LAPD cadets arrested after stealing patrol cars, police say

[EC]

 (CNN)The Los Angeles Police Department arrested and charged three of its own juvenile cadets after they stole and crashed three police vehicles, authorities said.
The three teens, two males ages 15 and 17, and a 16-year-old female, were all members of the LAPD cadet program, Police Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday.

They were not identified because they are minors.
In addition to the three vehicles, police also recovered two Tasers, two police radios and a bulletproof vest, he said.
The theft went undetected until Wednesday, when a watch commander doing daily inventory noticed two black-and-white LAPD patrol vehicles missing from their fleet.
The investigation into finding the vehicles promptly focused on the female cadet who had been assigned to the location where the vehicles went missing, Beck said.

More: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/17/us/lapd-cadets-stole-patrol-cars-trnd/index.html

[Suppressed]

A shame.

These programs are often used to boost the numbers of minorities who will apply to the force, by targeting minority youth to get a head start.  Let's hope these weren't minority cadets!

[bigheadfred]

A shame.

These programs are often used to boost the numbers of minorities who will apply to the force, by targeting minority youth to get a head start.  Let's hope these weren't minority cadets!

A few hours later, the missing patrol cars were spotted side-by-side on the streets of South Los Angeles.

What is the demographics of South Los Angeles?

In the 2010 census, the area of South Los Angeles had a population of about 236,000. Roughly 56% of the residents were Hispanic or Latino, nearly 33% were African American.