I read an interesting research article by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) recently. It discusses how the once “greatest police force” in the entire world was destroyed by racial political correctness. They bring a lot of good points I hadn’t considered before, so I thought I’d share them here for those of you who don’t want to read the full report.
LAPD Political Correctness Corruption
As I mentioned above, the LAPD used to be regarded as the world’s greatest police force.
This was largely due to the extreme requirements that they absolutely demanded all police recruits to have. LAPD used to be all about merit. Even the slightest gang-relation (even if it was a far, far relation) was immediately disqualifying. Any past use or even being around drugs was an auto DQ. They had these strict requirements for all their new recruits.
That all changed when racial political correctness (and affirmative action) came into play.
As AEI so eloquently put it:
In a bid to appease racial activists and meet federal decrees, strict screening and testing measures were dismantled. New black and Hispanic officer candidates were hustled into the ranks at any cost.
With these new systems in place, merit took a backseat. And likewise, so did the overall health of the police force.
LAPD Gang Issues
After dropping merit and adopting the racial-requirements, the LAPD developed some severe corruption issues.
This culminated in the Rampart Scandal. More than 70 officers were investigated for some level of corruption. Including unprovoked police beatings, stealing, frame-ups, dealing narcotics, and even bank robberies.
One such LAPD officer, David Mack, robbed a bank and stole over $722,000. And then, subsequently attempted to cover it up.
Another example is Kevin Gaines. Gaines was shot for threatening to shoot an undercover police officer. Naturally, you would think this would be an understandable use of force. But the officer that shot Gaines was white. So instead, it fueled a racial frenzy in LA over a “white cop shooting a black cop”. Even though Gaines was a gang-banger that should have never been able to become a cop.
Did the LAPD Learn Their Lesson?
Of course not. They paid out a bunch of settlement money and then ignored the root cause of the issue. The root cause being that under-qualified applicants should never wear a badge.
It’s become a “racial no fly zone” as the AEI puts it. No one dares talk badly about the program for fear of being labelled. Even though everyone working on the inside knows that this is a huge problem.
In short, diversity trumps anti-corruption in the LAPD.
Jim Peasha, a retired LAPD trainer, had this to say:
I had mediocre trainees, some just plain incompetent. They were giving us trash. I finally transferred out because I didn’t want to go out in the field with these kids anymore
I don’t blame you Mr. Peasha, I wouldn’t want to train gang-bangers to become ruthless cops either.
Political Correctness
The main issue can’t be ignored. And that issue is political correctness. Had these diversity quota’s never been enacted, LAPD could still be the shining beacon of responsible policing it used to be. Now, it’s largely regarded as one of the most corrupt in the U.S.
When your department starts getting sued for acting like gangsters, it should be obvious why. Because you’re hiring gangsters.
Police officers have one of the most important jobs of a society. To be fair, just, and an example to others’. When we give the reigns of this kind of power to those who are under-qualified and potentially unjust, we are just asking for trouble. And the LAPD is a perfect example of that.
If you’re interested in reading the full article, I’d definitely recommend it. You can find it by clicking here
