36 FEBRUARY 2014 City Employees Club of Los Angeles • Alive! 36 History Comes Alive!

l Tales From the City Archives l by Michael E. Holland City Archivist

This page from the 1952 scrapbook chronicles the arrest of an LAPD This page from sergeant on the 1952 scrap bookmaking book includes - charges. the latest news of reputed mobster Mickey Cohen. This page from a 1952 The 1952 scrap- scrapbook book includes a journals a story of actress shooting on Zsa Zsa Gabor Christmas. donating $100 to the Police Relief Association.

By Michael E. Holland committing the crimes and who made to do an almost impossible task. One a more complete look at what the LAPD the arrests. They were collected and example that year was the recruitment brass saw and considered important, here are few Los Angeles institutions assembled in chronological order and process in which 6,448 applicants began whereas the late 1940s books dealt more more popular to the film and televi- T can be very useful to follow a specific the selection process and only 196 sur- with trade show-type events than depart- sion industry than the Los Angeles Police event instead of going through vived all the exams, training and proba- ment activity. Dept. The people who protect the months’ worth of microfilm. tion for a paltry 3.8 percent acceptance The greatest shot in the arm for nation’s second largest city The effect of William H. rate. So the annual report became a morale came in the form of Dragnet. First never cease to fascinate Parker becoming Chief tool to promote support for the depart- as a radio show in 1950 and later as the the tellers of both fic- of Police was immedi- ment. But the statistics weren’t forgot- iconic television show, Dragnet has its tional drama and those ate on our archival ten. They became their own published own scrapbook in the archive with press trying to tell the story materials. For the report known as the Statistical Digest releases, comic book strips and even of the City through year that Mob City and are also in the archives. real crime reporting written in the same a specific historical opens, 1947, the Meanwhile, the scrapbooks included deadpan style popularized by the show. lens. I just wish the annual report is 164 clippings of crooked cops being arrested The image of the straight-arrow cop media’s production pages of densely and prosecuted for a variety of crimes being the ultimate professional could budgets allowed a bit packed tables, charts in addition to the petty criminals and not have been further from the sad truth more time and money and graphs with organized criminals working in the City. that still existed in the 1950s. The annual for research, since the incredible detail includ- Chief Parker seemed to have given the reports and scrapbooks carried the mes- end results usually show a ing which hours of what PID the ability to include the dark side sage that crime of all kinds continued lack of due diligence. That’s William H. Parker, former days of the week were most of the police force in their efforts. The to increase while manpower decreased too bad, because there are LAPD Chief of Police. likely to have crime take scrapbooks of the 1950s and 1960s give to 1.88 officers per 1000 citizens. The so many resources in Los imagery and photographs in the reports Angeles to choose from, paint a portrait of a city under siege but and that includes the Los fighting back, as in a crusade, with new Angeles City Archives. tools and knowledge. But the next page There is a new crime show on cable revealed a need for more of everything to network TNT called Mob City that aired keep pace with the criminals and a grow- back in December. Taking place in Los LAPD History ing population of citizens. Angeles starting in 1947 with the occa- If Mob City gets renewed, I hope the sional flashbacks to earlier days, the research staff will pay me a visit. There show follows the efforts of a crime unit are enough real-life stories here that dedicated to keeping the mobsters would support the story they are trying including Mickey Cohen at bay and, the in the Archives to tell if they are serious of showing the force hoped, out of the City altogether. post-war evolution of both William H. But the story includes corrupt cops and There’s a trove of the Parker and the LAPD into the local history politicians as you might expect in a story they are today. such as this one. The basic facts are Police Dept.’s history in the somewhat based on a book written by John Buntin called L.A. Noir: The Struggle City Archives. for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City, published in 2009. First disclosure: John Buntin spent some time with us here at the Archives researching his book. Second disclosure: place (Saturday evenings My wife is a television critic who visited accounted for 17 percent the show set and saw some clips last of all crimes committed summer as they were beginning produc- that year. Sundays as a tion. Buntin studied several of our archi- whole were a close sec- val resources for his book; among them ond at 15 percent). There were the LAPD annual reports and the was no public relations LAPD scrapbooks. spin in the report. The annual report is required under That had changed by the City Charter to keep the mayor, City 1950, Parker’s first year on Council and other officials aware of what the job. The Public Relations the department considers necessary to office became known as do the publics’ business. The annual Public Information Division reports represent everything the Police under the new Bureau of Dept. did in the previous year using Administration. Now the statistics covering numbers of crimes role of the annual report reported, arrests made and dollars spent. was to highlight the depart- The scrapbook program was started in ment itself and what role 1947 by the Public Relations office for it played in our public safe- in-house purposes. The books contain ty, quality of life and why - This sample from the 1958 LAPD clippings from most, if not all, of the local it needed more resources This page from a 1950 LAPD annual report summa annual report lists traffic statistics. daily newspapers, highlighting who was rizes the challenges facing the department.