Risk Management Vision and Mission and Torts

Vision and Mission, Risk Management, and Torts
The dedication of the Los Angeles Police Department lies in discharging her duties to the Los Angeles community and at the same time ensuring that the rights of every citizen are safe-guarded. In line with achieving this aim, the Los Angeles Police Department’s ideologies are reflected in the department’s Mission, vision and core values which are in synchrony with the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics and the Department’s Management principles. The Los Angeles Police Department aims to achieve the objective of working cohesively in order to ensure that anarchy and crime are eradicated as much as possible in the city of Los Angeles (Los Angeles Police Department, 2017).
The police generally have a fundamental purpose of averting chaos, crime and criminality, in order to render military intervention and severe judicial punitive measures unnecessary. In the event that crime is not totally avoided however, it behooves the police to investigate the crime, arrest the perpetrator, and amass appropriate evidence that will be useful in the consequent court case. The effectiveness of the police in discharging their responsibilities as stated above hinges on societal support of the existence, actions and behavior of the police, it is also dependent on how well the police can command the respect of members of the public. At every point in time, police action should be focused squarely on carrying out their duties, and should not seem to arrogate judicial powers through acts of vengeance (on behalf of persons or the state) or by taking judgmental stands on issues and going as far as punishing assumed guilt (Los Angeles Police Department, 2017).
The law of Torts in the USA was established in order to rectify harm done or loss incurred by an individual due to the actions of another person which falls below the civil courts’ definition of a standard of care. The law of torts has a fundamental objective of compensating persons or organizations who are victims of material or personal damage caused by another individual’s illegal behavior and which may possibly foster recurrent wrongdoing. It would be very difficult to compile an exhaustive list of particular reasons for actions that are included in the law of torts in the USA, they however include: liabilities resulting from various sources such as: deliberate wrongdoing, irrational behavior, deficiencies in the planning, production or advertisement of products put up for sale and in the association of an individual towards the tortfeasor (Robinson & McCurdy, 2010).
About 20 years ago, riots occurred in various parts of the city of Los Angeles consequent upon the discharge of four white police officers who were accused of assaulting Rodney King, a black car driver. A lot has changed in LA compared to those times which were characterized by stealing, burning of cars and buildings, and general anarchy, and these changes are most visible in the LAPD. It goes without saying that there have been various cases of fracas and problems, however, the LAPD has a good reputation for progress in the opinion of Civil rights activists and community development associations. A quarter of a century after, qualified pundits have described the LAPD as a transformed department and this change has been attributed to a consent decree which is in essence an agreement between the federal government and the police. More emphasis has been placed on cultural awareness programs by police training officers in order to keep up with the changing ethnic and racial composition of the demographic in urban communities. A lack of awareness about religious, ethnic and racial differences among people may lead to faulty decision making on the part of a police officer and consequently a wrong estimation of the potential danger in a given circumstance. On the contrary, being well apprised of the differences mentioned above will help officers to correctly assess knotty and potentially precipitate situations/cases such as violent protests or domestic violence. Another advantage of the consciousness of these differences is that the police will have a good relationship with minority groups within the society and this will most likely reduce the occurrence of aggression toward officers. (Worsnop, 1991)
Various elements of the case of Rodney king can be found in other less popular cases of brutality. The issue of race was evidently present- there was the polarity of the victim (King) being black while the officers who carried out the beating were white. A car chase preceded the beating, after King’s vehicle had been intercepted, the police officers felt that King had not been as yielding as he should have been- an occurrence that is common in many cases of police assault. The person who recorded the beaten-on camera was accompanied by the defendant’s brother Paul to lodge a complaint about the case at the police station, but they were allegedly not given serious attention. Also, the reports about the case recorded by the police were erroneous. Of the four officers who were implicated in the case, three of them had previously been accused of being violent. It may even be safely assumed that in the absence of the camera recording which got into circulation, any reports about the case would have been swept under the carpet considering the fact that the rate of sustenance of complaints as at that time was about percent (Collins, In Brown & Human Rights Watch (Organization), 1998).
A significant challenge among others being faced by law enforcement is the maintenance of personnel numbers. There have been significant changes in both the availability and vacancies for qualified police officers in a period such as this in which roles and responsibilities of police officers are on the increase while there is a dearth in resources. Some measures can however be put in place to enhance the police recruitment process and ensure that officers are retained within the system. First and foremost, planning and scheduling are highly important, changes in demography and population should be taken into consideration for the planning process, assessments should be carried out coupled with conversations with police officers about how fulfilling they find their jobs, this will provide appropriate perspective for agencies about how likely it is for their officers to stay within the system or seek alternative employment. The second point is that by providing pragmatic overviews of job requirements for recruitments candidates and drawing up contracts for potential officers, a significant decrease in the resignation or firing rate may be achieved. Also, improved and attractive remuneration and welfare systems are sure to entice candidates and keep them within the police system. Finally, improving interaction with employees and developing a transparent and inclusive system in which officers can contribute to decision making processes and provide their opinions about issues will surely increase the level of staff retention (Wilson et al., 2010).
A legal area which is concerned with controlling employer-employee affairs is known as Employment Law, this includes the limits of employers’ expectations of employees, employees’ corporate rights and range of requirements and responsibilities that may be placed on employees by employers. Workers may get a sense or feeling of congruence between their personal ethos and the aims and objectives of the business in which they are employed through ethical behavior. A spirit of collaboration and team work may be enhanced through workplace ethics when staff members have the feeling of congruence described above. The standards of ethical behavior include great emphasis on commitment to work and the belief that what constitutes satisfactory conduct is defined by the leaders of the organization during the process of recruiting staff. It can be said that in the case involving Rodney King, the police officers involve may have acted the way they did because their superiors did not frown at such behaviors (Emery Sr, 2016)
King’s videotape coupled with press stories about the rampart scandal have been partly responsible for molding public opinion about the LAPD, these were both cases in which officers of the LAPD were found to have made use of disproportionate force. Misgivings about the LAPD by the public are actually often based on the matter of the use of force, questions are raised about the use of lethal or non-lethal force in conformity with the law and also based on the level of self-control and discipline expected of the police by a democratic society. The Consent decree has at its core some provisions which are meant to address the manner in which force is used by the LAPD, to carry out inquiries into the use of said force and apportion disciplinary measures in the event of officers found guilty of using excessive force (Los Angeles Police Department, 2004)
The sum of $3.8 million in damages was awarded to Rodney G. King by a court in the City of Los Angeles as reparation for the assault by police officers which occurred in 1991. The sum is intended to compensate for income lost due to the incident and to cover medical bills for the treatment of physiological, neurological and orthopedic injuries that resulted from the beating. According to the defense counsel standing for King, he would never be able to return to work. James K. Hahn the Los Angeles City attorney described the court’s verdict as a satisfactory result in an interview granted to the New York Times. This can be taken as a hint that the city may not be appealing the judgment. The city had accepted liability in order to forestall an appraisal of police procedures (Mydans, 1994).
As an indication of its devotion to persistent action about this issue, a Strategy Execution Team which is directly under the command of the Chief of Staff has been created by the LAPD. This team which is predominantly action based will make comparisons between the level of improvement achieved and the aims and goals of the programs and ensure that the results and outcomes are driven as close as possible to the set goals and objectives. The Chief’s Senior Management Team and the Office Directors will be expected to combine efforts with the team in order to make sure that quantifiable results are achieved in relation to the outlined strategic initiatives. This strategic blue print maps out a large-scale plan for the LAPD which will be characterized by a sound management process in which the position of the LAPD at any present time can be evaluated with respect to the desired position and the proposed method of going forward. The plan described above is only an individual part of a multifaceted strategy management process which forms a link between budget proposals in the short term and a lasting plan for the LAPD till the year 2020 and even beyond. (Los Angeles Police Department, 2017).











References
Collins, A., In Brown, C., & Human Rights Watch (Organization). (1998). Shielded from justice: Police brutality and accountability in the United States. New York: Human Rights Watch.
Emery Sr, E. (2016). Ethical Behavior, Leadership, and Decision Making (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).
Los Angeles Police Department. (2004, October 28). Priority 2: Compliance with Consent Decree. Retrieved September 3, 2017, from http://assets.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/b1_43_p2.pdf
Los Angeles Police Department. (2017, March 30). LAPD in 2020 Community Focused. Retrieved September 3, 2017, from http://assets.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/LAPD%20Strategic%20Plan.pdf
Mydans, S. (1994, April 19). Rodney King Is Awarded $3.8 Million. Retrieved September 03, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/20/us/rodney-king-is-awarded-3.8-million.html
Robinson, J. B., & McCurdy, M. R. (2010). Tort Law in the United States. Retrieved September 03, 2017, from http://www.fwlaw.com/news/186-tort-law-united-states
Wilson, J. M., Dalton, E., Scheer, C., & Grammich, C. A. (2010). Police recruitment and retention for the new millennium. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
Worsnop, R. L. (1991, September 6). Police brutality. CQ Researcher, 1, 633-656. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/