Charlie Beck Can Make Your Parking Tickets Go Away

The Chief of the LAPD Tells All, Or At Least Some, In the Green Room

Charlie Beck has been the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department since November 2009, when he succeeded Bill Bratton. He has been with the LAPD since the late 1970s, and his father, George Beck, was also a member of the force, retiring as deputy chief in 1980. Before participating in a panel discussion of the legacy of James Q. Wilson, Chief Beck paid a visit to the Zócalo green room to answer a few questions.

Q:

Do you encounter much traffic?


A:

Almost none.


Q:

What three people in law enforcement, living or dead, do you most admire?


A:

Bill Bratton, Bill Parker, and my dad, George Beck.


Q:

What’s the most realistic fictional cop show on television?


A:

The most currently realistic is Southland.


Q:

Can you make any of my parking tickets go away?


A:

I can—if you pay them.


Q:

What did you have for breakfast this morning?


A:

Yogurt.


Q:

Of what superstitions, if any, are you guilty?


A:

When I get a new motorcycle helmet I immediately drop it on the ground before wearing it.


Q:

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever suffered in motocross?


A:

I’ve had seven screws and three plates in my ankle, and I got a number of screws and plates in one of my shoulders. I broke my back. Not all at the same time. That’s before I started dropping the helmet. Dropping the helmet solved the problem.


Q:

How many more officers would you need on the force to cut violent crime in half in Los Angeles?


A:

I don’t know if I could cut crime in half no matter how many officers I had. To do significantly better than we’re doing now, another 2,500, which would make us the same size as Chicago PD, except with three times the area and a million more people.


Q:

What’s the longest time you’ve been out of communication with the office since taking your job?


A:

I think I have gone away for three or four days at a time and not talked to the office. But that’s always scheduled vacation. Normally, I talk to the office all the time.


Q:

What’s the worst movie you’ve seen this year?


A:

It was a horse movie. My wife made me see it. Um—oh, War Horse. Oh, it was awful.