Youtube

Go to The Main Page Add Youtube to favorite!

Los Angeles Police Department 

"LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For LAPD, see LAPD (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Los Angeles General Services Police.
Los Angeles Police Department
Abbreviation LAPD
Seal of the Los Angeles Police Department
Badge of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Motto "To protect and to serve"
Agency Overview
Formed 1869
Employees 13,036
Legal personality Governmental agency
Jurisdictional Structure
Divisional agency
(Operations jurisdiction)		 City of Los Angeles in the State of California , United States
Size 1,230 km²
Population 3.8 million
Legal jurisdiction City of Los Angeles
Governing body Los Angeles City Council
General nature
  • Local civilian agency
Operational Structure
Overviewed by Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners
Headquarters Parker Center
Officers 9,733
Unsworn members 3,303
Commissioners responsible
  • Anthony Pacheco, President
  • John Mack, Vice-President
  • Andrea Ordin
  • Robert M. Saltzman
  • Alan J. Skobin
Agency executive William J. Bratton, Chief of Police
Divisions
19
Bureaus
6
Facilities
Areas
19
Police BoatPolice Boats 2
Helicopters 26
Planes 3
Website
http://www.lapdonline.org/

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is the police department of the City of Los Angeles, California. With over 9,600 sworn officers and 3,000 non-sworn staff, covering an area of 473 square miles (1,230 km²) with a population of more than 3.8 million people, it is the fifth largest law enforcement agency in the United States (behind the New York City Police Department, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Chicago Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation). The department has been heavily fictionalized in numerous movies and television shows throughout its history. It has also been involved in a number of controversies, mostly racial incidents, perhaps most notably the infamous Rodney King incident and the subsequent 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Contents

Resources, mobility and technology

Main article: Los Angeles Police Department resources
An LAPD Bell 206 JetRanger
An LAPD Bell 206 JetRanger

The LAPD has vast resources, including the third largest civilian air force in the country[1]. Only the Civil Air Patrol and Office of CBP Air & Marine command a larger force. The Los Angeles Police Air Support Division resources include 17 helicopters ranging from 4 Bell 206 Jet Rangers to 12 Eurocopter AS350-B2 AStars, and 1 Bell UH-1 Huey (No longer in service, due to maintenance issues). The LAPD also has 1 Beechcraft Kingair A200 and 1 unspecified and undenied drone.[2]

Main Airship missions are flown out of downtown's Piper Tech center at the Hooper Heliport, located outside of Union Station. The LAPD also houses air units at Van Nuys airport.[3]

Work environment

The LAPD has a three-day 12-hour and 4 day-10 hour work week schedule. The department have over 250 types of job assignments, and each officer is eligible for such assignments after two years on patrol. LAPD patrol officers almost always work with a partner, unlike suburban departments surrounding Los Angeles, in which many departments deploy officers in one-officer units. Other departments use single-officer patrol cars to maximize police presence, allowing a smaller number of officers to patrol a larger area, while the LAPD prefers to err on the side of caution.citation needed

The department's training division has three facilities throughout the city, including Elysian Park, Ahmanson Recruit Training Center (Westchester), and the Edward Davis Training Center (Granada Hills).

Pay and benefits, however, are a plus to new LAPD officers, whom are among some of the highest-paid police officers in the country. As of Spring 2007, new recruits could earn money through sign on bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. Sign on bonuses are paid 1/2 after graduation from the academy, and 1/2 after completion of probation. Also, $2,000 could be added for out of town sign ons for housing arrangements.

Limitations

The Los Angeles Police Department has long suffered from chronic underfunding and under-staffing.[4]. In contrast to most large cities in the United States, Los Angeles has historically had one of the lowest ratios of police personnel to population served.[4] The present Department Chief, William J. Bratton, has made enlarging the force one of his top priorities (Bratton has been quoted as saying, "You give me 4,000 more officers and I'll give you the safest city in the world.")[5]. The LAPD's own web site illustrates the challenges faced by the department As a point of comparison, New York City boasts one NYPD officer for every 228 residents.[4] Resulting disadvantages of such a large police force is that advancement within the NYPD is difficult and salary and benefits are severely limited. As of the Spring of 2008, the LAPD was offering as much as $54,475-58,881 to new recruits. The NYPD offers new recruits substantially lower salaries compared to the LAPD, usually ranging from $30,000-$40,000. Further points of comparison include Chicago, which has a ratio of one officer per 216 citizens and Philadelphia, whose officer per citizen ratio is 1 to 219.[4] By contrast, the Los Angeles Police Department protects its city with only one officer for every 426 residents.[4] For Los Angeles to have the same ratio of officers as New York City, the LAPD would need to add nearly 17,000 officers. As of the spring of 2007, the Department is in the middle of a massive recruiting effort, looking to hire an additional 1,500 police officers. They have used a high starting salary ($50,000+) as an incentive. One problem with such a drive is the lack of qualified candidates. Stringent hiring practices instituted by top LAPD brass (following several accusations of corrupt police officers, including the Rampart scandal) has led to fewer than 1 in 10 initial applicants actually being hired. Also, the city has four specialized police agencies which are not affiliated with the LAPD: Los Angeles Port Police, Los Angeles Airport Police, Los Angeles General Services Police, and the Los Angeles School Police Department.

Force composition

During the Parker-Davis-Gates period, the LAPD was overwhelmingly white, and much of it lived outside of the city. In 1980, only 20% of the force was minority officers.citation needed Simi Valley, the Ventura County suburb that later became infamous as the site of the state trial that immediately preceded the 1992 Los Angeles riots, has long been home to a particularly large concentration of LAPD officers, almost all of them white. A 1994 ACLU study of officer's home zip codes, concluded that over 80% of police officers lived outside city boundaries.[6]

Hiring quotas began to change this during the 1980s, but it was not until the Christopher Commission reforms that substantial numbers of black, Hispanic, and Asian officers began to join the force. Minority officers can be found in both rank-and-file and leadership positions in virtually all precincts, and the LAPD is starting to reflect the general population. As of 2002, 13.5% of the LAPD was black, 34.2% was Latino, and 6.9% was Asian or Pacific Islander.citation needed In February 2008, the number of Hispanic police officers surpassed the number of white officers.citation needed

The LAPD hired the first female police officer in the United States in 1910, Ms Alice Stebbins Wells.[7] Since then, women have been a small, but growing part of the force. Up through the early 1970s, women were classified as "policewomen" on the LAPD. Through the 1950s, their duties generally consisted as working as matrons in the jail system, or dealing with troubled youths working in detective assignments. Rarely did they work any type of field assignment and they were not allowed to promote above the rank of sergeant. However, a lawsuit (Fanchon Blake) by a policewoman from that period instituted court ordered mandates that the Department begin actively hiring and promoting women police officers in its ranks. The Department eliminated the rank of "Policeman" from new hires at that time along with the rank of "Policewoman." Anyone already in those positions were grandfathered in, but any new hires were classified instead as "Police Officers", which continues to this day.

In 2002, women made up 18.9% of the force. Women have made significant strides within the ranks of the Department since the days of the Fanchon Blake lawsuit. The highest ranking woman on the Department today is Assistant Chief Sharon Papa, who came to the LAPD as a commander from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Transit Police Department in 1997.[8] Chief Papa was the last Chief of Police from the MTA, and is now in charge of the Office of Support Services. [9]

The LAPD also hired the first two known black police officers in the United States. In 1886, the Department hired its first two African-American officers, Robert William Stewart and Roy Green. [10]

According to the US Department of Justice, the LAPD was 82% male in 2000. Forty-six percent of the department was white, 33% of the department was Hispanic/Latino, 14% was African-American, and 7% was Asian.[11]

Organization

Parker Center - LAPD's Headquarters
Parker Center - LAPD's Headquarters

The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners is a five-member body of appointed officials which oversees the LAPD.[12] The board is responsible for setting policies for the department and overseeing the LAPD's overall management and operations. The chief of police reports to the board, but the rest of the department reports to the chief.[13] The headquarters for the LAPD is the Parker Center, named after former chief William Parker. A new headquarters building is currently being constructed.[14]

Office of Operations

The majority of the LAPD's 9800 officers are located within the Office of Operations, located in the Parker Center.[15] An assistant chief commands the office, and reports directly to the chief of police. The LAPD is composed of 19 stations, known officially as "Areas" but also commonly referred to as "Divisions".[16] The 19 stations are then grouped geographically into four command areas, each known as a "Bureau".[16] There are two additional bureaus, the Detective Bureau and the Special Operations Bureau. Two more areas, "Olympic" and "Northwest", will be added in 2008.

Detective Bureau

The detective bureau, which now reports directly to the Chief of Police, is responsible for investigating reported crimes.[17] It consists of:[18]

  • COMPSTAT
  • Investigative Analysis Section
  • Tactical Technology Unit
  • Robbery-Homicide Division
  • Commercial Crimes Division
  • Detective Support and Vice Division
  • Juvenile Division
  • Narcotics Division
  • Gang and Operations Support Division
  • Real-Time Analysis and Critical Response Division

COMPSTAT Unit

See also: COMPSTAT

The computer statistics unit (COMPSTAT), reports directly to the Chief of Detectives. The COMPSTAT unit maintains statistical crime data and hold weekly meetings with the Chief of Police to review the data. COMPSTAT is the LAPD's version of the NYPD CompStat unit, which was originally developed in 1994 by current LAPD Chief William Bratton, while he was still the NYPD Police Commissioner.[19] When Bratton became chief of the LAPD in 2002, he immediately implemented the CompStat system in the LAPD.[20]

Special Operations Bureau

The Special Operations Bureau provides the Los Angeles Police Department specialized tactical resources in support of operations during daily field activities, unusual occurrences, and especially during serious disturbances and elevated terrorism threat conditions.[21]

Structure of the Special Operations Bureau

Central Bureau

Central Facilities Building
Central Facilities Building

The Central Bureau is responsible for downtown Los Angeles and East Los Angeles[22], and is the most densely populated of the four patrol bureaus.[22] It consists of five patrol divisions and a traffic division, which handles traffic-related duties such as accident investigation and the issuing of citations/tickets.[23]

Central Division

The Central Area (#1) station serves the vast majority of downtown Los Angeles, including Los Angeles City Hall, the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Staples Center, the Fashion District, and the Financial District.[24]

Hollenbeck Division

The Hollenbeck Area (#4) community police station serves the easternmost portions of the city of Los Angeles, including the communities of Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, and El Sereno.[25]

Newton Division

The Newton Area (#13) serves part of downtown Los Angeles, including part of the Fashion District. [26]

Northeast Division

The Northeast Area (#11) is responsible for parts of central Los Angeles including Elysian Park (Dodger Stadium) and Silver Lake, along with the easternmost parts of Los Feliz and Hollywood.[27]

Rampart Division
Main article: LAPD Rampart Division
See also: Rampart scandal

The Rampart Area (#2) serves regions to the west and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles including Echo Park, Pico-Union and Westlake, all together designated as the Rampart Division's patrol area.[28]

South Bureau

The South Bureau oversees South Los Angeles with the exception of Inglewood[29] and Compton, which are both separate cities that maintain their own law enforcement agencies (in Compton's case, a contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department).[30] The South Bureau consists of four patrol divisions and a traffic division, which handles traffic-related duties such as accident investigation and the issuing of citations/tickets.[31]

77th Street Division

The 77th Street Area (#12) serves a portion of South Los Angeles, roughly in an area south of Vernon Avenue, west of the Harbor Freeway, north of Manchester Avenue and points west to the city limits, including the Crenshaw region. A section of South Central Los Angeles that borders Florence, Central and Manchester Avenues to the Harbor Freeway is also part of this division. [32]

Harbor Division

The Harbor Area (#5) serves all of San Pedro and the Harbor Gateway annex south of Artesia Boulevard. This division often works with the Port of Los Angeles Police.[33]

Southeast Division

The Southeast Area (#18), like the 77th Street Division, patrols a part of South Central Los Angeles.[34] Their area extends to the city limits north of Artesia Boulevard, includes Watts, and areas south of Manchester Avenue.[35]

Southwest Division

The Southwest Area (#3) serves all of the city limits south of the Santa Monica Freeway, west of the Harbor Freeway, south of Vernon Avenue, and east of the Culver City/Lennox/Baldwin Hills area.[36] This section also includes the University of Southern California and Exposition Park.[37]

Valley Bureau

The Valley Bureau is the largest of the four patrol bureaus in terms of size (about 221 square miles)[38], and oversees operations within the San Fernando Valley.[38] It consists of seven patrol divisions and a traffic division, which handles traffic-related duties such as accident investigation and the issuing of citations/tickets.[39]

Mission Division

The Mission Area (#19) community police station began operations in May 2005. This was the first new station to be created in more than a quarter of a century. The Mission Area covers the eastern half of the old Devonshire and the western half of the Foothill Areas in the San Fernando Valley.[40]

Devonshire Division

The Devonshire Area (#17) is responsible for parts of the San Fernando Valley, including parts of Northridge[41]

Foothill Division

The Foothill Area (#16) patrols parts of the San Fernando Valley, inclding the Sun Valley region.[42]

North Hollywood Division
See also: North Hollywood shootout

The North Hollywood Area (#15) is responsible for Studio City and the North Hollywood region.[43]

Van Nuys Division

The Van Nuys Area (#9) serves the Van Nuys district.[44]

West Valley Division

The West Valley Area (#10) is responsible for parts of the San Fernando Valley, including parts of Northridge and Reseda, where it is based.[45]

Nortwest Division

The Northwest Area (#21) community police station is currently under construction and is due to be operational by October 2008.[46]

West Bureau

The West Bureau's operations cover most of the well-known areas of Los Angeles, including Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills area, the UCLA campus and Venice.[47] This does not include Beverly Hills[48] and Santa Monica,[49] which are separate from Los Angeles and maintain their own law enforcement agencies. The West Bureau consists of five patrol divisions and a traffic division, which handles traffic-related duties such as accident investigation and the issuing of citations/tickets.[50]

Hollywood Division

The Hollywood Area (#6) community police station serves the Hollywood region, including the Hollywood Hills, Hollywood Boulevard and the Sunset Strip.[51]

Wilshire Division

The Wilshire Area (#7) community police station serves the Mid-Wilshire "Miracle Mile" region, including Koreatown, Mid-City, Carthay, and the Fairfax District.[52]

Pacific Division

The Pacific Area (#14) community police station serves the southern portion of West Los Angeles, including Venice Beach, Venice and Playa del Rey. Some officers assigned to the Pacific Division are commonly assigned to work with the Los Angeles Airport Police at the Los Angeles International Airport.[53]

West Los Angeles Division

The West Los Angeles Area (#8) community police station serves the northern portion of the West Side.[54] Communities within its service area include Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Westwood, West Los Angeles and Cheviot Hills. UCLA and Twentieth Century Fox are both located here.[55]

Mid-City Division

The Mid-City (Olympic) Area (#20) community police station is currently under construction and is due to be operational by November 2008.[46]

Structure

Central Bureau South Bureau Valley Bureau West Bureau
Central Area 77th Street Area Devonshire Area Hollywood Area
Hollenbeck Area Harbor Area Foothill Area Pacific Area
Newton Area Southeast Area Mission Area West Los Angeles Area
Northeast Area Southwest Area North Hollywood Area Wilshire Area
Rampart Area Van Nuys Area
West Valley Area

Organizational notes

The Real-Time Analysis & Critical Response Division began operations in March 2006. It is composed of the Department Operations Section, which includes the Department Operations Center Unit, Department Operations Support Unit and the Incident Command Post Unit; Detective Support Section and the Crime Analysis Section.

History

Main article: History of the Los Angeles Police Department

The first specific Los Angeles police force was founded in 1853 as the Los Angeles Rangers, a volunteer force that assisted the existing County forces. The Rangers were soon succeeded by the Los Angeles City Guards, another volunteer group. Neither force was particularly efficient and Los Angeles became known for its violence, gambling and "vice".

LAPD also had the first SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team in America. Officer John Nelson and inspector Daryl Gates created the program in 1965 to deal with threats from organized factions such as the Black Panther Party and other radical groups operating during that time. LAPD's SWAT team is considered by many in the business to be the premier unit of its kind.

Riots of 1992

Main article: Los Angeles riots of 1992

The riots of 1992 began after four LAPD officers were acquitted of charges that they used excessive force when arresting Rodney King. Following the riots, the Christopher Commission was formed in July 1991. The attorney Warren Christopher investigated the LAPD's hiring practices, as well as their handling of excessive force complaints.

Rampart scandal and consent decree

Main article: Rampart scandal
See also: consent decree

Following the Rampart Division C.R.A.S.H. scandal of the late 1990s - early 2000s, the United States Department of Justice entered into a consent decree with the LAPD regarding numerous civil rights violations.[56] Mayor Richard J. Riordan and the Los Angeles city council agreed to the terms of the decree on November 2, 2000. The federal judge formally entered the decree into law on June 15, 2001. The consent decree is legally binding and will last until at least 2009.[57] However, if any judge finds the LAPD in violation of the decree, federal oversight of the LAPD could be extended beyond this current deadline.

The Rampart scandal mainly surrounded the unethical actions of members of the LAPD's anti-gang unit, Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH). By 2001, the resulting investigations would lead to more than 75 officers being investigated or charged and over 100 crinimal cases being overturned due to perjury or other forms of misconduct

The DOJ-LAPD Consent Decree places emphasis on the following nine major areas:

  • Management and supervisory measures to promote Civil Rights Integrity
  • Critical incident procedures, documentation, investigation and review
  • Management of Gang Units
  • Management of Confidential Informants
  • Program development for response to persons with mental illness
  • Training
  • Integrity Audits
  • Operations of the Police Commission and Inspector General
  • Community outreach and public information

The Consent Decree includes several recommendations from the Rampart Board of Inquiry, and several Consent Decree provisions mandate the Department to continue existing policies. Some of the more complex or major provisions in the Decree call for the following:

  • Development of a Risk Management System
  • Creation of a new division to investigate all Uses of Force formerly investigated by Robbery Homicide Division and Detective Headquarters Division
  • Creation of a new division to conduct audits Department-wide
  • Creation of a Field Data Capture System to track the race, ethnicity or national origin of the motorists and pedestrians stopped by the Department
  • Creation of an Ethics Enforcement Section within the Internal Affairs Group
  • Transfer of investigative authority to IAG of all serious personnel complaint investigations
  • A nationwide study by an independent consultant of law enforcement agencies’ protocols for dealing with the mentally ill. The study will serve as the Department’s foundation for refining its own system.
  • A study by an independent consultant of the Department’s training programs
  • Creation of an informant manual and database

There are several stakeholders in the LAPD Consent Decree compliance process. At the Federal level, stakeholders include:

As the Consent Decree is a binding agreement between the City and the DOJ, the following City entities are key stakeholders:

  • Office of the Mayor
  • City Council
  • Office of the City Attorney
  • Office of the Chief Legislative Analyst
  • Office of Administrative and Research Services
  • The Los Angeles Police Department, including the Board of Police Commissioners and the Inspector General

The Consent Decree Bureau is the LAPD bureau charged with overseeing this process. Since 2003, The Commanding Officer of the Consent Decree Bureau, a civilian appointed by the Chief of Police, is Police Administrator Gerald L. Chaleff.[58]

Other controversies

Other controversies include former detective Mark Fuhrman's role in the Nicole Simpson/Ron Goldman murder investigation (1994), the controversy surrounding the arrest of Stanley Miller (2004), the Rampart Scandal-related Javier Ovando scandal, and the LAPD's reaction to illegal immigrant rallies (2007). In 1962, the controversial LAPD shooting of 7 unarmed members of the Nation of Islam resulted in the death of Ronald Stokes.[59] In 1972, Elmer Pratt was framed by members of both the LAPD and FBI, and his conviction was overturned on appeal on February 18, 1999.[60] In 1988, baseball sportscaster and retired Hall of Fame player Joe Morgan was detained at Los Angeles International Airport by LAPD and L.A. Airport Police officers after falsely being accused as a drug dealer. [61] He was released when the LAPD realized their mistake in identity. Morgan subsequently filed a civil suit against both the LAPD and the city after he was denied the opportunity to file a formal complaint against the LAPD. The lawsuit would eventually be settled in 1993 and Morgan was awarded $800,000 by the Los Angeles City Council.[61]

Rank structure and insignia

Rank insignia for Lieutenant I through Chief is worn on the collars of the shirt and the shoulders of the jacket. Rank insignia for Police Officers/Detectives and Sergeant I and II is worn on the upper sleeves.

Tenured officers will have silver-gray hash-marks on the lower left side of their long-sleeved shirts. Each mark represents five years of service.

Title Insignia
Chief
Assistant Chief - Deputy Chief II
Deputy Chief - Deputy Chief I
Commander
Captain I/Captain II/Captain III
Lieutenant I/Lieutenant II
Detective III
Sergeant II
Detective II
Sergeant I
Detective I
Police Officer III+1/Senior Lead Officer
Police Officer III
Police Officer II
Police Officer I

Chiefs of Police

Further information: List of Los Angeles Police Department Chiefs of Police

Since 1876, there have been 53 appointed chiefs of the Los Angeles Police Department. William H. Parker was the longest serving police chief in Los Angeles Police Department history, serving for 16 years as chief.[62]

Service weapons

LAPD patrol officers were all armed with Beretta 92s until chief William Bratton, the former chief of NYPD, came into office in 2002. He allowed his officers to choose between the Berettas and the .40 S&W Glock 22s. Some plain clothes detectives carry revolvers as their service weapons and some other special units are allowed to carry .45 Glock 21s. The LAPD SWAT team decided to go with the Kimber Custom II TLE in 2002, renaming it the Kimbers LAPD SWAT Custom II. Before that, LAPD SWAT carried 1911 and Colt Government pistols. These weapons are equipped with special modifications by the LAPD armory and all the 1911 handguns carried by LAPD SWAT are mounted with Surefire 610R flashlights.

Fallen officers

Main article: List of Los Angeles Police Department officers killed in the line of duty

Since the establishment of the Los Angeles Police Department, 199 officers have died in the line of duty. [63]

LAPD awards, commendations, citations and medals

The department presents a number of medals to its members for meritorious service.[64] The medals the LAPD awards are as follows:

Bravery

The Los Angeles Police Department Medal of Valor is the highest law enforcement medal awarded to officers by the Los Angeles Police Department. The Medal of Valor is an award for bravery, usually awarded to officers for individual acts of extraordinary bravery or heroism performed in the line of duty at extreme and life-threatening personal risk.[65]

  • Liberty Award:

The Liberty Award, an award for bravery, was created in 1990 and has only been awarded once in the Department's history. It is a medal for police canines who are killed or seriously injured in the line of duty. The award is named after Liberty, a Metropolitan Division K-9 who was shot and killed in the line of duty. Liberty's handler received the Medal of Valor for the same incident.[66]

  • Police Medal for Heroism:

The Police Medal is an award for bravery, usually awarded to officers for individual acts of heroism in the line of duty, through not above and beyond the call of duty, as is required for the Medal of Valor.

  • Police Star:

The Police Star is an award for bravery, usually awarded to officers for performing with exceptional judgment and/or utilizing skillful tactics in order to diffuse dangerous and stressful situations.

  • Police Life-Saving Medal:

The Police Life-Saving Medal is an award for bravery, usually awarded to officers for taking action in order to rescue or attempt the rescue of either a fellow officer or any person from immenent danger.

Service

Police Distinguished Service Medal

Police Meritorious Service Medal

Police Meritorious Achievement Medal

Police Commission Distinguished Service Medal

Community Policing Medal

Human Relations Medal

Unit Citations

Police Commission Unit Citation

Police Meritorious Unit Citation

Ribbons

  • 1984 Summer Olympics Ribbon:

Given to any LAPD officer who saw service during the 1984 Summer Olympics from July 28 to August 12, 1984.[67]

  • 1987 Papal Visit Ribbon:

Given to LAPD officers who were used during the September 1987 pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II.[68]

  • 1992 Civil Disturbance Ribbon:

Given to any LAPD officer who saw service during the 1992 Los Angeles riots from April 29 to May 4, 1992.[69]

  • 1994 Earthquake Ribbon:

Given to any LAPD officer who saw service during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake from January 17 to January 18, 1994.[70]

  • Reserve Service Ribbon:

Annually awarded to the LAPD Reserve Officer of the Year

The LAPD in popular media

The LAPD is well-represented in popular media. Several prominent representations include Adam-12, Dragnet, Crash, The Terminator, Die Hard, the Lethal Weapon series, and the The Shield series. The television series LAPD: Life On the Beat provided a more accurate depiction of the LAPD.

The independently iconic television series Dragnet, with LAPD Detective Joe Friday as the primary character, was the first major media representation of the department. Real LAPD operations inspired Jack Webb to create the series and close cooperation with department officers let him make it as realistic as possible, including authentic police equipment and sound recording on-site at the police station.

Due to Dragnet's popularity, LAPD chief Parker "became, after J. Edgar Hoover, the most well known and respected law enforcement official in the nation." In the 1960s, when the LAPD under Chief Thomas Reddin expanded its community relations division and began efforts to reach out to the black community, Dragnet followed suit with more emphasis on internal affairs and community policing than solving crimes, the show's previous mainstay.[71]

It has also been the subject of several novels, probably the most famous of which is L.A. Confidential, a novel by James Ellroy that was made into a film of the same name. Both chronicled mass-murder and corruption inside and outside the force. Critic Roger Ebert indicates that the film's characters (from the 1950s) "represent the choices ahead for the LAPD": assisting Hollywood limelight, aggressive policing with relaxed ethics, and a "straight arrow" approach.[72]

L.A. Confidential is part of a modern trend of more negative portrayals of the department that started with the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots. There was, however, much tension in LA prior to the riots, as evidenced by songs such as Fuck Tha Police by N.W.A. The Closer is a contemporary example of a neutral portrayal which has been missing in recent media coverage of the LAPD.

A Native-American cop from the LAPD is also featured in the novel Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult.

See also

California portal
Law enforcement/Law enforcement topics portal

Footnotes

  1. ^ "LAPD Maintenance". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ "Air Support Division". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  4. ^ a b c d e "LAPD Announces Crime Down Again in 2005". Retrieved on 2008 07 13.
  5. ^ "LAPD Authors". Retrieved on 2008 07 13.
  6. ^ Newton, Jim. "ACLU Says 83% of Police Live Outside L.A." Los Angeles Times 29 March 1994: B1.
  7. ^ "Women in LAPD". Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
  8. ^ "Sharon Papa". Retrieved on 2008-07-13.
  9. ^ "Office of Support Services". Retrieved on 2008-07-13.
  10. ^ "The LAPD: 1850-1900". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  11. ^ "Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  12. ^ "Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  13. ^ http://www.lapdonline.org/search_results/content_basic_view/834
  14. ^ "Los Angeles Times". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  15. ^ http://www.lapdonline.org/search_results/content_basic_view/6370
  16. ^ a b http://www.lapdonline.org/inside_the_lapd/content_basic_view/1063
  17. ^ http://www.lapdonline.org/detective_bureau
  18. ^ "Detective Bureau". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  19. ^ "heritage.org". Retrieved on 2008-07-06.
  20. ^ "heritage.org". Retrieved on 2008-07-06.
  21. ^ "Special Operations Bureau". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  22. ^ a b "About Central Bureau". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  23. ^ "Central Bureau". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  24. ^ "Central Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  25. ^ "Hollenbeck Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  26. ^ "Newton Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  27. ^ "Northeast Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  28. ^ "Rampart Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  29. ^ [2]
  30. ^ [3]
  31. ^ "South Bureau". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  32. ^ "77th Street Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  33. ^ "Harbor Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  34. ^ "Southeast Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  35. ^ "About Southeast Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-07-15.
  36. ^ "Southwest Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  37. ^ "Southwest Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-07-15.
  38. ^ a b http://www.lapdonline.org/valley_bureau/content_basic_view/1921
  39. ^ "Valley Bureau". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  40. ^ "Mission Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  41. ^ "Devonshire Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  42. ^ "Foothill Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  43. ^ "North Hollywood Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  44. ^ "Van Nuys Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  45. ^ "West Valley Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  46. ^ a b "Press release regarding the new LAPD stations". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  47. ^ http://www.lapdonline.org/west_bureau/content_basic_view/1869
  48. ^ http://www.beverlyhills.org/services/police/default.asp
  49. ^ http://www.santamonicapd.org/
  50. ^ "West Bureau". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  51. ^ "Hollywood Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  52. ^ "Wilshire Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  53. ^ "Pacific Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  54. ^ "West Los Angeles Community Police Station". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  55. ^ http://www.lapdonline.org/search_results/content_basic_view/1871
  56. ^ "Consent Decree Overview: Civil Rights Consent Decree". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  57. ^ "Consent Decree Bureau". Retrieved on 2008-07-05.
  58. ^ "About the Consent Decree Bureau". Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
  59. ^ [video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3804643876474086216]
  60. ^ "Framed Black Panther leader Geronimo Pratt wins appeal". Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  61. ^ a b "Joe Morgan settles 5-year lawsuit against city of L.A - ex-baseball star to receive $800,000 for being assaulted by police officers".
  62. ^