LAPD Cooking the Books on Serious Crimes, Los Angeles Times Investigation Suggests
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has wrongly classified 1,200 violent crimes, largely aggravated assaults, as minor crimes, such as simple assault, an extensive review of case reports by the Los Angeles Times found. Police brass insist any mistakes were inadvertent. If they were, the Times notes, there would be a corresponding number of minor crimes improperly classified. There wasn't.
The Times spoke to several LAPD officers who criticized what looks like an attempt to cook the books on crime statistics in Los Angeles. The Times reports:
"Every little game like this has been tried over the years," said the sergeant, who asked that his name not be published because he feared punishment for criticizing the department. "All of a sudden, we're going to put somebody in jail for theft, but we'll call it something else [embezzlement]?"
Officers said it is widely believed that if their division repeatedly fails to meet targets for crime reduction, their chances of being promoted will be seriously harmed.
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