LAPD to revamp rules on donations
Officials promise improvements after audits identify issues with tracking gifts.
Los Angeles police officials on Tuesday promised improvements to the LAPD’s process for accepting donations from outside organizations and foundations — which they did to the tune of nearly $ 10 million last year — after two audits identified issues with documenting and tracking such gifts.
The f indings of both reviews were presented to the Police Commission during a virtual meeting Tuesday.
The f irst, conducted by LAPD Inspector General Mark Smith and his staff, found that the Los Angeles Police Department’s overall process for accepting gifts was “generally well designed” but that there also were “areas of inconsistency and confusion.”
When outside money came into the department, it wasn’t always clear whether or how it had been solicited by department officials. At times, other basic information — such as who was cutting the checks — wasn’t known or tracked. Some private foundations promised donors special access to LAPD commanders.
The inspector general’s report found the department’s donation process “should be streamlined to facilitate the f low of consistent, accurate information and the timely approval of donations” and provided 10 recommendations for improving the process.
The recommendations included creating standardized forms and a centralized database for gathering and storing critical information about donations, establishing a more structured timeline for seeking donation approval, better tracking information on how donations were obtained, providing more explicit guidelines for employees who solicit donations, establishing more robust policies around potential conf licts of interest and setting parameters for what donors may get in return for their generosity.
Department officials said they accepted all of the recommendations and would begin to implement them. Commission President Eileen Decker said the commission would track that implementation and report on it publicly next year.
“Your recommendations are well taken and will improve our process dramatically, as well as improving the LAPD’s internal process,” Decker told Smith and his staff.
Private foundations have long supplemented the department’s public budget with private donations, funding technology upgrades and equipment, and special community programs. Corporations also make contributions.
The commission must approve donations to the department and can do so independently for gifts of up to about $ 18,000. Donations of a greater value must also go before the City Council for approval.
In addition to the inspector general’s audit, the commission also discussed a separate, internal audit that outlined the recent discovery by LAPD officials that nearly $ 350,000 worth of technology, equipment and travel funding from the Los Angeles Police Foundation had been accepted and partially distributed throughout the department without the proper approvals. The foundation is by far the LAPD’s largest donor, providing more than $ 6 million to the agency just last year.
LAPD Deputy Chief John McMahon, who oversees the department’s information technology bureau, said he instigated the audit after discovering the lack of proper approvals for a raft of Los Angeles Police Foundation gifts. The gifts included laptop computers, office equipment, iPads, video processing software, a threedimensional scanner, a 50- inch television and various other equipment.