Monday, April 12, 2010

LA: Too broke to investigate murders

In January, Los Angeles Police Det. Nate Kouri was ordered to stop working.

One of the LAPD's most productive homicide investigators sat idle for six weeks, unable to follow any leads on old cases or pick up new ones. Kouri was not being punished for misconduct or for botching an investigation. He was benched for working too hard -- and he is not the only one.

With the city reeling from its worst financial crisis in decades, the LAPD has stopped paying officers overtime wages, except in rare situations. In lieu of cash, officials have implemented a strict policy of forcing cops to take time off when they accrue large amounts of overtime hours. Because of demanding work schedules that routinely require them to investigate a case into the night or through the weekend, homicide detectives have been among the first officers to be sent home in significant numbers.
Read the rest here.

1 comment:

  1. Things are bad, real bad and it is going to get worse. I only feel safe because I work in the AG's office in Sacramento. I am reading bad things everyday. Love him or hate him the AG is working hard to support Law enforcement agencies in the state. There is so much fraud taking place right now on top of violent and property crimes, I wonder how this can continue

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