Description
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-largest municipal police department in the United States, after the New York City Police Department and the Chicago Police Department.
The LAPD is headquartered at 100 West 1st Street in the Civic Center district. The department's organization and resources are complex, including 21 community stations (divisions) grouped in four bureaus under the Office of Operations; multiple divisions within the Detective Bureau under the Office of Special Operations; and specialized units such as the Metropolitan Division, Air Support Division, and Major Crimes Division under the Counterterrorism & Special Operations Bureau. Further offices support the Chief of Police in areas such as constitutional policing and professional standards, while the Office of Support Services covers facilities management, personnel, and training, among other areas.
Independent investigative commissions have documented a history of police brutality, corruption, misconduct and discriminatory policing within the LAPD. In 2001, the United States Department of Justice entered into a consent decree with the LAPD regarding systemic civil rights violations and lack of accountability that stretched back decades; following major reforms, the decree was lifted in 2013.
