are hypersensitive during adolescence, that immediate reward of confessing will trump the thinking of, ‘What will happen when I come back to court in a month?’ ”
Moreover, research shows that teenagers aged 15 and younger will unwittingly comply with authority figures. They are very suggestible, so that during an interrogation, they are more likely than adults to change their answers in response to interviewers.
LA TIMES: FALSE DATA REPORTING SYMPTOMS OF LARGER LAPD ISSUES?
Within the last three months, two reports have emerged revealing false data reporting within the LAPD. The first, an August LA Times report, found nearly 1,200 violent crimes misclassified as minor crimes, resulting in lower city crime rates.
Then, on Friday, an Office of Inspector General report found that department supervisors were boosting patrol numbers by deploying “ghost cars,” reporting officers as out on patrol who were actually filling out paperwork or performing other duties.
An LA Times editorial says that either the LAPD administration is unaware of what’s going on at the ground-level, or they are enforcing a culture in which department supervisors can only achieve goals by fixing the numbers. The editorial says the department needs to be held responsible for the false data reporting, but that the police commission should also examine why these errors are occurring.
Here’s a clip:
The Inspector General’s revelation is troubling for a number of reasons. For one thing, it’s dishonest. False data lead city leaders and the public to believe the streets are more heavily patrolled than they really are. That undermines our sense of how safe we are, and also influences policy decisions on, for example, whether the city should hire more civilians for administrative tasks or keep hiring officers. And if supervisors can justify lying about staffing levels in order to keep the bosses happy, what other transgressions or omissions will they allow?
Most worrisome is that this is the second report in recent months to conclude that the LAPD has been relying on bad data and inaccurate reporting. A Times investigation in August found that the department understated violent crime in the city by misclassifying nearly 1,200 violent crimes as minor offenses during a one-year period. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck chalked that up to human error, although department insiders said deliberate miscoding had become common as captains and other supervisors were — again — under intense pressure to meet crime-reduction targets set by the brass.
NEW RADIO CAMPAIGN BY “FRIENDS OF MCDONNELL”
The independent expenditure committee, Friends of McDonnell for Sheriff 2014, has launched a $250,000 radio campaign on LBPD Chief Jim McDonnell’s behalf.
In the 60 second ad, LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey calls on listeners to vote McDonnell for Los Angeles Sheriff. Here’s the transcript:
This is Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey. There is no better choice for Los Angeles County Sheriff than Jim McDonnell. Jim is recognized as a leader in law enforcement leader. He has decades of experience with LAPD and as Chief of the Long Beach Police Department.
I respect and endorse Jim because he has integrity, independence, and has served on the front line of law enforcement. Proven leadership is why Jim McDonnell is endorsed by four previous DA’s.
Jim McDonnell is endorsed by all 5 County Supervisors and Mayor Eric Garcetti. Every daily newspaper in Los Angeles County has also endorsed Jim McDonnell for Sheriff. I know Jim McDonnell can get the job done as Sheriff. I have seen him in action.
Whether you vote by absentee ballot or at the polls, be sure to vote for Jim McDonnell for L.A. County Sheriff.
While Paul Tanaka is technically still in the race, he has been rather quiet in his campaigning, opting to speak at smaller events, and posting a couple of videos on his social media pages (including target="_blank">a video of former sheriff contender Pat Gomez endorsing him).
Tanaka……Few Words & Many Minions.
To all of those who were in cahoots with Paul, from former Union President (Hayhurst) thru “soon to be departing” Unit Commanders in LASD.
The dysfunction that Paul and his crew brought upon this Department was devastating and debilitating. Enough is enough. Even your “Silent Soldiers” are sentenced to prison without “ONE” to “take for your team”, who “Took One” for you. That by itself was a “CLOSER”
Is this what Steinbeck meant by “OF MICE AND MEN”?
Pat Gomez for Under Sheriff……
I’m a resident of Long Beach who had limited dealings with Chief McDonnell and Sheriff Baca.
Sheriff Baca was good at one point but not at the end. He seemed involved in issues big and small. He was readily available to meet and help with my small issue. I firmly believe he knew about the jail problems for years as the complaints were nothing new. Tanaka claims he followed bad orders and took early retirement as a scape goat to help Sheriff Baca distance himself from the jail problems.
Chief McDonnell was not available to meet or help this constituent. Everyone needs to remember the multitude of issues Chief McDonnell had in Long Beach including sex scandals, cover ups and officers convicted of giving confidential information to local gangs. Yes Chief McDonnell has raised more campaign funds, but 70% came from 2 companies. He also came from the LAPD which constantly has problems.
To me, Tanaka seems like the best choice of 2 questionable candidates. Why can’t we get honest candidates to run?
McConnell is not the Savior you all think he is. Just another person coming in with same issues or worse. Baca and his crew brought dysfunction to this department because they’re all dysfunctional themselves. There are many dysfunctional people in leadership authority at the LASD. A lot of them work in the patrol stations. One station in particular in the south. The leadership in this department is very very dysfunctional because these people are dysfunctional. I do not trust nor believe not one of them.
LB resident, you have got to be kidding. Tanaka is still the subject of a federal investigation, and may face indictment in the future. I’m sure McDonnell is not perfect, however I have seen no evidence of him being a criminal. You must be a cigar-coin holder and part of the clown car. Have you been living under a rock these last 15 years?
“LB resident” is full of it. McDonnell’s campaign contributions are public record and come from a huge diversity of donors–far more diverse than Tanaka’s, who’s donations come almost entirely from (1) deputies paying for play, (2) LASD vendors paying for play and (3) Gardena-affiliated business people and employees paying for play.
Moreover, the issues at LBPD are not issues of McDonnell’s creation. They are the issues he was brought there to reform, which he largely has. And the gripes there now are from people from the Old Guard, as you suggest.
Don’t come on here pretending to be some doe-eyed constituent. You’re in the PT Cruiser, spewing mud, and it’s clear as day.
LATBG, yes Tanaka is still under investigation, but if he really had a chance of being charged, he would not have been allowed to run. At least we are aware of the skeletons in Tanaka’s closet.
McDonnell is another story. Try to find information on the Long Beach business owner who was caught in the act of sexually molesting a young child under the age of 10 in a good neighborhood’s park. You won’t because the LBPD public relations refused to release a press statement. When called for information, they said they were not to release information to protect the victim. That is unacceptable! I was at a neighborhood watch meeting with a LBPD officer shortly after the arrest. When questioned, they said they had received prior complaints about this man but found them to be unsubstantiated. This young victim and the citizens of Long Beach were not protected by LBPD. It sounds more like they were trying to protect the successful LB business owner who strangely enough, volunteers his time at local schools. I wonder how much he contributed to McDonnell’s campaign. These are not the types of actions we need in our sheriff. How many more skeletons like this is LBPD hiding.
Will all of Los Angeles County have to be careful when watering their lawn so they don’t get killed like Douglas Zerby in Long Beach was? His family got $6.5 million from Long Beach. Why is LBPD the only city in LA County that refuses to be part of LA County Crime Stoppers? McDonnell was 2nd in command Chief-of-Staff for LAPD. How reliable is the LAPD’s reputation?
I can’t and don’t want to change anyone’s mind when it comes to voting. All I am saying is voters and the media need to do a little investigation before blindly voting. Most of the comments I’m hearing is vote for anyone that is not LASD, no matter who they are. That is foolish and an abuse of our voting rights. So I ask, “Which is better, the devil we know or the devil we don’t know?”
LB resident. Your primary problem is you don’t know what you don’t know. There is a lot of wisdom in these blogs, You should do a tad more reading , maybe and a little less writing.
Nobody can keep Tanaka from running for sheriff, “LB resident”. As you point out, he hasn’t yet been convicted of a felony (only suspected of many)–which, as anyone who has graduated the academy knows–is required before you can be removed/disqualified from holding office.
If there were skeletons in McDonnell’s closet, I frankly think we’d know them by now. There are certainly enough clowns in the PT Cruiser and reporters who’d like to break the story. The LA Times, 89.3 and others have tried to write it and been unsuccessful. The fact that nobody has been able to turn up dirt on McDonnell, despite nine months of campaigning against six other candidates does not mean he’s a devil you don’t know. It just means there’s no evidence he’s a devil, like the one you do know.
Everyone, Let just move on. Tanaka can not and will not lead a takeover, he is use to being in the way back of the crowd. McDonnell is are next Sheriff, I just hope he does not get corrupted by Scott and all his paybacks. Scott is a joke, stamping his resume for O.C. Sheriff. He goes back, Sandra steps down, now he has all he needs. I want real change not politics, when will that happens. Sheriff McDonnell ??????
I have to agree with No. 10. We want change, and McDonnell must do it swiftly and cleanly. We all know which A/S’s and Chiefs must go. If he comes in and acts as if the ship has already been rightened, he will loose a lot of credit it the eyes of the Deputies. There is still so much nepotism going on. Just look at the non-sense in Custody. It sickens me.
The problem is people and the press don’t want to dig up the dirt, they just want someone that is not associated with LASD. I know what I’m talking about because I was a member of the press who was directly told not to publish articles like the ones I mentioned. Any of you can take a few minutes to search the web and find very small articles in local papers, but you don’t want to believe you have been misled by the press.
I have no doubt McDonnell will win, I’m just frustrated by the one sided approach of our corrupt media that repeats stories rather than be original and investigate. Why can’t they just give us all the facts and let us make our decision instead of leading us down a path. Are you all intelligent people or just sheeple following along.
Google sheeple if you don’t know what it means.
LB resident, if you’re a member of the press, I’m the Loch Ness Monster. What are u writing, The
Den of the Illuminati? Put a sock in it. Go see Paul and tell him u want your campaign donation back, u little buster.
#12: You trust Google; so do I.
So, Google McDonnell & Tanaka and see who has the biggest pile of shit.
Start with “Paul Tanaka shooting.”
At the very least, McDonnell hasn’t shot an unarmed suspect in a shooting that an officer from another agency termed “an execution.”
That can be Googled, and you and I both trust Google.