Cash crisis stops murder hunts

A budget crisis in the city's is forcing them to stop work for days by taking time off in lieu of payment and some detectives said they had to delay interviewing witnesses.

"Could this cause us to not solve a case? Sure," said Detective Chris Barling, who oversees one homicide unit.

The 11 detectives in that squad had to take off 700 hours in February despite opening five new investigations.

Nine of 14 killings reported in the area this year are unsolved.

"That is horrible compared to our typical rates," said Detective Sal LaBarbera, division supervisor. "A few of them would likely already be solved, if I could just let my guys loose to work."

The worst economic decline since the Depression, a steep drop in tax revenue and burgeoning expenses have led to the city's dire financial situation. The city has a $212m budget deficit that some have estimated could grow to $1bn in four years without drastic cuts.

The LA police department typically spends about $100m a year in overtime but plans to allocate less than $10m to cover such costs this financial year.

Murder detectives are among the first officers to be sent home in significant numbers because they routinely incur overnight and weekend hours. Typically, a third of detectives' pay comes from overtime.

Police Chief Charlie Beck said the limits were painful, adding: "It has a serious impact on our ability to respond to some of the large, violent incidents we've been experiencing lately".

Last year, LAPD officers took off about 17,000 hours a month to compensate for some of the overtime they worked, but the figure jumped to nearly 60,000 hours in March, according to department figures.

That lost work time was the equivalent of removing 290 officers from duty.