LAPD '53 Quotes

“Crime Wave suggests a reciprocal synchronicity. It was shot in ’52 and released in ’54. It’s got that transitional look that so informs LAPD ’53. The old L.A.’s getting a modernist makeover. Spaceship cars are on the rise, humpbacked cars are on the wane. Buildings are going low, flat and angular. Isolated structures stand out, juxtaposed against vacant lots. Chinatown looks freshly painted and garishly redone. City streets look significantly wider than they do today. That’s because of a scarcity of parked cars and passing motorists. Crime Wave bids the viewer to watch this—L.A.’s on the rise, and what you’re seeing won’t last much longer.”
― James Ellroy, LAPD '53

“211 P.C. Savor that penal code designation. Forget jewel heists. Forget racetrack robberies. Forget armored-car capers. The zenith of 211 is the liquor store job, as performed within the inner city. LAPD Robbery detectives be de biggest and baaaaaadest o’ de bad. Dat’s because dey go after de men with de guns and de penchant to cause pain and death. The law of the jungle carries a binding 211 P.C. clause. It reads like this: If you perpetrate armed robbery, we will kill you. Junkie heister with the shakes, beware! Liquor store proprietors stash pistols and shotguns below the counter, and are inclined to use them. LAPD Robbery dicks may be poised behind false-front refrigerators, armed with Ithaca pumps. 211 P.C. The wages of sin are death!”
― James Ellroy, LAPD '53