Audit Finds LAPD Hasn't Been Policing Own Spending Very Well
An report by the Los Angeles Police Department's Internal Audits and Inspections Division (PDF) found that the department has been looser with spending than a sailor on payday. Among the audit's findings, after looking at more than 100 expenditures for the 2007/2008 fiscal year:
One in ten purchases did not have proper approvals; more than 80 percent of purchases had not been open to competitive bidders, as required; more than half of the purchases examined -- worth $2.6 million -- did not come with receipts or other verification that the goods were actually delivered; a handful of divisions had the ability to order and receive goods, contrary to city policy. (To prevent fraud, the city requires that separate divisions order and receive goods).
"Policies were inconsistently followed, loosely followed and, in one instance, bypassed altogether," states an audit summary. " ... The purchasing process and controls, which handles approximately $60 million in department purchases annually, must be improved, formalized, and enforced."
The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners will discuss the audit at a meeting Tuesday.
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