The LAPD under former chief William Bratton mismanaged and mishandled millions of dollars of taxpayer money - violating city policies in buying supplies and hiring vendors, according to an internal department audit.Covering the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the audit revealed serious bungling in the department's purchasing process, which accounts for $60 million in spending annually, KNX News Radio reported Monday.
Although the audit was completed in late summer, as Bratton prepared to leave amid praise for reducing the city's crime rate, it was not made public until this week, KNX reported.
While it wasn't her audit, City Controller Wendy Greuel - whose office routinely audits city operations and departments - said its findings raised serious questions.
"The potential waste of taxpayer funds that this audit uncovered is incredibly serious, particularly with the city facing such a large budget deficit," Greuel said in a statement.
The audit was scheduled to be presented today to the Police Commission, the civilian panel that oversees the LAPD.
"(The audit) showed some very inadequate business practices, some of which have already been corrected," said Police Commissioner Alan J. Skobin, a San Fernando Valley resident.
"My gut sense is that it's about poor business practices and not dishonesty."
Among the findings:
LAPD administrators failed to solicit bids from three competitors on 80 percent of large purchases, in violation of city rules for getting the best deal. In some 56 percent of audited transactions totalling $2.6 million, LAPD employees could not produce receipts.
Ten percent of LAPD purchases failed to go through the multiple levels of approval required to assure they are legitimate.
ponsibility," Zine said. "The question is who in the command structure was in charge.
"That's a lot of money, not to be taken lightly, and we're going to get to the bottom of who's responsible and how do we make sure it doesn't happen again."
Anti-fraud policies were bypassed when several LAPD divisions bought and received goods and services in violation of requirements that separate offices place orders and receive goods.
Recently named LAPD Chief Charlie Beck did not release an immediate response to the audit.
Bratton, who left the LAPD to take a position with the private international security firm called Altegrity, consulting on security for police departments worldwide, did not return a call seeking comment.
The LAPD's internal audit follows one conducted in early 2007 of the department's Fiscal Operations Division by former City Controller Laura Chick.
The audit revealed "an LAPD whose business functions are stuck in the 1950s."
According to a summary of that report, Chick's audit recommended a complete overhaul of the Fiscal Operations division "in organizational structure, technology, internal controls and accountability," as well as creating an LAPD chief financial officer.
Greuel said she would work with Beck to correct the current problems.
"This audit follows up on the controller's 2007 audit of the LAPD's fiscal operations.
"I'm pleased to see the LAPD following up on some of the audit's findings, and I will work with new Chief Beck to ensure that all of the audit's recommendations are implemented as soon as possible."
City Councilman Dennis Zine, a former police officer, said he plans to ask department officials to explain how and why rules were not followed and what steps are being taken to correct the accounting problems.
"Sixty million dollars is a whole lot of money, and the (LAPD) is $80 million over their budget," Zine said. "And $60 million of that showed they didn't have receipts and lax monitoring and not following established protocol."
Zine and other council members are trying to close a nearly $100 million gap in the city's current-year budget and are expecting a $400 million deficit next year.
According to the audit, it was not until this September that LAPD employees were reminded of city policies that had been repeatedly violated or ignored.
Auditors examined 102 transactions, according to the report which warned that the violations raise "the potential for inaccurate or unauthorized billings."
"Policies were inconsistently followed, loosely followed and, in one instance, bypassed altogether," auditors wrote in a summary. "The purchasing process and controls, which handles approximately $60 million in department purchases annually, must be improved, formalized, and enforced."
The 2007-2008 fiscal year was the year for which the latest LAPD purchasing process figures were available.
Beck, who succeeded Bratton as chief last month, has made changes in the command staff, and Zine said he did not know if the people responsible for the mishandling and mismanagement in the purchasing process were still in charge.
"I don't know if it tarnishes (Bratton's) legacy, (but) it was his responsibility."
