Larry sits down with former LAPD Police Chief and current NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton to get his take on the state of policing. Also, Amnesty International will meet next week in Dublin to debate a proposal to decriminalize prostitution. Then, Artistic Director Cameron Bailey is in Los Angeles this week to help Film Independent kick off a series on Canadian films at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
America’s top cop Bill Bratton weighs in on body cams, Sandra Bland and Sam DuBose
There’s a roiling debate about policing in the United States today. Videos revealing police work that was once hidden from public view have gone viral online. In the last two weeks, such video played primary roles in the fatal incidents involving Sandra Bland and Sam DuBose.
We sat down with former LAPD police chief and current NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton to get his take on the state of policing. Bratton is remembered in Los Angeles for his zero-tolerance policy, diversifying the police force, and his "broken windows theory" approach to policing — the idea that vandalism has a signaling effect in urban areas.
Bratton helped lower crime and shape policing in L.A. after the force faced serious race issues in the early 1990s. He said the 21st century is going to be a profound challenge not just for police, but for the public across the nation.
"We're in the midst of a very profound revolution in so many ways, " Bratton said. "It's one of the reasons I came back to policing. ... I don't want to miss this."
We get Bratton's take on body cameras, race relations, social media, L.A.'s recent increase in crime stats after decades in decline, his thoughts on counterterrorism and his plans to “re-engineer” the NYPD.
Interview Highlights
On the impact of body cameras and the changes they might bring to policing:
They are going to have a profound influence, I believe. The influence is unknown at this time. We need to understand we are only in the beginning phases of understanding how to use them. ... Police agencies are all watching each other closely, exchanging information closely to determine what are the best policies and practices.
On the public opinion of police:
The New York Times has a major article on the profound effect [video] might have on public opinion of police. I think something else it might have a profound effect on is public opinion of the behavior of the public the police have to deal with. I think that's going to be one of the benefits. I don't think the public fully appreciates all that we in the police department, police officers have to face, whether it's dealing with demonstrations, whether it's dealing with the encounters with the emotionally disturbed, domestic violence. Cameras are going to have a profound influence going forward on both police performance, behavior, policies and procedures, but I think also hopefully on public behavior and performance.
On the police department and social media:
The impact of the public news media — newspapers, television, etcetera, is going to be significantly outweighed in the future as newspapers begin to disappear, by social media. The NYPD, as many police departments around America are doing, are perfecting our social media capabilities, so we are increasingly able to drive the news and tell the news from our perspective.
In years ahead we won't have to rely exclusively on [media] to tell the story, we will be able to present a version or a perspective that needs to be seen.
On race relations and community-police relations in New York:
We're working very very hard to try to regain trust where we lost it, build on trust where we have always had it. We just issued a new department plan of action, we're investing millions upon millions of dollars in training. Mayor de Blasio has been supportive of the variety of new initiatives. We're totally reorganizing the NYPD ... all of it geared towards having a much more inclusive, much more transparent organization.
On the conduct of officers in videos and the policing of "minor" issues
So often this is going to be the debate going forward ... in some instances the videos have clearly indicated officers not operating within the law, operating outside and actually in a criminal behavior in many instances, but it's also the idea that the public, the reason that we have laws and the reasons we ask the police to enforce them is that the public at some point in time has demanded that there be a law to address something as so frequently described as "minor."
Well it's going to be up to the public. If you don't want us to enforce it, then do away with it, but you kinda ask us to effectively turn a blind eye to behavior that, if we start turning a blind eye to the behavior, it's the whole theory of broken windows — the idea that you need to pay attention to the minor things, because if left unaddressed, they become much more significant and much more serious.
A lot of these minor disorder offenses that seem to escalate very quickly into the tragedies we've seen, some of them could be prevented so easily if the public just understood: 1. You don't have the ability to resist arrest, and 2. You have an obligation to comply with the police officer's order. We have the obligation, clearly, to not allow a refusal to the best of our ability escalate to some of the tragedies we've recently seen.
This story has been updated.
City Council ban cracks down on unlicensed vending at parks and beaches
Anyone who wants to sell something at city parks or beaches will now have to get a permit from the city to do so.
L.A. City Council voted Wednesday to reinstate a ban on unlicensed vending in those areas. The ban had been suspended while the city dealt with litigation over vending on the Venice Beach boardwalk. Under the new rules, things like yoga classes, dog training, or exercise boot camps would have to be licensed through the city, otherwise those running them would face a recurring fine for each infraction. L.A.’s Recreation and Parks Department doesn’t usually issue permits to pushcart vendors selling things like ice cream or fruit, but does allow some businesses like the paddle boat rentals and the cafe at Echo Park Lake.
Supporters say the ban will protect people at the parks and on beaches from being hurt by an unlicensed vendor and will shield the city from being sued in the event someone were to be hurt by a vendor without a license. Opponents say penalties resulting from the ban could jeapordize immigrants’ chances at citizenship, and that it doesn’t make sense to ban vending in parks and beaches when the city is thinking about legalizing the same kind of vending on city sidewalks.
Should unlicensed vendors be banned from city beaches and parks? What about on city sidewalks? If food vendors aren’t allowed at parks, beaches, or sidewalks citywide even if they did get a permit, why are food trucks?
Guests:
Gil Cedillo, Los Angeles City Councilmember representing District 1
Kevin Regan, assistant general manager for the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
Amnesty’s proposal to decriminalize prostitution draws ire from Hollywood, anti-human trafficking groups
Amnesty International will meet next week in Dublin to debate a proposal to decriminalize prostitution.
But even before it’s going to be tabled, a coalition of heavyweight opponents--from marquee Hollywood actors to human rights lawyers to anti-human trafficking experts--has come out against the draft document.
The proposal in question takes what is known as the “Nordic model,” where sex workers are decriminalized but pimps, brothel owners and clients are still faced with criminal charges, one step further, by calling for everyone involved to be free from criminal liability.
That expansion is what anti-human trafficking advocates are up in arms about. They claim that by letting anyone else except for sex workers off the hook, Amnesty is promoting the exploitation of girls and women, who are often forced into sex work. But Amnesty says its intention is to foreground the aspect of choice in sex work, that prostitution could be an expression of individual agency.
Stateside, a lawsuit was filed earlier this year by a group of sex workers in San Francisco against the state of California seeking to decriminalize prostitution in nine states, including California, Arizona, and Oregon. California State Attorney General’s Office has filed a motion to dismiss the suit. A federal court in Oakland will hear that motion on August 7.
Do you support Amnesty International’s proposal to decriminalize prostitution? Do you support the decriminalization of prostitution in the U.S.?
Summary of Proposed Policy on Sex Work
July 22, 2015 Letter to Amnesty International Board of Directors
Guests:
Esohe Aghatise, Anti-Trafficking Manager at Equality Now, an international human rights organization dedicated to action for the civil, political, economic and social rights of girls and women
Domina Elle, board member of the Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education, and Research Project (ESPLERP), an advocacy group for sex workers which is behind the Northern California lawsuit
Filmweek: ‘Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation,’ ‘Vacation’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Tim Cogshell, Wade Major, and Charles Solomon review this week’s new releases including Tom Cruise in the latest “Mission: Impossible,” the rated-R return of the Griswolds in “Vacation,” a couple of notable documentaries including “Best of Enemies” and “Listen to Me Marlon,” and more. TGI-Filmweek!
Guests:
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and host for IGN’s DigiGods.com
Tim Cogshell, Film Critic for KPCC and the Alt-Film Guide
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC and Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
Toronto Film Fest director on the 2015 slate and success of the popular festival
While it can't match the je ne sais quoi of the French Riviera, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) rivals the Cannes Film Fest in the eyes of movie stars, movie moguls, film critics, and publicists for all of the above.
TIFF 2015 this week announced its first slate of films and A-list attendees, including Jake Gyllenhaal starring in "Demolition" by Quebec director Jean-Marc Vallee (“Dallas Buyers Club,” “Wild”), Julianne Moore and Elle Page in "Freeheld," mob thriller "Black Mass" with Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Depp, and many more. Plus TIFF is aiming to premiere promising new television shows - a recent foray for film festivals.
Artistic Director Cameron Bailey has helped steer TIFF for decades, balancing a demand for top box-office talent with the more artistic aspirations of Canadian cinema and cinephiles. Bailey is in Los Angeles this week to help Film Independent kick off a series on Canadian films at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Guest:
Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival