Sexism Has No Place in LAPD : Inspector general deserves the help of all in tackling the problem

Katherine Mader, the Los Angeles Police Commission’s inspector general, is tackling the apparently entrenched sexual harassment problem at the LAPD’s West Los Angeles division. She is demanding that command and mid-level managers be held accountable and appropriately disciplined for any gender discrimination or hostility.

Chief Willie L. Williams must provide the leadership needed to send the message loud and clear: Sexual harassment will not be tolerated, and those who don’t embrace the reform will suffer the consequences. Nothing less will work for this old and well-documented problem.

The top command can start by implementing recommendations made after a 1994 investigation of West L.A. that uncovered ample evidence of harassment and discrimination. That internal audit recommended: a mass transfer of officers and supervisors from West L.A.; an investigation of a top department official for failing to act on a sexual harassment personnel complaint; the redeployment of women, including female supervisors, throughout the LAPD; a department-wide investigation to root out cabals of sexist officers elsewhere; the creation of a formal briefing process to improve communication when leadership changes.

The department has made progress in hiring more women officers, but not enough has been done to ensure that female officers and managers are treated equally.

The Christopher Commission investigation of the LAPD after the police beating of Rodney King documented “widespread and strongly felt gender bias” in the department. The commission report, which was released in 1991, also noted that bias had resulted “in the underutilization of female officers.”

The Christopher Commission recommended the hiring of a civilian to monitor discipline within the department. Mader, a former prosecutor, has been in the job five months and already she has prodded the chief to reassign one sergeant with a history of generating complaints.

Sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination are illegal. The lack of action from within the LAPD has prompted more women to join a large class action case, currently involved in complicated settlement negotiations. The LAPD needs the best from every officer regardless of gender. Inspector General Mader deserves all the help she can get. The Police Commission’s Katherine Mader: Dealing with an old, entrenched problem.