Roy E. Steckel
Roy Edmund Steckel | |
|---|---|
Los Angeles, California | |
| Police career | |
| Country | United States |
| Department | Los Angeles Police Department |
| Service years | LAPD Chief December 30, 1929 August 9, 1933 |
| Rank |  |
Roy Edmund Steckel (October 17, 1887 – November 14, 1950) was the
Steckel was dismissed as chief by the incoming mayor
Innovations
During Steckel's term as Police Chief, radio dispatching was first implemented.[3] Called "the most modern municipal police radio system in the world", the radio network transmitted from a transmitter located in Elysian Park and utilized eight switchboards at City Hall. Forty-four patrol cars were equipped with radio communications, though two-way broadcasting did not come until 1938. The radio network reduced police response times to less than three minutes.[1]
Under Steckel, L.A.P.D.'s first "air patrol", consisting of ten police officers assigned to a fixed wing squadron, was implemented in 1931.[1]
Controversies
During the first years of the Great Depression, there was a movement in Los Angeles and California to deny Mexican immigrants welfare benefits in a general drive to repatriate them to Mexico, ostensibly to alleviate unemployment. This led to California's Mexican Repatriation Program. In 1931, Chief Steckel claimed, "Most of our crime problems are caused by aliens without respect for the laws of the country."[4]
References
- ^ a b c d "The LAPD: 1926-1950". Los Angeles Police Department. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
- ^ "Shaw for Porter". Time. June 19, 1933. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010.
- ^ "KMA367: An Unofficial History of the Los Angeles Police Department's Communications Division". Retrieved July 26, 2012.
- ^ "Our Disposable Labor Pool". Mexico and America. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
External links
- Los Angeles Police Department Communications Division History
- "Roy E. Steckel". Find a Grave. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
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