As reported here, the Long Beach City Council has agreed, unanimously, to continue the police department’s participation in the California Public Safety Procurement Program (CPSPP) a program through which LBPD applies for and receives surplus federal, and typically military, equipment.
Though CPSPP, California manages state and local agency participation in the federal 1033 program. Agencies must complete an 18-page application just to request inclusion and if agencies do not demonstrate sufficient inventory accountability they are summarily dropped from the program.
Some have become increasingly critical of these sorts of federal and state programs, alleging that they do little more than promote what they call the “militarization” of civilian law enforcement. The concern, apparently, is that if local police agencies improve their equipment and armaments in this way, they will then be more likely to use it to abuse the very populations who provide them with their authority in the first place.
There is little basis for this concern. Our nation’s local police forces are rightly under local control which is, in turn, under the control of the local voters. If the voters of Long Beach are sufficiently dissatisfied with the performance of their police department, they can elect Councilmembers and Mayors who will make sure that only the best qualified and capable person serves (and continues to serve) as Police Chief. The voters of Long Beach can elect Councilmembers and Mayors who select a City Manager who will provide sufficient oversight of all LBPD programs and services.
In Long Beach, as in all other United States cities, the police and the military are distinctly separate except in the most unusual and exigent circumstances. Weapons and equipment that originated from the military but which are now under full civilian control no more “militarizes” the police department than it “militarizes” the fire department, which has also participated in the program. The source of the local oversight and control remains civilian, not military, in nature.
One of the most vocal critics, not only of the 1033 program but of LBPD and its personnel in general, is Mr. Stephen Downing, a Long Beach resident and retired Deputy Chief from the Los Angeles Police Department. Mr. Downing has become increasingly outspoken in national and local media on various topics from police “militarization” to drug legalization. Downing is also listed as a current Board Member of a national drug legalization advocacy group called “Law Enforcement Against Prohibition” (LEAP).
On the local front, Mr. Downing remains typically critical of LBPD in general and Chief McDonnell in particular. Perhaps there was some bad blood between the two of them when they both worked for LAPD, I really don’t know, but in any case Downing has published numerous letters in local papers and at various local media sites expressing his concerns with and critiques of several aspects of LBPD management, supervision, operation, and oversight.
Many like Mr. Downing are concerned about sufficient local oversight of these programs. In response to these concerns LBPD Deputy Chief Robert Luna seems to make it clear that there is sufficient oversight in the police department’s acquisition process. Absent a credible offering of proof to the contrary, Downing really has no sound basis on which to imply that Luna’s comments are to any degree dubious, let alone inaccurate.
Like most other critics, Downing fails to mention that LBPD and other local agencies (like Downing’s own LAPD) had been acquiring M16’s, variants, and other so-called “military” equipment long before the existence of federal programs that helped facilitate their acquisition.
For many decades, law enforcement agencies have been adopting weapons and equipment which were originally developed for the military. In virtually every case, this has occurred in direct response to threats these agencies began facing on the streets in their communities.
Why, for example, should Downing or anyone else begrudge LBPD’s Swat Team access to Kevlar helmets that provide better head protection than other available models? If the purpose is to provide protection for our law enforcers, does it not seem reasonable to acquire the best protective equipment the budget can support?
Similarly, if we agree that semi-automatic rifles have legitimate uses in civilian law enforcement, why would we not want to participate in a program that allows the police department to more easily afford them?
All initiatives like the 1033 program do is help jurisdictions with limited budgets more readily afford equipment they are already trying to acquire.
Thus it is not the 1033 program that is the challenge or should be the concern for critics like Downing. It is the increasingly violent people and crimes with which LBPD and other agencies are asked to deal in a safe and effective manner. Violence that requires ever better equipment and tactics to defend against and to try to stop.
Within his own comments, Downing directly refuted one of DC Luna’s comments. In response to Luna’s estimate that LBPD has received some 200 rifles through the program, Downing said: “My own research of public records…puts the number of military grade M-16 rifles at 802.” Downing then includes a link to the 1033 website itself to support his conclusion, a link which unfortunately (conveniently?) does not work.
However, if one is interested in the facts, following this link will allow one to learn that, as of June 25, 2014, the total number of M16 rifles transferred to LBPD through the 1033 program is consistent with Luna’s estimate (When clicking on the link, once the spreadsheet appears, click on the down arrow at the top of the page. Download the entire document to your desktop and then scroll down to the entries for LBPD).
Meanwhile, LAPD -Downing’s own former agency- has apparently received over 1600 M16 and M16 variants through the 1033 program. Yet no commensurate critique of LAPD from Downing. Strange, don’t you think?
Finally, Downing’s unfounded concerns notwithstanding, oversight does, indeed, exist. It exists at the federal, state, and local levels. At the local level, the elected Long Beach Mayor and Council enjoy *full* oversight of all LBPD operations. They typically exercise this oversight indirectly, through the City Manager, but they still have every right and authority to request and receive specific and detailed reports on any program, policy, or procedure, at any time, from any department, including the police department.
Just because not all aspects of police oversight are made fully public does not mean that oversight does not occur. As a retired Police Sergeant I know this. As a retired Deputy Chief, it seems reasonable to expect that Mr. Downing surely knows this as well.
If he does know it, however, he seems conveniently disinclined to acknowledge it.
OP-ED: Equipment Upgrades Do Not Equal “Militarization”
As reported here, the Long Beach City Council has agreed, unanimously, to continue the police department’s participation in the California Public Safety Procurement Program (CPSPP) a program through which LBPD applies for and receives surplus federal, and typically military, equipment.
Though CPSPP, California manages state and local agency participation in the federal 1033 program. Agencies must complete an 18-page application just to request inclusion and if agencies do not demonstrate sufficient inventory accountability they are summarily dropped from the program.
Some have become increasingly critical of these sorts of federal and state programs, alleging that they do little more than promote what they call the “militarization” of civilian law enforcement. The concern, apparently, is that if local police agencies improve their equipment and armaments in this way, they will then be more likely to use it to abuse the very populations who provide them with their authority in the first place.
There is little basis for this concern. Our nation’s local police forces are rightly under local control which is, in turn, under the control of the local voters. If the voters of Long Beach are sufficiently dissatisfied with the performance of their police department, they can elect Councilmembers and Mayors who will make sure that only the best qualified and capable person serves (and continues to serve) as Police Chief. The voters of Long Beach can elect Councilmembers and Mayors who select a City Manager who will provide sufficient oversight of all LBPD programs and services.
In Long Beach, as in all other United States cities, the police and the military are distinctly separate except in the most unusual and exigent circumstances. Weapons and equipment that originated from the military but which are now under full civilian control no more “militarizes” the police department than it “militarizes” the fire department, which has also participated in the program. The source of the local oversight and control remains civilian, not military, in nature.
One of the most vocal critics, not only of the 1033 program but of LBPD and its personnel in general, is Mr. Stephen Downing, a Long Beach resident and retired Deputy Chief from the Los Angeles Police Department. Mr. Downing has become increasingly outspoken in national and local media on various topics from police “militarization” to drug legalization. Downing is also listed as a current Board Member of a national drug legalization advocacy group called “Law Enforcement Against Prohibition” (LEAP).
On the local front, Mr. Downing remains typically critical of LBPD in general and Chief McDonnell in particular. Perhaps there was some bad blood between the two of them when they both worked for LAPD, I really don’t know, but in any case Downing has published numerous letters in local papers and at various local media sites expressing his concerns with and critiques of several aspects of LBPD management, supervision, operation, and oversight.
Many like Mr. Downing are concerned about sufficient local oversight of these programs. In response to these concerns LBPD Deputy Chief Robert Luna seems to make it clear that there is sufficient oversight in the police department’s acquisition process. Absent a credible offering of proof to the contrary, Downing really has no sound basis on which to imply that Luna’s comments are to any degree dubious, let alone inaccurate.
Like most other critics, Downing fails to mention that LBPD and other local agencies (like Downing’s own LAPD) had been acquiring M16’s, variants, and other so-called “military” equipment long before the existence of federal programs that helped facilitate their acquisition.
For many decades, law enforcement agencies have been adopting weapons and equipment which were originally developed for the military. In virtually every case, this has occurred in direct response to threats these agencies began facing on the streets in their communities.
Why, for example, should Downing or anyone else begrudge LBPD’s Swat Team access to Kevlar helmets that provide better head protection than other available models? If the purpose is to provide protection for our law enforcers, does it not seem reasonable to acquire the best protective equipment the budget can support?
Similarly, if we agree that semi-automatic rifles have legitimate uses in civilian law enforcement, why would we not want to participate in a program that allows the police department to more easily afford them?
All initiatives like the 1033 program do is help jurisdictions with limited budgets more readily afford equipment they are already trying to acquire.
Thus it is not the 1033 program that is the challenge or should be the concern for critics like Downing. It is the increasingly violent people and crimes with which LBPD and other agencies are asked to deal in a safe and effective manner. Violence that requires ever better equipment and tactics to defend against and to try to stop.
Within his own comments, Downing directly refuted one of DC Luna’s comments. In response to Luna’s estimate that LBPD has received some 200 rifles through the program, Downing said: “My own research of public records…puts the number of military grade M-16 rifles at 802.” Downing then includes a link to the 1033 website itself to support his conclusion, a link which unfortunately (conveniently?) does not work.
However, if one is interested in the facts, following this link will allow one to learn that, as of June 25, 2014, the total number of M16 rifles transferred to LBPD through the 1033 program is consistent with Luna’s estimate (When clicking on the link, once the spreadsheet appears, click on the down arrow at the top of the page. Download the entire document to your desktop and then scroll down to the entries for LBPD).
Meanwhile, LAPD -Downing’s own former agency- has apparently received over 1600 M16 and M16 variants through the 1033 program. Yet no commensurate critique of LAPD from Downing. Strange, don’t you think?
Finally, Downing’s unfounded concerns notwithstanding, oversight does, indeed, exist. It exists at the federal, state, and local levels. At the local level, the elected Long Beach Mayor and Council enjoy *full* oversight of all LBPD operations. They typically exercise this oversight indirectly, through the City Manager, but they still have every right and authority to request and receive specific and detailed reports on any program, policy, or procedure, at any time, from any department, including the police department.
Just because not all aspects of police oversight are made fully public does not mean that oversight does not occur. As a retired Police Sergeant I know this. As a retired Deputy Chief, it seems reasonable to expect that Mr. Downing surely knows this as well.
If he does know it, however, he seems conveniently disinclined to acknowledge it.