LAPD - Protect And Serve?:

This World (BBC2)

AMERICAN police series have tended to make us immune to the lawlessness and violence on the streets. It takes a powerful documentary like this to remind us that it's a real problem.

One record that Los Angeles didn't want was the title of murder capital of America. In 2002, there were 658 murders as well as rising violence, as the community was caught in the middle between the police and the gangs.

The appointment of a new police chief, William J Bratton, that year gave cause for hope. His job was to reduce crime and improve relations between police and public. He seemed an ideal candidate, coming from New York City where he'd made his name by cleaning up the town.

An early scene in which police officers clashed with gang members in the Southeast division illustrated just how dangerous it all was. One of those stopped wanted to know when the programme was going out. He never lived to see it - he was shot dead by a gang.

Two-thirds of the murder victims fall into the 15 to 25 age group, making this the most dangerous place in the US to be a young man or police officer.

It's difficult to see a way out. The more the police intervene, the more the community distrusts them. The black community of Southeast LA see the police as an occupying army in the aftermath of the Rodney King beating.

It was no surprise that confidence in the police was lacking following the revelations in 1995 of officers framing people, stealing drugs and money, and shooting those who stood in their way. Over 100 criminal convictions were overturned, and some matters are still being investigated.

Bratton's tenure didn't begin well. Soon after he started, 19 people died in a single weekend.

Often the police are powerless to do anything but stop and search on the slightest pretext. One 14-year-old youth they question admits he's already served nine years for murder, giving you some idea of what the authorities are up against. Critics of the police argue that always stopping people does little to help race relations.

The new police chief did manage to raise morale, and began winning support from the community, the majority of whom are law-abiding citizens. But if they call the police, they risk the wrath of the gangs as shown when a neighbour suspected of calling the cops was stabbed. It's a vicious circle.

Bratton was also vocal about the need for government to come up with a plan to get teenagers off the streets. He wanted more money for more policemen to supplement the overstretched LAPD. The city council turned down his application.

He's unlikely to get the extra cash, as the figures are improving. Murders are down and LA has lost its murder capital title. But the Southeast division is still plagued by killings, up 18 per cent by the end of 2003.

Often, it's the innocent who are caught in the crossfire - a six-year-old shot in the head during a drive-by shooting, and a 68-year-old shot walking with his grandchildren. Sad to say but a solution doesn't seem much nearer.