In the article “L.A. Police Chief Charlie Beck endorses ‘sanctuary state’ bill that Eric Holder hails as ‘constitutional’”, Ulloa describes the reaction of the current LAPD Chief Charlie Beck to the recent bill that would establish California as a sanctuary state, therefore prohibiting the law enforcement officers from investigating, reporting, detaining, or arresting people who are due to be deported. This case is part of the current political controversy brought by Donald Trump’s deportation policy and immigration law changes.
It is also not the first time that the LAPD Police Chief refuses to comply with deportation laws: last year, he publicly stated that Los Angeles police officers would refuse to help in deportation efforts. The purpose of the article is to inform people about the controversy and support the statement of Charlie Beck. The article was published in L.A. Times, which is among the key newspapers for people living in California. Therefore, the article is aimed at a wide audience, consisting primarily of local residents interested in daily affairs.
The key challenge discussed in the article is the Senate Bill 54, which was “sparked by the Trump administration’s broadened deportation orders” (Ulloa). With many people criticizing the new policy as unethical and nationalist, deportation efforts are among the most significant policy issues evident in the U.S. today. The situation was further worsened by the fact that the law enforcement officers were often required to participate and assist in deportation efforts.
Beck argued that such cooperation between the local police and the immigration forces could impair community trust in the police, thus affecting its efficiency (Ulloa). There are three key lessons that can be learned from the event. First, it is important to ensure that public safety leaders have some influence on political issues that concern public safety, as these issues influence their work. Secondly, in case of a controversy, public safety leaders should take into account the impact of political decisions on the population they serve, as Charlie Beck did.
Thirdly, being politically savvy can help public safety leaders to be involved in political processes, thus allowing them to influence policy and the work of their employees. In a different scenario, Charlie Beck could have supported the deportation efforts and the law enforcement’s involvement. However, this could lead to the dissatisfaction of the workforce and impaired relationship with the local community. Clearly, the LAPD Chief aimed to reduce the negative effect of deportation policies on the work of the law enforcement, and it was a mindful decision not to allow local police officers to be engaged in deportation and immigration operations.
Overall, the article exemplifies this week’s learning objectives by portraying the complicated relationship between ethics, public safety decision-making and political issues. The case shows how leaders in public safety are impacted by political controversies and are forced to make difficult decisions to ensure the lack of implications for local communities.
Being a political savvy can thus help a public safety leader to understand the political process and its consequences for his or her area of responsibility, which enables him or her to make effective decisions. However, as evident from the example, ethical decisions could be risky in case of a political controversy; for instance, such decisions can cause dissatisfactions among workers or political leaders, thus affecting the public safety leader involved.
Works Cited
Ulloa, Jazmine. “L.A. Police Chief Charlie Beck Endorses ‘Sanctuary State’ Bill that Eric Holder Hails as ‘Constitutional’.” Los Angeles Times. 2017. Web.