Policing the Streets of Los Angeles

This book explores how LAPD has sought to regulate officer conduct in the face of repeated controversies over 60 years. It provides important insights into LAPD’s successes and failures, and makes recommendations for ways in which improvement in policing transparency and accountability can be made permanent.

This book takes an in-depth look at the LAPD over a 60-year period. It is about the ways in which the use of force, particularly deadly force, has been controlled (or not) by internal and external forces. The Department has been at the center of numerous controversies, including the killing of Eula Love (1977), the beating of Rodney King (1991), the riots that followed the acquittal of officers in the King beating (1992), the Rampart scandal (1999), questionable officer-involved shootings (OISs), and the complaints of over-policing during the George Floyd protests (2020). At the same time, however, the Department has been at the forefront of change and innovation. It continuously revises its policies regarding use of force, implements new training curricula, and has developed an extensive accountability process. Some of these changes have occurred voluntarily, others have been imposed or mandated upon them. Yet, despite these changes, the LAPD and its officers continue to be embroiled in issues regarding controversial shootings, charges of racial bias, and questionable tactics during social justice protests. The book is grounded in data, analysis, historical documents, and personal observations by the author. It provides details about each of the controversies and solutions that occurred, and, most significantly, it includes recommendations about how to make these positive changes permanent.

Few researchers have been embedded longer in a police organization than Craig D. Uchida has in the LAPD. His insightful and compelling book explores pivotal moments in contemporary LAPD history, from the 1979 shooting of Eula Love to the Rodney King beating and the protests surrounding George Floyd, highlighting the department’s struggles with accountability and community trust. It provides important insights into LAPD’s efforts to prevent officer misconduct and reduce critical incidents through reform. It is a must-read for those interested in the complex history of big-city policing and the ongoing push for meaningful change.

-- Charles M. Katz, Arizona State University

I have known and worked with Craig Uchida for over 25 years and respect his integrity, insight, and the sound recommendations he has made to improve policing—not just from an efficiency standpoint but also in terms of improving trust and relations with the people the police serve. As chief in Buffalo and Seattle (14 years total) and president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association (the largest law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada) we have all benefited from Craig’s work. This book adds to that collection of helping us understand our history and providing valuable lessons learned for those at the helm of police departments today.

-- R. Gil Kerlikowske, Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (2014-2017)

Dr. Uchida’s work presents an accessible and comprehensive history of the evolution of US policing through the lens of six decades of police reforms in LAPD. That sweeping perspective is balanced with granular insights that come from his more than four decades of experience in working with and researching that organization, its officers, administrators, and the communities it serves. His observations of patterns of continuity, change, and controversy offer a striking framework for understanding past reforms, judging their effectiveness in achieving desired changes, and possibilities for future police reform.

-- John McCluskey, Rochester Institute of Technology

Dr. Craig Uchida offers his unique insights into the history and complexity of the Los Angeles Police Department. Uchida employs a multi-methods approach to telling this complex story that includes analysis of historical data, direct observations, and—most importantly—conversations with people that were there. Readers are left with many important lessons including something we tend to forget: the most effective police departments embrace their relationships with the community. Uchida also reminds us we must never forget one additional important lesson: history matters. Transparency, accountability and maybe even a little humility should be hardcoded into the DNA of police organizations.

-- Sean P. Varano, Roger Williams University

Craig D. Uchida has done a remarkable job of capturing the trials and tribulations of the LAPD over the past 65 years through various incidents that have occurred in one of the most high-profile police agencies in the world. He provides insight into incidents that have helped define the LAPD—and through that insight, the opportunity for police leaders to learn from their successes and failures. There is also a lot to learn about police leadership for the public as Craig opens the doors to better understanding the difficulty of advocating change and reform.

-- Darrel Stephens, former Executive Director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association

In this detailed account of the Los Angeles Police Department, spanning its tragic failures during the Watts Riots to its handling of George Floyd protests in 2020, Dr. Uchida gives us an unvarnished view of the inner workings of the Department and the challenges of civilian oversight of the police. He also takes us inside the reforms to policy and practice, adopted over decades, that did make a difference. Dr. Uchida draws attention to the great progress made by the LAPD, but also places where more work is still needed. This book offers not only a compelling history but also useful lessons for police leaders and policy makers seeking meaningful police reform.

-- P. Jeffrey Brantingham, University of California Los Angeles

Craig D. Uchida is the president and founder of Justice & Security Strategies, Inc.

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