Cops Resist Financial Disclosures

[+ Lucky]

A heartbreaking story out of Los Angeles today as the police department reveals it is difficult to find officers willing to sign up for or keep gang detail jobs.

 

The Los Angeles Times reports that some gang units have lost officers and others are in trouble because no one is applying for new vacancies.

 

The reason apparently is a new financial disclosure rule meant to catch rogue officers in units that frequently handle cash or drugs. Officers fear that the information they give could be used against them in discipline hearings. It is not clear why they think so. Clearly, innocent officers have nothing to fear, so what does this say about the officers declining to follow the new rules?

 

Gang and narcotic officers who have fancy sports cars and live high on the hog often get the money for them from legitimate sources, and they obviously don't wish to have to explain themselves.

[MsGuy]

Is this the referenced article?

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gangcops28-2009dec28,0,2507595.story?track=rss

 

I found it amusing that the cops felt that the police dept. bureaucracy was incapable of maintaining the confidentiality of their required disclosures.

 

Their protest does raise the question of whether city council, zoning board, school board, building inspectors & other city functionaries subject to being bribed would be willing to make similar detailed disclosures.

[NYTomcat]

I have seen IAD witch hunts before and while I agree the IAD job is extrememly difficult and necessary, I'm not sure I would want to hand them the weapon for them to beat me with. Especially given what a new IAD officer can put an PO through even without any guilt on the innocent officer.

 

Of Course I've also seen what cops can them turn around and do to citizens so.... Would you disclose your personal finances to the police for your job? HMM Maybe they are not so crazy.

[Mark Gordon]

Gang and narcotic officers who have fancy sports cars and live high on the hog often get the money for them from legitimate sources, and they obviously don't wish to have to explain themselves.

 

Given the thrust of your take on the story, I assume you meant to say 'illegitimate sources?'

[+ Lucky]

No, I didn't. Cops have access to money from many legitimate sources. It could be family, an inheritance, a second job, a book contract, or so on.

I don't see the reason though for worrying about revealing these funds or how they came about.