October’s LASA focused on justice and law in Los Angeles. An unexpected rain started the day and we took our bus to LAPD’s Rampart Division to hear from Captain McNeill Gardner – as well as Officer Delgado in her third week of work with LAPD.
For some, this was a unique opportunity to speak with the police and ask questions. We discussed ICE, gangs, homelessness, how the police are spread out throughout the city, and much more. Sofia shared, “I really enjoyed the experience of talking to the officer at the police department because it allowed me to see through a different perspective that I wouldn’t have been able to see. I am always thinking of the bad things about police before I see the good things because the news only shows bad instances of police brutality and not the everyday humble successes that occur.” LASA students really seized this chance to understand policing in the city and conversations on the bus ride back reflected our continued processing of all that we heard.
We returned to The Huntington for lunch and to welcome Isaac Bryan, the Director of Public Policy for the Million Dollar Hoods Project at UCLA. Million Dollar Hoods, by mapping the dollar amounts spent by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and LAPD on incarceration from 2010 to 2015, generates reports and policy initiatives towards a more just Los Angeles. Aja reflected, “Through the Million Dollar Hoods program, it was discussed that a large number of people being arrested were homeless. This illuminates how poverty impacts crime rates in Los Angeles County.” Isaac shared his own journey, thoughts about his critical work, and previewed their report on policing in schools. Jay appreciated Isaac’s passion and “dedication to helping those in the city.”
The mammouth task is to put the information these two speakers shared in conversation with each other – and this work is on-going. Amelia shared, “Something that struck me from our day were the discrepancies between the way the police captain spoke about the justice system and the way that Isaac. . .spoke about it. . .The idealism from the captain was particularly obvious when compared to the reality given by Mr. Bryan through his own experience and knowledge, and because of this, I believe it was really beneficial to have been able to hear both sides.” Our students left with copies of UCLA Professor and Project Director of Million Dollar Hoods Kelly Lytle Hernández’ City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles, 1771–1965and more than enough to process in the coming days.