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[::] Current policy has failed us
- Hiring new officers without adequate training, background checks
- "War on Drugs" has increased crime and corruption
- Code of Silence remains unbroken
- Erosion of respect throughout force for LAPD officials
- Community support continues to decline.

[::] Proposed reforms won’t be enough
- The Consent Decree shuts out rank-and-file officers
- Prop 36 mandating treatment for addicts is only a beginning

[::] Swifter, stronger reforms are possible
+ Lead Officer Program must be reinstated
+ Emphasis on violent, not victimless crime
+ Civilian oversight strengthened with paid positions
+ Failed leadership within the force must be replaced immediately

Many issues have converged to land us in our current situation: Our outgoing mayor hired too many new officers without adequate background checks or training; there is a code of silence within the department; the department's top administration does not have the support of the rank-and-file; the CRASH Unit became a gang of its own; the War on Drugs has produced a war mentality in our streets, given us prohibition-style crime, corrupted law enforcement, and hampered true community-based policing. These factors are daunting, but reform is possible. 

The Consent Decree is a good place to start, but it is seriously flawed. Most glaringly, it has shut the rank-and-file officers out of the process. Proposition 36, which mandates treatment for drug possession, is also a good start. As we concentrate less on drug busts for possession, more members of distressed communities will meaningfully participate in community-based policing. The Lead Officer Program must be fully reinstated, and the emphasis must be on addressing violent crime, not victimless crime. The rank-and-file officers must be part of the reform process, as they will implement reforms based on their support of them. Civilian oversight must be strengthened, and paid positions created. If the current leadership of the department does not garner the respect and support of the rank-and-file, it should be replaced.