1. LOS ANGELES— As the third largest police agency in the United States, the Los Angeles Police
Department is responsible for maintaining order over an area of 468 square miles that contains over 3
million people. The department was created in 1889. The Los Angeles police department is infamously
known for its rampant corruption throughout its organization over the years. The city of Los Angeles,
like Chicago and New York City experienced this type of unlawful behavior. This corruption has occurred
as recently as the Rampart scandal. During the early 1900s August Vollmer began the Professionalism
Movement. Later, in 1923, he served as chief of the LAPD. After one year, “he returned home very
pessimistic about the chances of reforming the corrupt and inefficient LAPD” (Walker & Katz, 2008, p.
35).To this day, the LAPD is constantly scrutinized for its practices.
In the early days, the structure of the LAPD was not the intricate and highly specialized organization that
it is currently composed of. However, periods like the Professionalism Movement, the time during the
Reform Era changed the organizational structure of police departments across the nation. Los Angeles
Police Department was the first law enforcement organization in the country to establish a Special
Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team (Los Angeles Police Foundation, 2013). The LAPD maintains a Board
of Police Commissioners that oversees all operations of the LAPD. Police Chief Charlie Beck is the head
of the organization. The Chief of Staff, Media Relations, and Employee Relations Command group work
alongside the Chief of Police. The Operations, Special Operations, and Administrative Divisions are the
three branches under Chief Beck’s control. The Operations division is broken down to four bureaus that
cover Los Angeles; Central, West, Valley, and South regions. The Special Operations Division houses
everything from Detective personnel, SWAT, major crimes, internal affairs, and anti-terrorism. The
Administrative Division contains recruiting and records components, training departments, and a
communications division.
As time progresses and the LAPD continues to fall under scrutiny for its practices, the importance of the
Media Relations and intelligence departments cannot be underestimated. The Special Operations
division will continue to grow as well, as the nation is constantly at risk for gang violence and acts of
terror. The LAPD will also continue its effort with community outreach and policing strategies.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has over 10,023 officers and 2,879 civilian employees. In the
administration department of Los Angeles you will find the majority of civilian employees working in a
variety of administrative, technical and administrative support functions. Civilian employees work
together with police officers hand-to-hand on a daily basis to help encounter situations need be to
achieve the same goals as a whole, which is to help the community and support public safety within the
city limits. Civilian employees in the Los Angeles are responsible for various positions that help the
department with its many complications and tasks it encounters every day both in the field and off the
field. Those positions include emergency calls services, front desk positions at the various locations,
collecting and analyzing evidence from crime scenes, supervising the department’s in house jail,
maintaining the department’s records, providing information to officers in the field and aiding with the
department’s budget. In order to become a member of the Los Angeles Police Department both as a
civilian or Police officer you must apply through the civil service board and take and pass an exam. The
process both for becoming a police officer and civilian positions are as follows:
Step 1: Preliminary Background Application and Job Preview Questionnaire
Step 2: Personal Qualification Essay (Consist of a written two page essay)
Step 3: Background Investigation and Polygraph
Step 4: Physical Abilities Test
Step 5: Departments Interview
Step 6: Medical and Psychological Evaluation
Step 7: Certification and Appointment
The departments motto “To Protect and to Serve" became the official motto of the Police Academy, and
it was kept constantly before the officers in training as the aim and purpose of their profession (Los
Angeles Police Department, n.d.). The motto was founded in 1955 when Beat Magazine conducted a
contest at the Los Angeles Police Department Police Academy the winner Officer Joseph S. Dorobek. In
1963 The City Council passed an Ordinance and placed the motto across the City Seal on the
department’s patrol cars.
The LAPD has a vast selection of operational aspects that greatly increase the capabilities of crime
fighting. Los Angeles has an immense population built upon multiple cultures, religions, gangs, and
tourism. Being aware of these various features allows the LAPD to be prepared for tackling the variety of
crimes. Overall the communities within Los Angeles are segregated, vast, and can be unpredictable.
These problems within the communities are a major reason why the operational aspects of the LAPD are
wide and valuable.
LAPD officers are trained for multiple scenarios, weather it is for house clearing or for the
communication of cultural diversified people. In order to fight the high crime rates and multi-cultures of
Los Angeles the LAPD has implemented its own gang unit, and drug unit. These units are part of the
special operations support division. “The mission of Special Operations Support Division is to provide
investigative expertise and to work in partnership with the various communities and Department
entities to enhance public safety. Special Operations Support Division is also committed to supporting
local, state, federal and foreign law enforcement agencies to ensure a cooperative, successful and
“To Protect and Serve”---The LAPD
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University of Phoenix CJA/394

2. “To Protect and Serve”---The LAPD
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University of Phoenix CJA/394
unified effort to protect and serve people in all communities worldwide” (Los Angeles Police
Department, n.d.).
Some of examples of how vast the crime is in Los Angeles are evident through the use of all of the
special operations units. An art theft detail has been implemented into the LAPD which gives people an
idea how much crime is thriving in the area. People from other countries are coming to Los Angeles to
commit crimes such as theft of valuable property, human trafficking, and drug trafficking. With these
aliens coming into the city, policing is becoming a major hardship.
This article was written by David Nettles, Jesse Palmer, KJ Eberle, and Mimi Harvill, students at the
University of Phoenix, Temple Terrace campus for course CJA/394 Contemporary Issues and Futures in
Criminal Justice (Michelle Mann-instructor).