Public defenders predict upward of 4,000 cases could be affected. So far, twenty officers have been relieved of their duties, two others fired and scores more placed under suspicion (Booth and (Hornblower 30). Not all cops are bad. Greg Taymizyabn, owner of a restaurant in a bad community said, " we need the cops because of a few bad apples, you should not throw out the whole basket."(Riverdale 23) the Los Angeles police department has to work hard to get rid of their bad image. More people will trust the police if their were less bad cops.
The Rampart division is among the worse police divisions in the city. Rampart is Los Angeles" most populated district: 375,00 people. The area has thirty gangs packed into eight square miles (Riverdale 23). Due to the gang violence the Rampart Division formed a program to monitor and regulate gang activity. Unfortunately officers systematically planned evidence and then lied in court (Riverdale 23). In a series of trials, three Rampart officers were found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice by planting evidence and framing gang members (Walker 13). After finding the officers guilty an investigation was brought up and due to the bad policing.
100 Rampart related convictions have been overturned. More corruption cases involving police officers are in the work, and the city has forced to accept a consent degree under which a federal judge will oversee police reforms. Liability suits by those wrongly accused could cost Los Angeles upwards of 100million dollars. Meanwhile, crime rate are rising again in Rampart neighborhoods this year (Strengold 74).
The city of Los Angeles lost a great deal of money from the wrong doing of the Rampart division. The rampart division did succeed in bringing gang-related crimes down sixty percent from 1992 to 1999(Strengold 74). A change is needed in order to bring back a sense of freedom to the innocent people who live in the Rampart are.