The Gang Buster

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Downtown, Bratton is continuing his efforts to make Griffith's job easier. He has replaced all but one of his assistant and deputy chiefs and is installing new technology so cops can access information more quickly while on the street. But Bratton's highest priority is finding money to hire new officers. "The L.A.P.D. has been historically understaffed, and it puts officers at risk," he says, noting that New York City has 36,720 officers, or 1 for every 218 residents, while Los Angeles has 9,320, or 1 for every 429. A request for extra funds was rebuffed by the city council last May, so Bratton has been thinking of launching a ballot initiative in November to appeal directly to voters. To get such a measure passed in the midst of California's fiscal crisis, he will need the public to accept his claim that better policing is the reason for the drop in crime rates. As he put it to his officers at the Rampart roll call, "It is going to be a hard sell, quite frankly, but the harder you work, the better story you give me to tell--that the only thing that works against crime in the U.S. is you." He means to prove the moral of his tale by reducing Los Angeles' murder rate an additional 20% this year. It's a big goal, but Bratton is a man who loves big challenges.