LAPD Has No Curbs on Officers' Working as PIs

By Peter Y. Hong | Times Staff Writer

February 19, 2006

While working for the LAPD, veteran detective Mark J. Arneson found a way to turn his police expertise into profits: He became a private eye.

Arneson allegedly went too far — he was indicted this month with private investigator Anthony Pellicano on charges of illegally pulling private data from police computers. Pellicano allegedly paid Arneson $189,000 for his services.

Arneson was suspended in 2003 and has left the department. But other officers do outside investigative work.

Among large departments in the nation, Los Angeles is rare in allowing officers to moonlight without restriction as private detectives — a dangerous practice, say both police experts and officials in other cities.

"I strongly disapprove of the idea. It is an enormous potential conflict of interest," said Joseph McNamara, a former San Jose police chief who is a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.

When police serve both the public and paying clients, the integrity of their work can be compromised, McNamara said.

"Let's say you're a straightarrow detective, and a partner asks a question about a case," he said. "You just answer, assuming he's asking because he's a police investigator. In fact, he may be asking the question because a private client wants to know."

Dorothy M. Schulz, a professor of police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said that "there would be too many opportunities as a private detective where the type of information available to a police officer would be useful to you."

"One would have to be a very strong individual not to take advantage of wearing two hats," she said.

Rather than count on the moral fortitude of their employees, most large departments remove the temptation altogether.

Boston, for instance, has a specific rule prohibiting police from being private detectives as well as performing investigative work for insurance companies, collection or credit agencies, lawyers and bail bond agents.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department also prohibits outside investigative work.

"We don't allow it; it's a conflict," said spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Other departments place restrictions on such outside activity. New York does not allow officers to work as private investigators on criminal matters but permits them to perform civil investigations.

Chicago bars command-level staff from private detective work but allows those below that rank to work as investigators.

The LAPD has no such restrictions. And the department does not track how many officers are private detectives. Its work permit rules, however, dictate that officers not engage in investigations "in conflict with this department or the city of Los Angeles."

Police Chief William J. Bratton declined to comment for this article.

LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Berkow said California labor laws make it difficult for employers to restrict outside employment.

"There is a general atmosphere in California that gives deference to an employee's lawful conduct over an employer's ability to regulate that conduct," he said.

Former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates nevertheless called it "unbelievable" that LAPD officers are working as private investigators.