Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

"LASD" and "Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office" redirect here. For LASD, see LASD (disambiguation).

For other law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County, see Law enforcement in Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
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Abbreviation	LASD
Agency overview
Formed	1850
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Los Angeles, California, United States
Size	12,308 km²
Population	2.8 million
Legal jurisdiction	Los Angeles County, California
General nature	Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Monterey Park, California
Sworn members	9,000+ (700 Reserve) = Deputy Sheriff
Civilians	7,600+
Agency executive	Leroy D. Baca, Sheriff
Regions	3 Region 1 Region 2 Region 3
Facilities
Stations	23 Altadena Avalon Carson Century Cerritos Compton Crescenta Valley East Los Angeles Industry Lakewood Lancaster Lennox Lomita Malibu/Lost Hills Marina Del Rey Norwalk Palmdale Pico Rivera San Dimas Santa Clarita Valley Temple Walnut/Diamond Bar West Hollywood
Website
LASD official site

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local county law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. It is the seventh largest law enforcement agency in the United States (behind the New York City Police Department, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Florida Department of Corrections,the New York State Department of Correctional Services, the Chicago Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Los Angeles Police Department). Since 1996, it has also been the largest Sheriff's department in the world, and provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, serving as the equivalent of the county police for unincorporated areas of the county, as well as incorporated cities within the county who have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services (known as "contract cities" in local jargon). Forty-three of the county’s eighty-eight cities contract with the Sheriff’s Department to provide local police protection. These cities, range in population from 700 to 175,000, and in size from 1 to 100 square miles. It also holds primary jurisdiction over facilities operated by Los Angeles County, such as local parks, marinas and government buildings; provides bailiff service for the Superior Court of California - County of Los Angeles; operates the county jail system; and provides services, such as crime laboratories, homicide investigations, and academy training, to smaller law enforcement agencies within the county. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is sometimes referred to as the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office (LASO). The department's headquarters are in Monterey Park.

Beginning on March 10, 2007, actor Jackie Chan joined forces with the LA County Sheriff's Department in their current recruitment campaign, oriented towards encouraging more members of the Asian American community to join the Sheriff's Department. In the announcement with Sheriff Lee Baca, Chan was seen wearing an LA County Sheriff's Deputy uniform. One LASD public service announcement has already featured Chan.

On December 15, 2009, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to merge the Office of Public Safety into the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The merge took place on June 30, 2010.

Personnel

The LASD is the largest sheriff's department, and the sixth largest federal, state or local law enforcement agency in the United States with over 16,000 employees, over 8,400 of whom are sworn deputies. Leroy D. Baca is the current sheriff.

Memorial to deputies killed on duty. Located outside the LASD Lakewood Station.

LASD deputies provided law enforcement services to 2,557,754 residents in an area of 3,171 square miles (8,210 km²) both in the unincorporated County land and within the contract cities (1995 figure). LASD has appox. 1 deputy per 300 residents. This is compared to LAPD having only 1 officer per 426 residents.

Organization

The following are the LASD Divisions:

• Sheriff's Headquarters
• Administrative Services Division
• Correctional Services Division - Contains the following; Inmate Reception Center, Medical Services Bureau, Transportation Bureau, Food Services Unit, Jail Construction/Special Projects, Inmate Services Unit, Jail Enterprises Unit, and the Community Transition Unit.
• Court Services Division - Provides security and support services to the Superior Court in the County of Los Angeles. This includes staffing bailiffs, operating courthouse lock-ups, and serving and enforcing civil and criminal process. Court Services provides these services for 48 courthouse locations throughout Los Angeles County.
• Custody Operations Division - Maintains and operates the county Jail Facilities;
• Detective Division - Contains the following; Homicide Bureau, Commercial Crimes Bureau, Major Crimes Bureau, Narcotics Bureau, Special Victims Bureau, and the Taskforce For Regional Autotheft Prevention (T.R.A.P.)
• Field Operations Division & Sheriff Stations - Field Operations is divided into three regions:
  • REGION I, - Altadena, Crescenta Valley, East Los Angeles, Lancaster, Malibu/Lost Hills, Palmdale, Santa Clarita Valley, and Temple,.
  • REGION II, - Avalon, Carson, Century, Compton, Lawndale, Lomita, Marina Del Rey, South Los Angeles, West Hollywood, and Universal Citywalk.
  • REGION III, - Cerritos, Industry, Lakewood, Norwalk, Pico Rivera, San Dimas, and Walnut/Diamond Bar.
  • Field Operations Support Services consisting of the following Bureaus:
    • Aero Bureau
    • Community/Law Enforcement Partnership Program (CLEPP)
    • Reserve Forces - administrative headquarters for the Reserve and Explorer Programs with over 700 Reserves and 600 Explorers. **** Industrial Relations Detail - maintains liaison between the business and labor communities. The Detail also trains patrol personnel in the handling of labor disputes and picket lines.
    • Special Enforcement Bureau - Special Enforcement Detail (SWAT), Canine Services Detail, and Emergency Services Detail (coordinates and participates in mountain search and rescue, underwater search and rescue, and swift water and flood rescue operations)
    • Emergency Operations Bureau
    • Office of Security Management
• Homeland Security Division
• Technical Services Division

County jail system

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department operates the largest jail system in the United States and the largest jail system in the free world. The Los Angeles County Jail provides short-term incarceration services for all of the County (including cities like Los Angeles, Glendale, Burbank, and Long Beach which have their own police departments). The Men's Central Jail (MCJ) and Twin Towers Correctional Facility (TTCF) are located in a dense cluster northeast of Union Station that is next to the station's rail yard. The North County Correctional Facility (NCCF) is the largest of the four jail facilities located at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, California. The other facilities are East Facility, North Facility, and South Facility.

Some of the newer contract cities like Santa Clarita and West Hollywood have never had police departments. When their city governments were founded, they took over what was formerly unincorporated land, but then contracted their police responsibilities right back to the county sheriff. Since the department already had substations in those areas anyway, the result was to maintain the status quo.

In contrast, Compton, California, used to have a police department, but in 2000, the city council voted to dismantle the troubled police department and become a contract city. Compton has been at times notorious for gang violence, especially during its recent history.

Academy

L.A. County Sheriff's academy training is at Sheriff's Training Academy and Regional Services Center (STARS Center) in unincorporated South Whittier. Reserves may use either STARS Center or College of the Canyons (Santa Clarita) for academy training. Academy training is 18 weeks. Many law enforcement agencies throughout Los Angeles County utilize STARS Center and deputy sheriff trainees graduating as deputy sheriffs also undergo detention-specific training.

Achievements

LASD motorcycle detail patrolling the perimeter of the Staples Center during the Michael Jackson memorial service.

The LASD has gained an international reputation for its efforts in developing and integrating the latest law enforcement technologies, especially nonlethal weapons. Because many developers, especially those developing technologies for the U.S. Department of Defense, have little idea of the needs of domestic law enforcement, the LASD provides experts to assist in the development and implementation of technologies that will be of service to law enforcment when fully mature. In the late 1990s, the LASD successfully implemented a county-wide sound recorder/meter system, ShotStopper, to detect loud noises. When dispatch has a call from a citizen reporting possible gunfire near their residence, these sound towers can pinpoint within about 25 to 30 feet (9.1 m) where the shots were coming from and record the sound for investigative purposes, and at the same time, relay the GPS info to HQ and deputies on the street. The system has been up and running for several years and has been responsible for numerous felony arrests.

Currently, the LASD is working with the FAA and local government officials to deploy their remote control aerial surveillance drone system. This would allow the Sheriff's Department to have real time imagery from the streets of Los Angeles to combat street violence and record crimes in progress, not to mention searching for missing hikers, "patrolling" behind the surf zones of the beaches and looking for lost children. The drones are not intended to replace police helicopters, but in specific incidents could be better, cheaper and quieter to use.

Starting in 2009, LASD began leasing electric-powered Mini Cooper cars for $10 a month each. In exchange, Mini Cooper's parent company, BMW, requested feedback about the cars. One of the cars is currently being used at the Sheriff Substation at Universal City, CA.

The LASD hired the first female deputy sheriff in the United States in 1912. Margaret Q. Adams remained a deputy in the evidence department at the Los Angeles Courthouse for 35 years, until her retirement in 1947.

Special Weapons Teams

The Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) is the LASD's version of SWAT teams, a creation of the nearby LAPD. LASD SEB and LAPD SWAT have helped the U.S. Department of Defense in the past by training U.S. Army Rangers, Special Forces, and other military units on policing skills prior to being deployed overseas. Law enforcement agencies from across the nation and around the world often look to the LASD SEB and LAPD SWAT teams for training and advice, often sending experienced officers to train under both departments.

In 1992, after the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, both the LAPD SWAT and LASD SEB teams decided to work on tactics that would rescue people from dangerous crowds, and at the same time provide a way to eliminate a threat, such as a gunman, without being noticed by a hostile crowd. In the first example, the idea was to have SWAT ride in one of the city's Air Rescue helicopter units with LAFD and LASD paramedics to enter a scene, using SWAT as a threat to ground opposition while LAFD paramedics could safely drop in and pick up an injured person. In the second example, sharpshooters could be used at high altitudes in LASD air units to look for any potential threats on the ground, and at the same time neutralize any would-be killers.

Air Rescue Program

LASD's Rescue 5, a Sikorsky SH-3H Sea King helicopter, over Rancho Palos Verdes.

LASD's Eurocopter AS350.

The LASD Air Rescue program is used for many emergencies in L.A. County, most notably the wildfire-prone Angeles National Forest. Those who are trapped in hard to reach areas will usually be found and rescued by LASD Air Rescue. The LASD staffs multiple sea King helicopters for this program.

In addition to having a fleet of three Sikorsky Sea Kings, the LASD also utilizes 14 Eurocopter AS-350 AStars helicopters and 3 Hughes/Schweizer 300 series S-300C helicopters.

The Sky Knight Helicopter Program is an airborne law enforcement program in Lakewood, California which was started in 1966. The unit operates using non-sworn pilots, employed by the city of Lakewood, partnered with a sworn deputy sheriff from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Lakewood station. The unit currently operates three Schweizer 300C helicopters, based at Long Beach airport and flies about 1,800 hours per year. Today, the Sky Knight program is completely integrated within the sheriff's tactical operations. Five other cities (Artesia, Bellflower, Hawaiian Gardens, Paramount and Cerritos) contract with Lakewood to participate in the Sky Knight program. These five cities also contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for police services.

Demographics

By sex:

• Male: 86%
• Female: 14%

By race:

• White: 60%
• Hispanic: 26%
• African American/Black: 10%
• Asian: 4%

Rank and insignia

Rank insignia for Lieutenant through Sheriff is worn on the collars of the shirt and the shoulders of the jacket. Rank insignia for Sheriff's Deputies/Detectives and Sergeants is worn on the upper sleeves.

Title	Insignia
Sheriff
Undersheriff
Assistant Sheriff
Chief (Division Chief)
Commander (Area Commander)
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant	File:LASD Sergeant.jpg
Deputy Sheriff Bonus I/II (Field Training Officer / Detective / Custody Senior Deputy)
Deputy Sheriff Generalist

History

Main article: History of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which was founded in 1850, was the first professional police force in the Los Angeles area. The all-volunteer, Los Angeles-specific Los Angeles Rangers were formed in 1853 to assist the LASD. They 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."

Members killed on duty

Main article: List of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officers killed in the line of duty

As of 2010, 90 sheriff's deputies have been killed in the line of duty since the department's founding in 1850.

LASD awards, commendations, citations and medals

The department presents a number of medals to its members for meritorious service. The medals that the LASD awards to its officers are as follows:

• Medal of Valor (Red, white and blue ribbon):

The Medal of Valor award is the highest honor a member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department can receive. It is awarded to persons who distinguish themselves by displaying great courage, above and beyond the call of duty, in the face of an immediate life-threatening peril, and with full knowledge of the risk involved.

• Meritorious Conduct Gold Medal:

File:Medalofvalor.JPG

This medal is the second highest award a Department member can receive. It is awarded to persons who place themselves in immediate peril and perform an act of heroism and/or save the life of another person.

• Meritorious Conduct Silver Medal:

This medal is awarded to persons who, when confronted by circumstances beyond the normal course of their duties, place themselves in potential peril while performing an act of heroism or while saving or attempting to save the life of another.

• Lifesaving Award

Controversy

Overtime utilization

In December 2009, the LA Times reported that L.A. County Auditor-Controller Wendy L. Watanabe's office found 348 Sheriff deputies worked more than 900 hours of overtime between March 2007 and February 2008. This would equal an extra six months of full-time work. The audit found that over the last five years, the department had exceeded its overtime budget by an average of 104 percent for each year.

Contract Law Enforcement by LASD

Cities

The LASD has entered into contracts with the following cities to serve as their police department/law enforcement agency. Forty (40) of the eighty-eight (88) cities in Los Angeles County contract with the Sheriffs Department for their complete municipal law enforcement services.Located in the northernmost portion of Los Angeles County, Lancaster Station has 189 sworn personnel and 74 civilian personnel assigned.

City	Served by
City of Agoura Hills	Malibu/Lost Hills Station, Agoura Hills, CA (#22)
City of Artesia	Lakewood Station, Lakewood, CA
City of Avalon (Catalina Island)	Avalon Station, Avalon, CA
City of Bellflower	Lakewood / Bellflower Substation, Bellflower, CA
City of Bradbury	Temple Station, Temple City, CA
City of Calabasas	Malibu/Lost Hills Station, Agoura Hills, CA (#22)
City of Carson	Carson Station, Carson, CA (#16)
City of Cerritos	Cerritos Station, Cerritos, CA
City of Commerce	East Los Angeles Station, Los Angeles CA (#2)
City of Compton	Compton Station, Compton, CA (#28)
City of Cudahy	East Los Angeles Station (#2)
City of Diamond Bar	Walnut/Diamond Bar Station, Walnut, CA
City of Duarte	Temple / Duarte Satellite Station, Duarte, CA (#5)
City of Hawaiian Gardens	Lakewood Station, Lakewood, CA
City of Hidden Hills	Malibu/Lost Hills Station (#22)
City of Industry	Industry Station, City of Industry, CA
City of La Canada Flintridge	Crescenta Valley Station, La Crescenta, CA
City of La Habra Heights	Industry Station, City of Industry, CA
City of Lakewood	Lakewood Station, Lakewood, CA (#13)
City of La Mirada	Norwalk / La Mirada Substation, La Mirada, CA (#4)
City of Lancaster	Lancaster Station, Lancaster, CA (#11)
City of La Puente	Industry Station, City of Industry, CA
City of Lawndale	South Los Angeles Station (ex-Lennox Station) / Lawndale Service Center (#3)
City of Lomita	Lomita Station, Lomita, CA (#17)
City of Lynwood	Century Station, Lynwood, CA
City of Malibu	Malibu/Lost Hills Station, Agoura Hills, CA (#22)
City of Maywood	East Los Angeles Station (#2)
City of Norwalk	Norwalk Station, Norwalk, CA
City of Palmdale	Palmdale Station, Palmdale, CA
City of Paramount	Lakewood / Paramount Substation, Paramount, CA
City of Pico Rivera	Pico Rivera Station, Pico Rivera, CA
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	Lomita Station, Lomita, CA (#17)
City of Rolling Hills	Lomita Station, Lomita, CA (#17)
City of Rolling Hills Estates	Lomita Station, Lomita, CA (#17)
City of Rosemead	Temple Station, Temple City, CA
City of San Dimas	San Dimas Station, San Dimas, CA
City of Santa Clarita	Santa Clarita Valley Station, Santa Clarita, CA (#6)
City of South El Monte	Temple Station, Temple City, CA
City of Temple City	Temple Station Temple City, CA
City of Walnut	Walnut/Diamond Bar Station, Walnut, CA
City of West Hollywood	West Hollywood Station, West Hollywood, CA (#9)
City of Westlake Village	Malibu/Lost Hills Station, Agoura Hills, CA (#22)

The City of Santa Fe Springs was a contract city served by the LASD-Norwalk Station until the 1990s. It now contracts with the Whittier Police Department.

Other agencies

Transit Services Bureau

• Metrolink
• Los Angeles MTA

Community Colleges Services Bureau

• Los Angeles Community College District

Court Services Division

• Prisoner Transport Services with 31 of the 58 counties in California
• Los Angeles County Marshal/Municipal Courts (Merged into LASD Court Services)

Contract Custody Services

• California Department of Corrections (Housing Parole Violators)
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Detention of Illegal Aliens arrested by ICE at the Mira Loma Detention Center in Lancaster)[2]

Reserve Program

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department supplements its full time ranks with over 700 reserve deputies.

Like full-time deputies, reserve deputies are professionally trained and duly sworn law enforcement personnel. In most cases, reserves are assigned to the same duties as full-time deputies. Since reserve deputies have the same powers of arrest as full-time deputies they are required by law to meet the same hiring, background, medical and psychological standards as full-time deputies. Reserve deputies must first complete the state mandated training and then work assignments as their regular jobs permit. Reserve sheriff's deputies are issued a badge, an identification card, uniforms, a Beretta 92FS duty weapon, handcuffs, baton, and other necessary equipment. Reserve deputy sheriffs are either Level I Designated, Level I Non Designated or Level II. Level I Designated reserves have the same training and 24 hour peace officer authority as regular full time deputies and may carry their firearm concealed off duty without the need for a concealed weapons permit (CCW). Level I Non Designated and Level II reserve deputies have full peace officer powers when on duty, and, if issued a CCW permit, may choose to carry a concealed weapon when off duty. Reserve deputy sheriffs must volunteer 20 hours per month of their time with the regular compensation being one dollar per year. Reserve deputy sheriffs may also qualify for shooting bonus pay of up to $32.00 per month, and some paid special event assignments are occasionally available, as well as overtime for Level I deputies. Like full-time deputies, reserve deputy sheriffs serve at the will of the Sheriff, must obey all departmental regulations, but do not fall into the framework of the civil service system. Reserve deputies supplement the regular operations of the Sheriff's Department by working in their choice of Uniform Reserve (Patrol), Mounted Posse, Search and Rescue or as a Specialist.

LASD in popular culture

In the late 1950s, a short lived Dragnet-style television series, "Code 3", aired based on real cases (though names and locations were changed) from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The late Eugene Biscailuz, then Sheriff of Los Angeles County, was featured in a cameo tag line at the end of every episode.

Dan Raven was a police drama that ran on NBC from 1960 to 1961. It featured Skip Homeier as the titular character, a detective lieutenant assigned to the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station, whose cases often involved show business celebrities.

The department's Emergency Services Detail (ESD), which functions under the umbrella of the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), was depicted in the short lived television series, 240-Robert. The SEB also includes the Canine Services Detail (K-9), and the Special Enforcement Detail (SED), which is the department's special weapons team.

In September 2003, ABC premiered 10-8: Officers on Duty, a comedy/drama based on a rookie with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. The show lasted one season. The show's name was based on the police radio code for "in service".

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Recruit Training Bureau is featured on Fox Reality show The Academy, documenting the day to day activities of the recruits and training staff of LASD Academy Class 355 and 368. The show aired from May 2007 to July 2008.

List of sheriffs

See List of Los Angeles County sheriffs

See also

• List of law enforcement agencies in California

External links

• Official Web Site of the LASD
• LASD Reserve Message Board
• LASD Reserve Program
• Exclusive Q & A with Capt. Anthony La Berge of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station
• Article on Ride Along with LA County Deputy in Santa Clarita
• Los Angeles County Disaster Communications Service (DCS)
• Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Twitter
• Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Youtube