Los Angeles School Police Department

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

Los Angeles School Police Department
Common name	Los Angeles School Police
Abbreviation	LASPD
220x140px Patch of the Los Angeles School Police Department
220x140px Seal of the Los Angeles School Police Department
220x140px Badge of the Los Angeles School Police Department
Agency overview
Formed	1948
Employees	Approx. 530
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	City of Los Angeles in the state of California, USA
Size
Legal jurisdiction	County of Los Angeles
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	125 North Beaudry Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Police Officers	405
Non Sworn Employees School Safety Officers	49 110
Agency executive	Steven K. Zipperman, Chief of Police
Parent agency	Los Angeles Unified School District
Facilities
Schools	1,030
Website
Official Site
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) is a law enforcement agency in Los Angeles, California, whose duties are to provide police services to the Los Angeles Unified School District (thus, sometimes called L.A. Unified Police), also enforcing state and city laws. LASPD Officers assist staff with disturbances and potential criminal activity on the campuses on a daily basis.

Organization

The Los Angeles School Police Department was established in August 1948 to provide police services to the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) is the largest independent school police department in the United States, with over 405 sworn police officers, 110 non-sworn school safety officers (SSO), and 49 civilian support staff dedicated to serving the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). It is the fifth largest police department in Los Angeles County, and the 14th largest in California. The department deploys 6 police divisions (Valley-West, Valley-East, West, Central, East, and South) with assignments consisted of Canine (K-9), Youth Services Divions (Police Explorers, PALs Program), Safe Passages Motor Unit, Honor Guard, C.R.T. (Critical Response Team), Communications, Recruitment, Training Unit, Fleet Management, Payroll Section, Budget Services Unit, Records Unit, and Crime Analysis Unit.

Unique to the LASPD team is the variety of assignments and services it delivers to its customers: the students and faculty at the schools, the employees of the LAUSD, and the communities in which the students live. Our Police Officers are assigned to school campuses and also patrol the surrounding areas. Our School Safety Officers are also assigned to school campuses and parking enforcement. The LASPD also shares jurisdiction and interacts with over 13 municipal and county law enforcement agencies (to include multiple outside agency divisions and stations), as well as state and federal law enforcement and emergency services agencies.

The LASPD team is a progressive and forward-thinking organization enjoying the support of the LAUSD Board of Education, Superintendent, staff, and parents who recognize the important role the LASPD plays in keeping their children and students safe. LASPD personnel concentrate their policing efforts on improving campus safety and creating safe school passages for students, staff, and school community. The goal of the LASPD team is to address the quality of life issues that impact student safety and the ability of the students and staff to enjoy a safe learning environment free from the fear of crime. Our team is also committed to ensuring a safe school community as we partner with local municipal law enforcement agencies, residential and business communities, faith-based organizations, and various non-profit community-service organizations.

Responsibility

24 hours a day, the LASPD is responsible for providing police services to:

• A jurisdiction covering
• Approximately 618,000 students
• Approximately 72,000 teachers, administrators and additional school staff
• Approximately 1,300 schools, centers, and administrative offices

Ranks

The LASPD deploys sworn personnel in a variety of ranks:

Title	Insignia
Chief of Police
Deputy Chief
Lieutenant	50px
Sergeant
Detective
Senior Police Officer
Police Officer

Assignments

Assignments within the Police Department include:

• Campus Police Officer
• Patrol Officer
• Field Training Officer
• Criminal Investigation
• Canine
• Special Investigation
• Background Investigation
• Training and Support Services
• Traffic Enforcement
• Technology
• Police Explorers
• Special Response Team (S.R.T.)
• Supervising School Safety Officer (non-sworn position)
• School Safety Officer (non-sworn position)
• Police Dispatcher (civilian position)
• Specialist Reserve Officer (civilian position)
• Records, payroll, subpoena and other clerical support staff (civilian position)

All police officers must complete an intensive probationary period after graduation from the police academy. Prior to selection to any specialized unit, there may also be an additional 3-5 year field assignment prerequisite.

Controversy

The Los Angeles School police department has accepted weapons including tanks and firearms from the Federal Government.[3]. Superintendent Ramon Cortines of LA Unified School District confirmed in June 2015 that the district’s police force has ended its involvement in a federal program that delivered military-grade weapons to school districts. The decision on the so-called 1033 Program came on the heels of President Obama‘s announcement in May that he was severely restricting the parameters of the program. [4]

See also

• List of law enforcement agencies in California

External links

• Los Angeles School Police Department Official Site
• Los Angeles School Police Department Police Cars
• Los Angeles School Police Department Police Cars
• Los Angeles School Police Association
• Los Angeles School Police Department K-9 Unit