LOS ANGELES, CA- With fires raging in various parts of Los Angeles county over the last few weeks, officers with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) find themselves taking on a new role to help keep their community safe: fire duty.
According to NCJA, the Los Angeles Times published an article where experts discussed their predictions for law enforcement taking on a greater role with new climate-related challenges. Since the outbreak of the devastating fires, officers have found themselves in unfamiliar yet pivotal roles in helping firefighters save their neighborhoods.
For decades, police across the country have been thrown into crisis response duty during wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Now, some experts are saying that officers will be faced with more of those challenges. For the last few weeks, the LAPD has been grappling with how and when to enforce evacuation orders, and how to do their regular work investigating crimes and responding to 911 calls while being short-staffed.
The department has deployed about 750 officers to the fire zones while still facing its own staffing shortage with leaders saying the department is operating well below its optimum staffing levels due to long-standing issues with turnover and recruitment.
Each of the LAPD's 21 patrol divisions has been expected to send extra bodies, including patrol officers, supervisors, and detectives to the front lines of the fires. As a result, most low-level calls such as burglaries or other incidents where a suspect has already fled the scene are not receiving immediate attention.
LAPD officials instead are being pressured to focus on opportunistic thieves suspected of using the chaos of the fires to burglarize the homes of people who have fled the area. Within one week, prosecutors charged nine people with looting in areas devastated by two major fires, including a trio suspected of stealing $200,000 worth of valuables from a home.
Officers in Pacific Palisades enforcing the evacuation zone perimeter have faced criticism from frustrated homeowners who just want to return to their homes. LAPD is part of a new state and federal task force to help combat wildfire-related crimes, including home break-ins, arson and flying drones over restricted airspace.
Chuck Wexter of the Police Executive Research Forum said law enforcement agencies across the country are taking notice of the LAPD's performance. He said, "Whether you believe it's climate change or not, Los Angeles will be a wake-up call for everybody." NBC4 reported that on Wednesday, January 15th, LAPD announced that two more people were arrested for allegedly setting small fires in Los Angeles.
Police responded to Glenoaks and Van Nuys boulevards around 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14th and found a suspect detained by a resident for allegedly setting a tree on fire. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the resident was able to douse the fire and call the police. He said when officers arrived, the suspect admitted to setting the fire, saying, "he liked the smell of burning leaves."
At 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, officers responded to Santa Monica Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, where a suspect was setting fire to piles of rubbish and trash. McDonnell said officers were able to douse the fire and arrest the suspect who told officers that she "enjoyed causing chaos and destruction." McDonnell said, "There are people out there who, this is what they do."
According to NCJA, the Los Angeles Times published an article where experts discussed their predictions for law enforcement taking on a greater role with new climate-related challenges. Since the outbreak of the devastating fires, officers have found themselves in unfamiliar yet pivotal roles in helping firefighters save their neighborhoods.
For decades, police across the country have been thrown into crisis response duty during wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Now, some experts are saying that officers will be faced with more of those challenges. For the last few weeks, the LAPD has been grappling with how and when to enforce evacuation orders, and how to do their regular work investigating crimes and responding to 911 calls while being short-staffed.
The department has deployed about 750 officers to the fire zones while still facing its own staffing shortage with leaders saying the department is operating well below its optimum staffing levels due to long-standing issues with turnover and recruitment.
Each of the LAPD's 21 patrol divisions has been expected to send extra bodies, including patrol officers, supervisors, and detectives to the front lines of the fires. As a result, most low-level calls such as burglaries or other incidents where a suspect has already fled the scene are not receiving immediate attention.
LAPD officials instead are being pressured to focus on opportunistic thieves suspected of using the chaos of the fires to burglarize the homes of people who have fled the area. Within one week, prosecutors charged nine people with looting in areas devastated by two major fires, including a trio suspected of stealing $200,000 worth of valuables from a home.
Officers in Pacific Palisades enforcing the evacuation zone perimeter have faced criticism from frustrated homeowners who just want to return to their homes. LAPD is part of a new state and federal task force to help combat wildfire-related crimes, including home break-ins, arson and flying drones over restricted airspace.
Chuck Wexter of the Police Executive Research Forum said law enforcement agencies across the country are taking notice of the LAPD's performance. He said, "Whether you believe it's climate change or not, Los Angeles will be a wake-up call for everybody." NBC4 reported that on Wednesday, January 15th, LAPD announced that two more people were arrested for allegedly setting small fires in Los Angeles.
Police responded to Glenoaks and Van Nuys boulevards around 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14th and found a suspect detained by a resident for allegedly setting a tree on fire. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the resident was able to douse the fire and call the police. He said when officers arrived, the suspect admitted to setting the fire, saying, "he liked the smell of burning leaves."
At 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, officers responded to Santa Monica Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, where a suspect was setting fire to piles of rubbish and trash. McDonnell said officers were able to douse the fire and arrest the suspect who told officers that she "enjoyed causing chaos and destruction." McDonnell said, "There are people out there who, this is what they do."
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Comments
2025-01-20T00:37-0500 | Comment by: James
About time they did something useful for a change ....