Abbreviation LASPD Employees Approx. 530 | Formed 1948 | |
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency Operations jurisdiction* City of Los Angeles in the state of California, USA |
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.
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Organization
The Los Angeles School Police Department was established in August 1948 to provide police services to the Los Angeles Unified School District. 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.
Responsibility
24 hours a day, the LASPD is responsible for providing police services to:
Ranks
The LASPD deploys sworn personnel in a variety of ranks:
Assignments
Assignments within the Police Department include:
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 one armored vehicle 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]