Skid Row Drug Trade

I appreciate Los Angeles Times reporter Steve Lopez’ frustration with the open air drug bazaar that he witnessed last Friday on Skid Row (Points West, August 19).  Imagine the frustration my LAPD officers feel every day, trying to enforce the law they are sworn to uphold and bring order to the chaos downtown, within an entire system that is terribly broken.

It is not hard to find drugs on Skid Row, and almost as easy to arrest people for it.  We arrest kids as young as 12 for selling drugs, and elderly women in their 70's for possession, along with everyone in between.  Gang members downtown hire children, undocumented workers and addicts to sell for them. Ever been to Amsterdam?  I have seen it, and its easier to find drugs here on Skid Row.

So, with drugs and drug dealers on nearly every block, why don’t we just arrest them all?  The answer is, we do.  In 2005, in the 50 square blocks of Skid Row, we arrested more than 6,000 people for narcotics violations - up from 5,600 during 2004.  If I sent my patrol officers out of the station with the orders to make drug arrests, they would all be back in no time, drug dealer and drugs in hand.  Unfortunately, it takes two officers 4-6 hours to process a drug arrest…all day if the doper is sick or injured, and most of them are.  With the officers in the station processing drug arrests, that thin line of police presence and protection is gone from Skid Row.  That’s when the knifings, assaults, street robberies and murders occur.  The drug crazed, the mentally ill, the parolees and gang members that thrive on Skid Row prey on those that are weaker and down-and-out when the police aren’t around.

Steve, the entire system is broken.  There is no incentive to stop selling drugs downtown.  Under the new “Proposition 36” rules the California voters approved, any simple narcotics possession arrest results in a court order to “get into rehab” and no jail time…for as many as 7 separate arrests.  First time rock cocaine and heroin dealers get probation when we catch them.  Second offense is 180 days in jail (the Penal Code mandates 3, 4, or 5 years).  And with the County’s early release practice, that second strike heroin dealer is out of jail after serving 10% of his sentence – only 18 days.  Third offense is 270 days (actually serving 27), and so on. System Broken.

The prisons are full, the jails are full and the courts are so busy that last month they took a plea of 120 days county jail (serving 12 days) for a major downtown cocaine trafficker who was facing an exposure of 15 years state prison time. Last week a notorious Skid Row narcotics dealer with 7 prior narcotic sales convictions was caught and sentenced again…he was placed on probation.  No jail time. System Broken.

With 10 of my best officers working undercover narcotics in the Skid Row area every day, and with the additional help of the 12 member narcotics task force we had working Skid Row all summer, as you have seen, we have hardly made a dent.  What can we do?  The 50 officers planned for Skid Row as part of Chief Bratton’s Safer Cities Initiative is a terrific start.  Then, fix the court system, put some teeth into the sentencing of repeat offenders and support Senator Gil Cedillo’s bills to make Skid Row a Narcotics Recovery Zone. 

Let’s end this mess.  Let’s shut down this open air drug market. Let’s end the culture of chaos downtown and give those addicts trying to get clean a fighting chance at recovery. 

Captain Andrew Smith
Commanding Officer
Central Area
Los Angeles Police Department

Comments

[Dan C.]

I had the pleasure of working with Capt. Smith and it is not a surprise to see how he has risen through the ranks. His clear cut view of and solution to these problems should be an example of supervisors at every level. This is the type of leader the rank and file need.

[about Captain Andy]

does he read his e-mail?

[JBuck114]

I could'nt agree with Captain Smith more. However, why don't we send out as many officers as we can and arrest as many as possible. Let's break the system till it can't be broken anymore. Maybe then something will be done with the overcrowded and inadequate County Jail system and the inept District Attorney's office.

[Pete Malloy]

Capt Smith is right. We need pressure on this severed artery. Pressure to get this changed. Why cant the Police pressure the City Atty to pressure the Dist Atty. to pressure the Sheriff? Keep the offenders in jail longer (bed or no bed) will pressure the dealers and buyers to think twice or deal elsewhere.

[Pete Malloy]

Why doesn't the LAPD utilize the help of other agencies (Federal Police, General Services Police, County Police, probation / parole) that work in downtown to help arrest everyone that spits on the sidewalk? LAPD will have to invite other agencies to help, they wont just do it for fun.

[Joseph]

Hey, my thanks to all you guys for doing your job. I'm a junior in high-school, in Minneapolis area. I'm very interested in becoming a full-time narcoctics officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. Would you guys mind explaining the basic process? I've asked a few people, but I figure who better to ask than the LAPD? Thanks again.

[J Q Public]

Just posting here to share a link from the LA Times I came across today.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez14sep14,0,6112106.column?coll=la-home-local

(if the link is truncated, check out Steve Lopez' column from today, 9-14-06)

Turns out the suspect in this case pleaded out and served only 17 days from arrest to post-conviction release.

For selling a half-POUND of coke?

Looks like Captain Smith was more in tune with the situation than the Times originally gave him credit for.

This is absolutely appalling, and I'm hopeful that someone uses such an egregious abuse of plea-dealing discretion against Cooley in the next election.