November 10, 2015 – Commissioner Johnson outlines his goals.
Mr. Johnson sets two main goals that may be incompatible.
“I intend to focus on two important, measurable goals. First, we must reduce the crime rate. The single most important function of any government is keeping its citizens safe. After many years of consecutive yearly reductions in the crime rate, Los Angeles, like so many other cities in our nation, is seeing a significant uptick in essentially every category of crime. Through November 7, 2015, homicides are up 11.7%, violent crimes are up 21% and property crimes are up 10.8% for an overall 12.8% increase in Part I crime when compared to 2014. In August alone we saw 39 homicides, making it the deadliest month since August, 2007.
Second, we must fully commit to minimizing the number of use of force incidents. The LAPD Use of Force Policy specifically states that “The Department’s guiding value when using force shall be reverence for human life.” With that as our guiding principle, I am confident we can significantly reduce the number of use of force incidents while continuing to ensure the safety of our officers.”
How do you overcome the reality that if you are dealing with the true criminals there will be more uses of force because true criminals fight? The entire speech is here.