Steve James has been elected three times as President of the Long Beach Police Officers Association. The POA is a dominating force in Long Beach politics and within the Police Department. In an interview, James answers questions about Police Management, politics and the number of police officers needed to keep Long Beach safe.
Q: What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment as President of the POA?
Having been President of the association now for 7 years, it is very hard to come up with the single greatest accomplishment as there have been so many. If I had to pick just one, I would say that the level of professionalism that we have achieved is the single greatest accomplishment. I believe that the association is viewed by City Hall, and the Police Department as a professional organization that is integral to the successes of the Police Department.
Q: What has been your biggest disappointment?
Losing officers to other departments is clearly the most troubling issue that I have had to deal with. The amount of experience that left this department in a very short period of time was the epitome of “brain drain”. It takes a good 5 years for an officer to become real comfortable with all of the stuff that we have to deal with, so to lose officers with 5 to 15 years of experience was devastating to the department as well as to me personally. I still wonder if there were things I could have done sooner to stop the exodus. Ultimately we fixed the problem, but we did lose a lot of very good cops.
Q: In supporting candidates for public office as the POA often does, what are you looking for in a candidate?
The first thing we look for is someone who truly wants Long Beach to be a better place. We try to avoid people who are running because of a single issue or those who are running because they are simply mad about something that didn’t go their way. We want to find well rounded candidates who want to see the entire city excel.
Q: Do we have enough police officers on Long Beach streets? If not, how many more do we need?
This is a tough question. Are there ever enough police officers on the street? While I understand and respect the importance of balancing the needs of the Police Department with the budgetary resources, I can state that with more police officers we would be able to have a more profound affect on the crime rate in this city. If there were no budgetary concerns then the Long Beach Police Department should have 1300 sworn officers. That would be an increase of approximately 300. It is very important to point out that if the number of sworn were to increase, the number of non-sworn would also have to increase in order to handle the increase in work.
Q: What do you think is the Police Department’s biggest challenge? How do you plan to address it?
There is no doubt that the biggest challenge is the budget. At our current resource level, the Police Department is under budgeted by approximately 12 million dollars. During the three year financial plan our department cut to the bone, and there just isn’t anything left to cut unless you are willing to accept a lower service level.
I have stated many times that there is an acceptable level of crime. That level is determined in large part by the budget that the department receives. The days of doing more with less are over. If the department is expected to continue the same level of service, or to do more, then there will have to be more money given to the department. As for what I will do about this challenge; I will continue to point out the cuts that are being made and the corresponding effect to the safety of our community and our officers.
A perfect example is the current status of our helicopters. The normal operation of our helicopters had them in the air 10 hours a day. Today they are in the air 1 hour per day and then on standby on the ground for the remainder of one shift. When the helicopter is in the air, they can get from one end of the city to the other in less than 3 minutes. Their normal response time is much less. When they have to respond from the ground, they need to do an inspection of the aircraft, warm it up, and then get clearance from the tower to take off. If another aircraft were landing at the time that the helicopter needed to get in the air, their response time could be delayed as much as 10 minutes. This is unacceptable for the community and their safety as well as the officers and their safety.
We are the largest Police agency in the state that is not flying helicopters on a regular schedule, and in fact there are many smaller cities that are able to maintain their air support units at a much greater level than ours. Many of these other cities do not have the same crime challenges that we have here in Long Beach. Helicopter support is crucial in policing a city like Long Beach. Helicopters are a necessity, not a luxury. Our helicopters should not be budgetary footballs.
Q: You have often been a critic of City Management and Top Police Brass, how is your relationship with them?
I believe I have a very strong relationship with both City Management and the command staff. While I do not always agree with them, I am very straightforward and honest in those situations. I understand that many people will consider me a critic, but I actually view myself as a supporter who is not afraid to share a different opinion from time to time.
Q: What are your favorite Long Beach restaurants?
Phil Trani’s up north, Smooths down south, and Legends out east.
Q: What was your reaction to being on the lbpost.com 10 Most Powerful List?
On a personal level, I was very surprised, yet honored that people would consider me as being worthy of a list containing so many people that I have such high regard for. From a professional level as President of LBPOA, I feel it serves as a testament to the first answer I gave which is that the LBPOA is considered a very professional organization that is constantly working to make Long Beach a better place.