Rampart Scandal: History of the Los Angeles Police Department
Abstract
This paper looks at the history of the Los Angeles Police Department as it relates to police culture and several major incidents leading up to the Rampart Scandal. The police culture of a young LAPD ultimately seemed to linger and affect the LAPD of today. The lack of supervision and positive community interaction seemed to solidify the primitive police culture.
The History of Police Culture Leading to the Rampart Scandal
The Los Angeles Police Department is one of the biggest and most innovative police departments in the world that has been in existence since 1853. The LAPD encompasses nearly 468 square miles in over 19 divisions and employing nearly 10,000 sworn police officers to police a population of roughly 4 million people (Los Angeles Police Department, 2012). When many people think of police, they often have visions of old television re-runs of Adam 12 or Dragnet, both of which were police shows with officers and detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department. The television programs depicted officers and detectives conducting their investigations, where the officers maintained absolute professionalism when making arrests or dealing with the public. These television programs never told the true story of crime and life out on the street or the real people that police it every day.
The Los Angeles Police Department has had a very colorful history as it has led to modern times. The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, the Watts Riots of 1965, the Rodney King Riots of 1992 and the Rampart Scandal all have had an impact on the LAPD and law enforcement in general, as well as how the public perceives police and their mission. In 1926, when Chief James Davis ran the LAPD, he gave a directive to his officers to rid the city of the “gun toting element and rum smugglers…”, and if his officers showed mercy to these people that he would reprimand them for that behavior (The LAPD:1926-1950, 2012). The mentality of Chief James Davis is where the LAPD essentially
This paper looks at the history of the Los Angeles Police Department as it relates to police culture and several major incidents leading up to the Rampart Scandal. The police culture of a young LAPD ultimately seemed to linger and affect the LAPD of today. The lack of supervision and positive community interaction seemed to solidify the primitive police culture.
The History of Police Culture Leading to the Rampart Scandal
The Los Angeles Police Department is one of the biggest and most innovative police departments in the world that has been in existence since 1853. The LAPD encompasses nearly 468 square miles in over 19 divisions and employing nearly 10,000 sworn police officers to police a population of roughly 4 million people (Los Angeles Police Department, 2012). When many people think of police, they often have visions of old television re-runs of Adam 12 or Dragnet, both of which were police shows with officers and detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department. The television programs depicted officers and detectives conducting their investigations, where the officers maintained absolute professionalism when making arrests or dealing with the public. These television programs never told the true story of crime and life out on the street or the real people that police it every day.
The Los Angeles Police Department has had a very colorful history as it has led to modern times. The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, the Watts Riots of 1965, the Rodney King Riots of 1992 and the Rampart Scandal all have had an impact on the LAPD and law enforcement in general, as well as how the public perceives police and their mission. In 1926, when Chief James Davis ran the LAPD, he gave a directive to his officers to rid the city of the “gun toting element and rum smugglers…”, and if his officers showed mercy to these people that he would reprimand them for that behavior (The LAPD:1926-1950, 2012). The mentality of Chief James Davis is where the LAPD essentially
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