Jobs are being lost in Los Angeles.

The film industry is leaving Los Angeles at an alarming rate. Filming has declined steadily from its high in 1996, fueled by the incentives offered by nearly a hundred cities, states and countries that are eager to capture as many television series, feature films and commercials that previously were filmed in the L.A. area.

The departure of so much of this $30-plus billion a year industry is compounding the economic distress of individuals, businesses, companies and the government in Los Angeles.

Our city does have one thing that no other jurisdiction can offer to a film production, however: a cadre of highly experienced retired Los Angeles Police Department officers who know how to assist filming on location while maintaining the rights and access for those who live, work and play here.

The filming support that the Motion Picture Officers provide for production companies truly is a significant factor in their decision to film in Los Angeles.

The Motion Picture Officers have waged a long and difficult campaign to retain their right to continue the 50-year-tradition of working in the motion picture, television and commercial production industry. They have done so in the face of bewildering opposition from those currently in command of the LAPD. The industry itself has rallied behind keeping these officers because they provide a service that the LAPD simply cannot equal.

In the end, Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell just wants the Motion Picture Officers out of the LAPD uniform. He claims this is necessary to "protect the brand." That claim is ludicrous. These are veteran LAPD officers who respect the uniform, have earned the right to wear it, and rely on the authority it vests in them to accomplish their mission serving the filming industry.

Without these officers, film companies say they will have to leave Los Angeles. For example, the Bratton proposal would increase police costs for one current big-budget production - one of the few currently in production in Los Angeles - by at least a quarter of a million dollars!

The Los Angeles Municipal Code is clear in its intent to allow the retired officers to work in uniform wearing their retired officer badges - a view shared by the attorney general. Nonetheless, the chief erroneously asserts that he has the right to dismantle this system and turn retired officers into second-string security guards.

Under his proposal, the retired officers will lose the legal authority to perform the duties they currently perform, and they will lose the cooperation of the public that the uniform affords them.

In an effort to further drive the Motion Picture Officers out of service, the chief revealed on June 16 that he will impose licensing and other unnecessary requirements that will cost these officers hundreds of dollars in additional expenses and further add to the costs of filming. It is clear that the chief's contract services proposal is unworkable and will cost $2 million in start-up money that the city does not have. It adds extra layers of bureaucracy, reduces flexibility for production companies in the hiring of officers and raises serious public safety issues by potentially requiring on-duty officers to take on extra overtime film hours after working their 12-hour duty shifts.

Those of us who are familiar with the needs of the film industry seriously doubt that the LAPD, under the contract services plan, would be able to fill the need for more than 100 motor officers per day while also staffing other venues. They also would not be able to respond quickly and flexibly to last-minute requests for additional officers or to late night changes in call times, which are a common occurrence in location shooting.

Further, the Bratton proposal would put the city of Los Angeles in a potentially disastrous liability situation. If an accident were to occur while using active-duty contract services officers, the city would be liable for damages. Under the current procedures, the retired officers pose no liability issues for the city because they are employed by the producers.

In his presentation to the Police Commission on June 16, McDonnell declared that Bratton's plan would produce "millions of dollars" for the city of Los Angeles. That statement is patently false.

The ugly truth is that the city may lose millions of dollars in revenue due to an increase in productions leaving the city. At no time has there been a good faith effort to discuss and negotiate these issues with the Motion Picture Officers or the Los Angeles Police Protective League. The City Council has the ability to resolve this problem by clarifying the intent of the current law through minor changes to the Municipal Code to remove an ambiguity. We trust the council will act soon now that Bratton has imposed his own arbitrary deadline of 90 days.

Hal DeJong is president of the Motion Picture Officers Association Inc.