When does a club become a gang?

When does a club become a gang?  This is a question many police administrators are asking themselves.  In the old days of the Electra Glide and Gold Wing, cops would tour with the Blue Knights or similar types of motorcycle clubs.  In those early years the cops drove their black and whites police cars and they would deal and tangle with the 1% ers with choppers and hogs ridden by the Hells Angels, Outlaws, Mongols, Pagans, Bandidos and similar criminal motorcycle gangs.

Today that line appears to be blurred.  There are law enforcement only, male only, motorcycle groups throughout the country with names like the Iron Pigs, Defenders, Regulators.  They fly their colors on their leather jackets or vests in the traditional three-piece emblem with a top and bottom rocker.  It’s difficult to distinguish them from the 1% ers without the occasional flash of a badge on a belt or the obvious gun worn.  With the Federal law these active and retired officers can carry guns anywhere and in any state.

In December a chapter of the Iron Brotherhood in Arizona was involved in a fight in a local bar.  Arizona DPS investigated this incident and the prosecutor is now considering charges including the cover-up and obstruction.  Several ranking police officers have either retired or resigned.  Multiple police agencies at the federal, state and local level are involved in conducting IA investigations of their officers.  One deputy chief who resigned is reported in the local newspaper saying that “the clothing members wore should not be used against them.”  Well, duh, of course it will!  If you look like a gangster, act like a gangster, you’ll be portrayed to be a gangster!

I ask a question in my Internal Affairs training seminars that I conduct every month throughout the country “Is this some sort of violation?  Is this conduct unbecoming?”  It always provokes a healthy discussion.  There seems to be no simple answer.  Most say it has the potential to create trouble for the officer and the agency where he works.  Everyone acknowledges that this has the potential to create a bad image of police officers with the general public.  Of course, isn’t that a basic element of conduct unbecoming?

Even if the officer is thrust into a legitimate use of force, or deadly force, will this garb be used against him?  Of course it will!  The prosecutor will drag that vest or jacket with the offensive colors in front of the jury as much as my old friend Johnnie Cochran did with the infamous glove in the OJ trial.

In the end it boils down to what ethical values are our officers living by?  It’s not a generational issue.  It involves both young and old.  Actually most of the officers involved are senior officers.  Officers who should know better.  But we hear comments like “I’m off duty.  I can do what I want.  I shouldn’t be judged by my friends or how I look.”  But you are.  You’re blue 24/7 whether you want to be or not!  You will be judged – fair or not!

Economic misconduct by cops

            I was honored to have been able to serve under Chief Bill Parker at the LAPD.  He truly is credited with changing the culture of the LAPD, during the late 1940s and 1950s, from an anachronistic, corrupt police agency to a professional one.  He was a strict disciplinarian.  Theft was theft whether it was $5 or $50,000.

            Theft in law enforcement seems to be a recurring incident of misconduct these days.  It seems to have become even more prevalent since the economic downturn in 2008.  I wrote an article for the PATC eNewsletter back then signaling that it was time for every agency to refocus its efforts to prevent and/or uncover this abuse.

            What kinds of thefts are we seeing these days?  Chiefs, Sheriffs, officers and trusted clerical personnel stealing from the evidence room, selling police evidence/equipment on EBay, and misusing police funds set up for official business.  Police union officials are misusing funds.  Police officers entrusted with funds set up for killed or wounded officers are caught using these for their own purposes.  Manipulation of time sheets, overtime, and paid detail work with the employees often triple dipping – working one job yet getting paid from two or three different sources for the same hours worked.  Vice and narcotic officers taking money based on alleged payments to nonexistent informants.  Theft by special operations units during high-risk raids and warrant service.  Employees misrepresenting financial incomes and swearing under penalty of perjury to obtain mortgages.  Defraud linked to misuse of the workers’ compensation program. 

            What seems to be some of the driving forces for this misconduct?  The most common appears to be that the officer got used to having a certain level of income with constant overtime and paid details.  They spent to that level.  When the economy tanked these sources of income dried up.  But their mortgages, car/boat payments, and credit card bills didn’t!

            Another common factor seems to be gambling addiction.  They get themselves so overloaded with debt and hope that gambling more will get them out of it.  The gambling establishments don’t build those megaresorts on winners!

            Continuing economic misconduct is uncovered in the various real and sting operations for protection of drug dealers and gamblers.  There also have been several instances of steering traffic collision victims to favored repair shops for kickbacks to the officers.  

            And, of course, there still is the pressure of substance abuse; alcohol, drugs and steroids.  Steroid use can run as much as a $1000 a month.

            So what should we be doing in our agencies?

            First, make roll call/briefings and in-service training more realistic by using actual economic misconduct incidents.  Do a Google search or use a pretty comprehensive site – policemisconduct.net.  Get examples to use with your people and show them that this form of misconduct will also end up in significant jail time.  Yes, we need to remind them that theft is wrong!

            Second, ensure that the auditing of special and operating funds is real.  Overtime and paid details can still be done in-house.  These realistically should be done monthly, but quarterly would still be acceptable.  Look for end of watch arrests to pump up overtime.  Consider a sudden increase in traffic ticket writing as a potential attempt to increase court time.  Consider whether teams or watches are putting excess numbers of officers on arrest reports to increase potential court time.  Someone involved in the task should not do the audit of this usage.  Special funds, like confidential monies, community action, charitable fundraising, youth programs and employee union finances can only be done by an outside approved accounting firm to remove any stigma of impropriety.  Most of these types of audits are done on an annual basis.

            Third, don’t overlook the evidence/property room audit.  Where we get into trouble is guns, narcotics and money.  Too often an agency allows this audit to be done by the employee responsible for the task.  It doesn’t work!

            Fourth, everyone in the agency must keep their eyes open and ears attuned to changes in fellow employee behavior.  You’re not snitching, you’re helping everyone in your agency if you identify this type of misconduct early on.  Look for unusual spending sprees.  Which employees are hogging OT or paid details?  Who’s suddenly become stressed and talks more about money problems? 

            Fifth, consider the use of annual financial disclosure reporting.  I know this is controversial in law enforcement agencies, but this is common in all sectors of the private employment field.  Nearly every elected official has to submit these types of oversight forms.  It would be unrealistic to require all police employees to do this.  But, those in high profile, vulnerable tasks and assignments known to present temptation should be required to submit these pretty much innocuous forms. 

            And lastly, train your IA/OPS investigators how to best conduct an investigation of economic misconduct. These are significantly different than most of our other misconduct investigations.  My good friend Steve Rothlein wrote “Hidden Assets” regarding these types of investigations and you can access this at patc.com.