Proposed PI Ban Advances

L.A. police panel backs rule sought in light of the Pellicano case.

By Peter Y. Hong
Times Staff Writer

May 24, 2006

The civilian board overseeing the LAPD approved a proposal Tuesday to ban officers from moonlighting as private investigators.

Department officials must now confer with union representatives to discuss the proposal before it is returned to the commission for final approval.

Police Commission President John Mack said a ban is a top priority. "The bottom line is that we want to take some action within a reasonable time," he said.

Many police departments prohibit officers from working as private investigators because of potential conflicts with their police work.

The Los Angeles Police Department has allowed the practice, but it came under scrutiny with the indictment of a former officer in the ongoing prosecution of Anthony Pellicano, the so-called private investigator to the stars.

Pellicano allegedly paid Mark Arneson, then an LAPD detective with his own private investigation business, to illegally obtain information from police databases.

Police Chief William J. Bratton said in February that few officers worked as private investigators and that the department carefully managed such work. Later reviews by the department and The Times found, however, that the LAPD lacked hard numbers on how many of its officers were also private investigators.

The department reported to the commission that 16 sworn officers have LAPD permits to work as private investigators and that 105 officers have state private investigator's licenses.