Open Letter to the LAPD and LASD

February 1, 2006 at 12:10 pm in Uncategorized

OK, this isn’t so much of an open letter as it is an open request. Please read the comments on this post. And please take a look at this site. Search for “LAFD” on this site and see the countless other posts praising them for their openess and communication. Do you see how fantastic the LAFD is? Do you see how much people love them because of this? A very little bit of openness goes a very, very long way. Why can’t the LAPD and LASD do something like this? Have a blog where there is someone who will talk and answer questions. Follow a few local blogs and discuss issues when they come up.

I’m wondering if anyone in those departments even reads this stuff or knows what is going on with it. In the almost 3 years we’ve been running blogging.la we’ve never heard from anyone at the LASD or LAPD directly. City Council? Check. Mayors office? Check. LAFD? Obviously check. But no law enforcement at all. Which is disappointing, because there’s a major disconnect between the public and Law Enforment and I’d venture to say they need this more than anyone.

In fact, I’m going take this a bit further and ask all the LAFD, City Council and Mayors office people who read this site to pass this post on to any and every contact you have at the LAPD or LASD. I’m volunteering my time and any help I can offer to get you guys set up with blogs. I’ll take time off, wave my consulting fee and come in and explain why they are important and show you how to do it. And I won’t even beg for a CCW while I’m there.

Really, I’m completely serious about this. What do you have to lose?

Thanks for the local support on this one LA Voice, LAist, and West LA Online. Here’s hoping someone listens.

9 Comments »

http://eecue.com/ eecue

This doesn’t quite count, but I am a member of the San Bernardino Sheriffs Department Cave Rescue Team. I am what is known as a Citizen Volunteer, in other words I am not sworn, can’t carry a gun and don’t have the power of arrest.
http://www.jozjozjoz.com/ :: jozjozjoz ::

What Sean said.

Anything I can do to help Sean in that effort, I will.
http://mikesdailylockup.blogs.com Mike Randall

Anything I can do to help, let me know. I may be able to put my Criminal Justice degree and my computer skills to work.

Now only if we could get the OCSD to do the same thing?
Will Campbell

It in no way compares to the efforts of Brian Humphries and the L.A. Fire Department, but I just wanted to point out that the LAPD does post news releases about crimes and department-related information on its website at http://www.lapdonline.org. Click on the “newsroom” link.
http://www.cd13.com Eric Garcetti

Just read your email/posting, Sean, after I finished a meeting with Chief Bratton. Bad timing on my part! I will pass this on to him and the appropriate command staff. Thanks!

Eric
http://www.laist.com Carolyn

hear hear!
http://www.westlaonline.com/2006/02/calling_on_lapd.html Jim Bursch

If the LAPD, at minimum, can offer RSS feeds for all the information (what used to be called the police blotter) it currently can disseminates via e-mail, that would be a simple but huge step forward. That is a simple technological step that requires no cooperation from people who don’t get it.

I’ve thrown in the support of West L.A. Online to your call to LAPD and LASD. Let me know if I can help in any way.
http://darleeneisms.la darleene

I thought that the LAPD doesn’t even make police reports available to reporters? So I don’t think they could RSS a police blotter….
FyreFly

Why must you alway compare the police to the fire dept. Personally I came across this site by mistake and wow I thought people in OC had time on their hands but to complain about something as friveless as a website..and whinning about the sheriff’s dept, police dept, and how nice the fire dept is… you really need to get a life…

Open Letter to the LAPD and LASD

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