Budget Sidelines LAPD Detectives - Investigations Hampered, Officials Say

[Kadie]

Budget Sidelines LAPD Detectives
Investigations Hampered, Officials Say
POSTED: 8:38 am PDT April 12, 2010


LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles police homicide detectives are having to stop working on some cases for days at a time because of the city's budget crisis.

The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that detectives are being told to take days off because of restrictions on overtime and some top department officials said that's hampering investigations.

Detectives in one division had to take off 700 hours in February despite opening five new investigations.

The Police Department typically spend about $100 million in overtime in the past but plans to allocate less than $10 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

Homicide detectives are among the first officers to be sent home in significant numbers because they routinely wrack up overnight and weekend hours while investigating.

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