Establishing an Administrative Citation Enforcement Program...

Last Friday, a special joint meeting of the Public Safety Committee and Personnel & Animal Welfare (PAW) Committee voted to recommend the establishment of an Administrative Citation Enforcement (ACE) pilot program for the City of Los Angeles.

ACE is an alternative method of enforcement for violations of the Los Angeles Municipal Code. An administrative citation - a ticket- would be issued to a violator in place of criminal action or arrest. The present process results in a criminal conviction with penalties that may include probation, fines, and jail. An administrative citation process, on the other hand, can be resolved through the payment of a fine and there is no resulting criminal record, probation or threat of jail.

Under the program, which still needs approval from the Council’s Budget and Finance Committee, citation of $250, $500 and $1,000 for the first, second and third offenses could be issued. An administrative review process would be available should residents choose to appeal.

The ACE program will offer the Los Angeles Police Department and the Department of Animal Services additional tools to help enforce the Los Angeles Municipal Code while reducing impacts to the court system and ensuring due process.

Click here for a full list of citable offenses and the report from the City Attorney’s Office.

Click here to listen to Councilmember Englander’s Interview on KABC’s Mid-Day LA interview.

-Mitchell Englander, Chair of the Public Safety Committee