CommentsRANTZ & RAVEZ - Some Elected and appointed Los Angeles City Hall officials have clearly demonstrated they are out for themselves and lost their commitment to the Voters, Residents and Taxpayers of the once Proud and Internationally known City of the Angels…
With the recent Federal Court Arraignment Corruption charges against suspended Los Angeles City Councilmember Mark Ridley Thomas and the pending Federal Corruption Trial against former Councilmember Jose Huizar and the conviction and Federal Prison sentence of former Councilmember Mitchell Englander there is a clear illustration that while some of the RATS are running around downtown and other portions of Los Angeles, political RATS have infected City Hall and are running around taking advantage of the people that elected them to serve in public office. Corruption is truly alive and thriving at L.A. City Hall as evidenced by the recent and continuing Federal investigations and arrests of elected councilmembers and other less known L.A. City Hall executives and officials.
While we have read about City Hall corruption and the continuing Federal Investigations, many question how this can happen and what systems are in place to make sure there are safeguards to prevent any unethical or illegal activity.
Los Angeles is an international city with media and investigative reporters hovering over city hall like hawks ready to bolt out of the sky and grab a wandering soul in office who represents the people and governs the operations of a large municipality with over 4 million residents and thousands of visitors from around the world. Who is watching out to make sure that those elected to office and serve the public are carrying out their responsibilities in a lawful manner with a strong belief that they are in a position of Honor, Trust and most of all Integrity in what they do and practice in their daily activities.
From news reports and criminal investigations, it is obvious that the current checks are not working at City Hall. The Los Angeles Ethics Commission was established in 1990 by the voters to preserve the public trust and foster public confidence in city government and municipal elections. The annual budget for the Ethics Commission is over $3.5 million dollars. It has proven to be an ineffective bureaucratic machine costing taxpayers millions of dollars annually with little effectiveness in rooting out any sort of corruption or illegal activity. The Ethics Commission is known for picking on minor campaign errors and are truly a waste of tax dollars. They have a public record of ineffectiveness when it comes to addressing corruption. While the name may sound impressive, their results are not worthy of noting.
These are the current crime trends throughout the City Los Angeles as reported from all 21 patrol divisions.
The LAPD COMPSTAT Citywide Profile as of 10/23/21
The Total number of LAPD officers from the Chief to the Recruits in the Academy as of 10/23/21 is at 9,490.
The number of sworn LAPD personnel was 9,991 on 7/4/20. These are the results when elected officials vote to DEFUND Public Safety in Los Angeles.
Violent Crimes
Murders
2019 vs 2021
218 325 +49.1%
Aggravated Assaults
2019 vs 2021
14129 16366 +15.8%
Property Crimes
GTA (Grand Theft Auto)
2019 vs 2021
12,559 18,892 +50.4%
Shots Fired
2019 vs 2021
1787 2734 +53%
Shooting Victims
2019 vs 2021
802 1203 +50.0%
The Odds and Ends that you may have missed in the News…
*Recent Election results in other parts of America. New York will finally have a Pro-Law Enforcement Mayor. Former NYPD Captain Eric Adams wins the Mayor’s race. He does not support the Defunding movement.
*Law and Order candidates win elections on the east coast. Congratulations to the back to basics candidates that want to restore pride and traditional American values.
*Minneapolis voters rejected the plan to disband their Police Department. The movement to Defund and Disband law enforcement lost once again. This should be a strong message to elected officials in other cities.
*California Law referred to as Prop 47 requires that a theft be valued at least $950.00 to be a crime with an arrest and consequences. Since it has become common knowledge to many shoplifters, those who steal make sure the amount is now under $950.00 to avoid being arrested and prosecuted. One creative shopkeeper recently labeled all items in his store at $950.00. It has been reported that the thefts have suddenly stopped.
*California gets an “F” on its fiscal health report card, ranks 42 in the United States. Truth in Accounting labels the Golden State one of the country’s Sinkhole States for its massive debt. Something to think about with the excessive taxes we are paying in the Golden State.
*8 years and $1 Billion Dollars later, California’s supercomputer upgrade to track finances is still not doing its job.
*The Bank of Los Angeles concept was introduced in 2018. The concept remains active at city hall as of October 2021. The idea of having Los Angeles City Hall run a bank is like hiring Bonnie and Clyde to protect the dollars in the bank.
(Dennis P. Zine is the author of RantZ and RaveZ. The column runs twice a month in CityWatch to bring you a view of the ups and downs in and around Los Angeles from a combined 54 years of law enforcement and elected public official’s perspective.)
