Just Finished Reading: L. A. Noir – The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City by John Buntin (FP: 2014) [343pp] 

Los Angeles was growing – FAST. On the back of it something else was growing too, just as fast if not faster – Crime. What wasn’t growing, much to the frustration of the Police Commissioner and much to the delight of certain elements, was the size of the Los Angeles Police Department. Compared to places like New York the ratio of police to citizen was starting to look pitiful. But what made it worse was the budget – something else not growing nearly as fast as required. Not only was the LAPD understaffed it was underpaid with new officers earning less than refuse collectors. It came as no surprise that a significant number of the LAPD was ‘on the take’ and not just the guys on the street. Something needed to be done and someone with the power and the balls to do it needed appointing to the role. That man was William H Parker. Seen by some as a self-obsessed bully and by others as the city’s saviour he was determined to root out corruption and clamp down on the growing crime epidemic sweeping the city. Opposing him was the city’s underground, Organised Crime and the politicians in City Hall. The fight for the soul of the City of Angels was about to begin. 

Like most everyone else, I’ve grown up with images of LA from movies and cop shows (some of which are mentioned in this often-fascinating book) but knew little if anything about the reality of the situation. No more! Unsurprisingly, quite a few of what I’d picked up from Noir cinema and shows like Dragnet actually had a reasonably firm basis in reality – most especially when they focused on corruption, police violence and racism and, probably most importantly, political interference. I know it shouldn’t have confused me as much as it did, but I found myself constantly shaking my head over the poor funding the police department received – no matter the real or perceived demands – as well as the demands from the commercial sector that ‘too much policing’ was ‘bad for business’, by which they normally meant gambling of course. With the in-roads made by Organised Crime the amount of money sloshing around – especially in City Hall – was astounding and, no doubt, contributed to the Police Departments underfunding and the slow-walking of modernisation efforts. Again, it was surprising just how long proper training – in Police College rather than ‘on the job’ - took to bed in properly as well as obvious improvements such as radios in patrol cars.  

Although not exactly an ‘eye-opener’ this was an interesting and often fascinating look at the inside of the LAPD in its formative years from the 1930’s and into the early 1990’s. I was certainly much more aware of some of the later events talked about here, but I still recognised a scattering of names from the 1940’s and 50’s too. Apparently made into the TV Series ‘Mob City’ (which I don’t think I’ve ever heard of) this is a recommended read for anyone interested in US Organised Crime or the City of Angels herself. More to come on both subjects.