By Orith Goldberg Staff Writer Problems with the city's new computer purchasing have gotten so bad that LAPD officers have to buy their own investigative materials, workers are sitting idle, and officials say they're worried they lack enough supplies to deal with emergencies. The problems have mounted sharply since the Daily News reported May 10 that glitches in the new system were causing vendors to go unpaid, miscalculating sales taxes and failing to properly track supplies. On Friday, LAPD and other city officials characterized the problems as much more severe than previously acknowledged and they cited such examples as police going without crime scene tape, Polaroid film, evidence bottles and citation books, and transportation workers lacking traffic light lamps and red paint.
Officers are running out of central supplies out there, vendors are upset, it's a mess.
Officials said officers were careful about leaving any supplies lying around because they would be snatched up by others and that traffic officers were having to flag down California Highway Patrol officers to get crash investigation forms. The problems plague other departments as well. But so far, it's been miserable, Bergmann said. Besides supply shortages, some departments have been forced to cut work assignments and delay projects, creating backlogs and leaving some workers idle. In some cases, suppliers have cut the city off because of a lack of payment, several city employees and a city report say.