Forecast - Constant change, followed by general improvement, 1967-11-01 |
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FORECAST - CON STANT CI-i At;GE ,\n .}dd r c ::3 b ·/ Th o m.As R2 cJ cLi: n, Ci1 i ef o t ;-·,· . .:...:..ce: Lo s /\:-ir. r.·J.cs , Cu. lifo r r. ia bef or e the F R I l~ ati o n a l / \cadc my , Via s h inq ton, D.C. November l, 19 6 7 Th2 a ncient Greek p h ilosophers all agree that the only constant thing in the universe is constant change. Today , chang e is one of the g reatest p roblems on the law e nforcement scene. We are living in an age of discontent and discord. We see rapid - - a lmost daily chang es in social and economic values . Sociologically speaking, chan ~ e i s due to the desire o f society to find a course of conduct that is most accep table to the group. I think it is safe to 0 b s e rve t hat a s a nation we are h a ving a bit of a problem decidlnq w~at group and which philosophy are going to pr~vail for the 2 00 2illion ~2 ople in this country. As i t stunds today , almost every legal a~d social and g overnmental ~h~l os o? hY h as recently changed, . is in the proces s of c hanqa, or i s ~e~n ~ attac %e~ <lnd questioned b y soma qroup . Orderl1 change is constructive a n d a na~ur a l state oi :1~ f airs. ~ o w e ve r, the tur moil surrounC.inq r apic socia. l c i:anCJ C has iJ c co:-:-c a p =co lcm of g reat dimension for the police • . O n~ ~ xa m ple i s in the disturb i ng q rowth of mass group action under vari c us g uis ~ s. It is not too significant to society if indiv i d uals ha?e a v a riance in their ethical or philosophical beliefs regarding 2 "freedom of conduct." In fa ct, it j;1akes fo r unendingly interest-ing cock tail pa r ty conversation. \·:e also h ove a sort of /\r.te r ican t = 3Jit i o~ s urrounding polite c ontroversy . "Diver:>ity of opi nion" rn~ke s :or good ho~se races, ~nd that sor t of thing . 13 ut the spe c tacles we are currently witnessing , s u ch as a recent i nciden t in Los Ang eles which necessitated t h e use of 1,200 off icers to p rotect the P resident of the United States, a re not polite contra-ve rsy. Many "love-ins," "be-ins, " "sit-ins," and demonstrations have g =ad ually degenerated into riots a nd exhibitions of rampant anarchy ma squerading under the g uise of peaceful protest . While thousands of people are indulgin g themselves in a frenzy of freedom, many mo re thousands of our citizens are losing some of their freedom d ue to the inconveniences caused by the protesters. It does not take any g r eat clairvoyance to see that militant speak ers, exhorting their audiences to kill the President and burn and pillage o ur cities, are not advocating peaceful social change, but revolution and anarchy. It is no lo nger s ufficient for a complacent society to diffidently pas s off to the police the responsibility for ame../liorating problems arising from polit ic ; ~ l an ! ~oci n l change . '.i'n e !?Olice can eufo rce the law, but the leaders of our country must set a course on ~hat the limits of protest a re goi n g to be . i?lll ...... ~.·~ . ...,.,_.IM> a ~ ~ - ~ .. .....;.._ - - ~ -Al - - - ...... j I ••at . ,· 3 The d rawing room flavo r of polite intellectual exercise is suddenly los t at the point where a 21-year-old policeman faces a 21-ycar- old "protester" or "ac-tivist" or "delinquent, " or wh atever euphemi sm you choose, at some legal crossroad . At this junctu re it is too late to adjust philosophical postures . It is a confrontation at which the law must prevail . I t ia not possible to administer l aw enforcement a genc i es a nd entorcs··ttte law accordinq ta the beliefs and leanings of individu a l officers. The--po-lice, ~ citizen-soldiers, enforce the law,,.c; d ict:a~br'the -wi"il. ·of thtt peopl8'. But the rules and guidelin es 1. within wh ich we oper ate are becoming mo r e vague and shadowy . To be effect i ve we must know what the people and the courts wan t from us . If we a r e to believe some of our critics , we have become hide boun d traditionalists who are 50 year s behind the times and have failed to chan ge with the t imes -- an anachr oni sm o r sor t of a "b lue -uni f o r med appendix" whose usefulness disdppeared in the evoluti o n of cha nge. There are mome n ts, I confess , when I do feel as though I have lost track o f things . Twent y yea~s u •I , if a person stepped before a public forum a nd s e riously arivC' ·::- t · e'.- ri . ~obediencc to any law with ·,.;hich he was in philosop hical ciisagr e•3me nt , w '. wou .:.·:l h~ve been hard put to sav e him f r om the mo b . Today, the surne pronouncement will attract a large a~d loyal following . I think the essence of the law enforcement position today is that we are caught in the middle of what you might term a "behavior gap. " -~------ 4 The police enforce statutory l a ws . S tatuto ry laws hav e n o tru e meaning unto themselves. They a r e r ules t hat a r e put . into wr i ting a s ide as f or b ehavi or and f o ~ m our s o ciety ' s d i r ectio n and goa l s. With man's i mperfect d evelopm e nt to da t e , it is gen era l l y r e c ogn ized that t h e moral code of ma ny does not recog n i z e a " c ommon g ood" o r the "golden rule. " Accordingly, f reedom of conduct, b asad upon their own personal concept of behavior, i s an acceptable mode of conduct to a great many. It thus becomes n ece s sary to h~ ve laws or rules to promote compatible living. They constitute "r.ioral traffic signals" designed to prevent s ocial traffic jams . Change came about in a more leisurely and orderly manner i n years past; b ut, with the faster pace of life today, too many social gears are changing at different speeds. So the "behavior g ap'' of which I speak is the product of society, individuals, t he courts, legislatures and subcultures and ethnic groups making d e mand s for change too rapidly for society at large to readily assimilate. Social value systems should form slowly and chang e o nly a f ter !":lature and s 'earching inquiry. By " b ehavior gapu · I als<? mean the n:: .J.. " an incre,-.sinq l y s harp differential in what indiv idua ls , yro upb , ~n d the b ody o f law consider to be acceptable b e haviQr. There has been a great rush, particularly in the f ield of criminal law, to summarily change laws, values, and precedents built up through several centuries. The~e is a large gap between what many segments of s ociety say the rules are, what they think the rules are, and what actual behavior 5 resu lts in a given si t uation. And into this gap the police ~ ust step and attempt to regulate behavior on beh alf of soc iety. King Solomon might even feel a bit q ueasy in ~aki n g de cis ion s in such times. N~ve r in the hi3tory of law enforcement have the pressures, duties, and d emands been greater on those charged with the responsibility for enforcing the law. Staggering increases in crime, civil dis-orders, and other police problems have inexorably stretched police resources to the breaking point. Law enforcement is a ttempting to cope with prob lems far beyond what was ever conceived to be its area of responsibility . In the beginnin g, the mandate to the police was relatively simple : "Prevent crime and apprehend criminals . " But the law of continual change has broadened this concept. M'eetinq - t.ft••e· deinan'ir~'Wrbu9h~ great - changes in police training . S ociol.ogi~l:- ~~Allll:.~ .. rslattona tra.ininq occupy a large und•"'* ~ ~x,~.-pol.ice . ~~ · peyond anything ,... Ill 2 Pago. The police do not ope rate in a v~cuum, neither are they raised in 3n ali en environment on a distant planet and shipped here for the explicit purpose of policing. They are ordinary citizen-so l diers who are hired by society to rerform those functions which society finds distasteful or which soc i ety does not ~ave time to do for itself on an individual basis. 6 Today, defiance of the law receives encou ragement fro~ ma ny sources. Further, some who d o not openly e ncourage, at least condone, unlawful behavior through inaction or lack of open disapp roval. Th us in some areas disrespect fo r law and orde~ has t ~ken on an aura of respectability . Too many segments and groups of society are imbued with t h e concept that it is perfectly fitting and proper to disobey any law with which they disagree. The police cannot subscribe to that belief. Neither should society so subscribe. The result o f such action can only be disorder, anarchy, insurrection, a nd riot. Although many of the problems are not susceptible to solution by law enforcement, many other problems can and are being attacked with vigor. Too much crime has been condoned in this country on the flimsy excuse that a poor childhood and "society ' s fa ilure" cause crime and somehow constitute a license to rob and . riot. I do not believe that socie ty ca~ses crime. People cause crime. And if having a poor childhood were . ,. c?u tomc:\ti .~ roau ._ o ruin, then many in the audience wou · • .Je ~ · i :Jail rather ti1a;i. here. We believe that a hard line must be ~~k~ n wi th th~ lawless. We do rtot believe that society has failed them, but that they have failed society. We believe that they should be castigated J.!: d punished and that society can survive only by rejecting them as anything other than self-willed criminals. ( 7 I believe that this is a pivotal time for the nation's municioal police. This is the year that will d etermine wh ether we will be clussified as an anachronism t h ut no longer s erves society's needs, o r whether we will be regarded as the "anchor" holding local government steady against the extreme tides of civil unrest and crime. The vast change that has visited the law enforcement scene is also beginning to show signs of helpful change for the police. I believe that the winds of change are at last blowing in law enforcement ' s favor. Change is bringing many items of interest . For t he first time in history, crime and law enforcement are of national interest. It is stylish to talk about them; it ' s stylish to do something about them; and this presents an age of opportunity for ns. The President's Crime Commission deliberated eighteen months and produced some ten documents. We do not necessarily agree with everything in those documents , but they contain a blueprint for law enforcement in the years ahead. They ar•? the mos t meaningf11l documents to come on the law enforcemer. : sce:1e in the last quarter of a century. Before Congress at the moment we have the Safe Streets a~d Crime Control Act. Iri this Act, millions of dollars are proposed to be expended in the current fiscal year to~drd the solution of law enforcement problems through federal grants t:o local agencies. We will have the opportunity to create, innovate, and experiment in police procedures, police administration, and trairing. We will be able to further our educations and determine ways to apply science 8 and technology to the solution of police p r oblems . We will , in short, h ave the g reatest opportunity of our lives to improve the effectiveness of law enforceme nt. I recently attended a meeting in Wash ington where the speaker stated that in t h e early 1970's the federal government would be spend ing $1 billion per year for the benefit of local law enforce ment. Change has brought us to new technological thresholds. Ten years from now the of ficer in his radio car will have a query device on his dashboard with which he c an question a computer hun d r eds of miles away and get an immediate answer in voice, printed form, or on a cathode-ray tube device such as a television tube . He will be equipped with devices to allow him to see better at night, to make it possible for him to search suspects without touching them, to stop fleeing cars without having to engage in high-speed chases or resort to gunfire, to search large, open areas and locate c oncealed suspects. He will have a wrist watch radio weighing no more than ten ounces, including batteries. He will have all these, because they are presently within th~ capabilities of the s cientists in our c'?untry·. Colleges and universities throughc 11t the United States are d isplaying great interest in the formation of degree programs in law e nforcement. Obviously, the need for well-trained, well-educated officers has never been greater. In our daily decisions we d ~a l with h uman 9 liberty. The decisions are often instantaneous. Down a darkened alley in the early morning hours, confronting an Qrmed. suspect, we do not have time to sit en banque like the Supreme Court and decide, five to four, what our course of action should be . Unconsciously in past years we have been nurturing a self - pity syndrome. We have been saying that nobody likes policemen, baing a policeman is a lousy job, the Supreme Court is against you, the legislature is against you, and civilization is going to crwnbl2 and fall because of the weakness of its inhabitants. It's almost as if we have been accepting defeat as inevitable. We really don't believe all this, or we would not be in police work. Jt's time we took the initiative and engaged in positive programs to provide cures. One thing we must do is take an aggressive, positive approach to the problem. As we examine law enforcement in our changing society, we find tbat: Never has there been such interest in authority. Never has there been such resistance to authority . Never have those who would damage effective law enforcement been more active, and Never have there been.more and varied challenges facing law enforcement. But at the same time: * * Neve r has there been such interest in, and overwhelming support for, law enforcement; and Never have science and technology held out such promise of help in the battle against crime; and Ii I * Never has there been such a challenge to law enforcement to take the initiative and engage in creative , innovative programs; and u Never has there been such a need for positive , aggressive police leadership. You can provide that leadership if you will apply the knowledge you have gained here. * * * * * 10
Object Description
Title | Commission meetings (4 of 6), 1967-02 - 1991-04-30 |
Description | Commission meetings (4 of 6), 1967 February - 1991 April 30. PART OF A SERIES: Materials in the series fall into one of several categories related to the Independent Commission's work product: (1) Commission meeting materials, which include meeting agendas, work plans, memoranda, and articles about police misconduct that were circulated and reviewed during the Commission's internal meetings; (2) public correspondence, which includes citizen complaints against the LAPD in the form of written testimony, articles, and an audio cassette tape, as well as letters drafted by citizens in support of the LAPD; (3) summaries of interviews held with LAPD officers regarding Departmental procedures and relations; (4) public meeting materials, which include transcripts, supplementary documents, and witness statements that were reviewed at the Commission's public meetings; (5) press releases related to the formation and work product of the Commission; and (6) miscellaneous materials reviewed by the Commission during its study, including LAPD personnel and training manuals, a memorandum of understanding, and messages from the LAPD's Mobile Digital Terminal (MDT) system. |
Coverage date | 1966; 1968; 1965-07; 1967-02; 1967-04; 1967-05; 1967-11; 1968-06-23; 1968-11; 1968-11-29; 1975-09-06; 1991-04-30 |
Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California |
Date created | 1967-02; 1967-04; 1967-10; 1968; 1968-09; 1968-11; 1975-09; 1991-04-30 |
Date issued | 1968; 1967-02-08; 1967-11-01; 1968-09-19; 1968-11-29; 1975-09-06 |
Type | texts |
Format | 81 p. |
Format (aat) |
notes speeches (documents) |
Format (imt) | application/pdf |
Language | English |
Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
Part of collection | Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, 1991 |
Series | Independent Commission file list |
File | Commission meetings |
Box and folder | box 22, folder 7 |
Provenance | The collection was given to the University of Southern California on July 31, 1991. |
Rights | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained. |
Physical access | Contact: Special Collections, Doheny Memorial Library, Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189; specol@dots.usc.edu |
Repository name | USC Libraries Special Collections |
Repository address | Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 |
Repository email | specol@dots.usc.edu |
Filename | indep-box22-07 |
Description
Title | Forecast - Constant change, followed by general improvement, 1967-11-01 |
Description | Forecast - Constant change, followed by general improvement, 1967-11-01, an address by Thomas Reddin, Chief of Police, Los Angeles, California, before the FBI Academy, Washington, D.C. |
Coverage date | 1967-11 |
Creator | Reddin, Thomas, author |
Publisher (of the original version) | FBI National Academy |
Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California |
Date created | 1967-10 |
Date issued | 1967-11-01 |
Type | texts |
Format | 10 p. |
Format (aat) | speeches (documents) |
Format (imt) | application/pdf |
Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
Series | Independent Commission file list |
File | Commission meetings |
Box and folder | box 22, folder 7, item 5 |
Physical access | Contact: Special Collections, Doheny Memorial Library, Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189; specol@dots.usc.edu |
Full text |
FORECAST - CON STANT CI-i At;GE
,\n .}dd r c ::3 b ·/
Th o m.As R2 cJ cLi: n, Ci1 i ef o t ;-·,· . .:...:..ce:
Lo s /\:-ir. r.·J.cs , Cu. lifo r r. ia
bef or e the
F R I l~ ati o n a l / \cadc my , Via s h inq ton, D.C.
November l, 19 6 7
Th2 a ncient Greek p h ilosophers all agree that the only constant
thing in the universe is constant change. Today , chang e is one of
the g reatest p roblems on the law e nforcement scene. We are living
in an age of discontent and discord. We see rapid - - a lmost daily
chang es in social and economic values . Sociologically speaking,
chan ~ e i s due to the desire o f society to find a course of conduct
that is most accep table to the group. I think it is safe to
0 b s e rve t hat a s a nation we are h a ving a bit of a problem decidlnq
w~at group and which philosophy are going to pr~vail for the
2 00 2illion ~2 ople in this country.
As i t stunds today , almost every legal a~d social and g overnmental
~h~l os o? hY h as recently changed, . is in the proces s of c hanqa, or i s
~e~n ~ attac %e~ |
Filename | indep-box22-07-05.pdf |
Archival file | Volume70/indep-box22-07-05.pdf |