COMPLY NOW, DRUG COPS

OK, we aren't big fans of needless paperwork and don't care to share
too much information about our personal finances. But, come on, who
does the police union expect to fall for their empty threats that 600
well-paid drug cops will bail from their jobs if forced to comply
with new financial disclosure rules aimed at heading off a repeat of
the Rampart scandal?

In a radio commercial, Tim Sands, president of the Los Angeles Police
Protective League, says drug cops face possible "identity theft" if
they must turn over detailed tax returns, bank account information
and other details of their financial holdings every two years. The
new rules, approved last month by the police commission, are called
for in the ongoing federal consent decree, which gave federal judge
Gary Feess the power to oversee how the department is run in the
aftermath of the Rampart scandal that rocked the department a decade ago.

Feess has yet to sign off on the model backed by the commission, but
it's high time to call the police union's bluff and make the drug
detectives, who handle thousands of dollars of money and drugs every
year, abide by these basic accounting rules. We want only the
cleverest cops to get away with hiding a mint of cash in offshore
accounts. These proposed rules will deter most pedestrian schemes,
or, at least, hamper the likes of another Rafael Perez from taking
down the department.

And don't get us wrong. We respect and adore the majority of
thousands of men and women on the force. These guidelines are not
meant to insult them, but are a small step to ensure sound and
ethical behavior by the less morally inclined.

While we're at it, can we come to some agreement on the proper use of
the term "identity theft?" It's used far too often for what are more
black-and-white credit card thefts. Let's reserve it for, say, Roger
Mahony, the corrupt pedophile protector masquerading as a god-fearing
cardinal or for someone who fully takes on the identity of another
person. Those are serious cases. But stealing credit information
online or tapping into someone's bank account amounts to
old-fashioned electronic fraud. Being a victim of such systemic crime
is bad news enough and can reach damages in the thousands of dollars.
But no need to exaggerate things by trying to claim an online thief
has stolen anything but your dough.

So Mr. Sands, calm down, and prepare to fill out some meddlesome reports.