Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety

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

Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety
File:Los Angeles County, CA Office of Public Safety Police.jpg
File:LA County Police Badge.jpg
Common name	Los Angeles County Police
Abbreviation	LACP
Motto	Dedicated to the Community We Serve
Agency overview
Formed	1998
Dissolved	2010
Annual budget	$100 million
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Los Angeles, California, United States
General nature	Civilian police
Operational structure
Police Officers	580
Civilians Contracted Security Guards	160 750
Agency executive	Steve Lieberman, Acting Chief of Police
Website
Official Site

Los Angeles Sheriff's Department assigned new duties by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

For the official web page of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, see Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

Official web site: http://www.lasd.org

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has taken over all responsibilities of the the former Office of Public Safety. The Office of Public Safety was eliminated as part of a workplace reduction plan.

History

The Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety (LACOPS), less formally known as the Los Angeles County Police (LACP), was a security police agency for the County of Los Angeles. It was formed in 1998 by consolidating three Los Angeles County security and law enforcement agancies: the Department of Parks and Recreation Park Police and the Department of Health Services and Internal Services Department’s Safety Police. LACOPS was the fourth-largest law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County, which employed 580 sworn peace officers and 160 civilian personnel, and utilized 750 contract security guards. The agency had an annual budget of $100 million in 2009. LACOPS was initially a division of the Los Angeles County Department of Human Resources (LACDHR) but was placed under the umbrella of the newly-created Public Safety branch of the Chief Executive Office in 2007.

On December 15, 2009, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to eliminate the Office of Public Safety and turn its responsibilities over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department . Former OPS Officers who felt they met the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department standards were allowed to apply for positions within the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. Through a lengthy and unforgiving application process, many OPS police officers were disqualified and had their county employment effectively terminated. All LACOPS employees were either hired by the Sheriff's Department or placed on paid administrative leave by June 30, 2010, which was the target date set by the Board of Supervisors for its Human Resources to have placed the adversely affected employees in alternate jobs. Because few displaced LACOPS employees had actually been offered alternate employment by the target date, the Board of Supervisors extended the sunset period to September 30, 2010. Those not qualified for alternate employment by that date were laid off.

Work place reduction history

There have been occasional calls for the County Police to be merged with (absorbed into) the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department dating back to the 1990s, but the attempts have been repeatedly rebuffed by its officers, the Board of Supervisors, or the Sheriff's Department for various reasons. On August 8, 2007, the California State Supreme Court denied hearing the appeal of a discrimination lawsuit brought by County police officers. The officers prevailed at trial, convincing a jury that the predominantly minority force had been denied appropriate pay and benefits due to racial discrimination, but the jury's decision had since been reversed by the Appellate Court. The jury found that as a whole, County Police officers were as trained and qualified as LASD personnel, the county's primary law enforcement agency. The high court's refusal to hear a final appeal appeared to make a merger with the Sheriff's Department more likely, as they restarted their take-over study just days after the decision was handed down. The merger study reports submitted to the Board of Supervisors served as a basis for what became a final decision about the proposed work place reduction. The Board of Supervisors set aside sufficient funding to complete work place reduction on September 22, 2009. On December 15, 2009, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4–1 to eliminate the County Police. The Sheriff's Department took over the OPS responsibilities..

The LACOPS former responsibilities are now handled by the newly formed County Services Bureau and the Parks Bureau of the LASD.

Former Mission

The County Police mission was "To provide protection for patrons, employees, and properties of county departments which contract for such services, and to provide a safe environment for those who use county parks and recreation areas. The Office of Public Safety is committed to maintaining a level of professional competence among its sworn personnel that will ensure the safety of those receiving services, as well as protecting the safety of our police officers."

The last Acting Police Chief was Steven S. Lieberman, a twenty-four-year veteran of the department. Since the creation of the agency, it has previously been led by former LAPD Interim Chief Bayan Lewis and former LAPD Deputy Chief Margaret York. There were interim chiefs in between the terms of Lewis and York. Lewis left the Department greatly improved in terms of equipment, training, and policies. York suffered from a disconnect with much of her line officers and became known as a disciplinarian.

The County Police was separate from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and they had no connection with the City of Los Angeles General Services Police, despite their agency title of Office of Public Safety. Similar uniforms and patrol areas have led to confusion over the identification of County Police personnel with sheriff's personnel on several occasions.

Former Equipment & Uniforms

County Police officers wore the uniform traditional to county law enforcement agencies in California. This includes olive green pants and a tan uniform shirt. Shoulder patches, name plates, and badges complete the uniform. The badge worn by County Police officer's is the traditional L.A. County shield design common to almost all county agencies including lifeguards, fire, judges, probation, and animal control. Only the Sheriff and District Attorney Investigators shield differ from the L.A. County shield design. Some special units such as WMD, or boat units wear modified uniforms. Mostly green BDU's or some version of a uniform polo shirt.

Officers were issued the Glock 22 .40cal pistol, although some officers in special units may carry the smaller Glock 23, or the larger Glock 21. 45ACP pistol. They retired their aging stock of Beretta 92F and 92FS's in 2006. Officers are authorized to carry firearms off duty and are issued a flat-badge for identifying themselves as peace officers when not in uniform. While on patrol, officers have rapid access in most vehicles to an array of weapons including tasers, AR-15's, Mossberg 590 12ga shotguns, less-lethal (bean bag) shotguns, and 40mm less lethal.

Most patrol assignments drove Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor police cars equipped with, as are the majority of police vehicles, touch screen computers, emergency lights & sirens, back-seat partitions, and push bumpers. The department changed their vehicle graphics in 2007 to increase their recognition with the public. GMC Yukons, Chevrolet Tahoes, and ATV's are common within the department as well.

Former OPS Structure

The OPS maintained four bureaus:

• Administrative Services Bureau
  • Contracts & Monitoring
  • Fiscal Services
  • Fleet Management
  • Human Resources
  • Information Systems
• Facilities Services Bureau
  • DPSS Offices (Department of Public Social Services)
  • Dispatch Center and Communications
• Parks Services Bureau
  • Belvedere Station (East Los Angeles)
  • South Station (South Los Angeles)
  • Whittier Narrows Station (South El Monte)
  • Quartz Hill Substation (Quartz Hills)
  • Castaic Station (Castaic Lake)
  • Bonelli Station (Bonelli Regional Park)
• Health Services Bureau
  • Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center
  • Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
  • King/Drew Medical Center & Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center
  • Olive View Medical Center

OPS did not have its own custody facilities and booked people arrested at one of several L.A. County Sheriff's stations throughout the county. Almost all county police stations were part of a larger structure belonging to a county department that contracts for their services.

OPS fielded several specialized units, including Internal Affairs, Background Investigations, Canine, Boat, TRF (Tactical Response Force), WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction), and a reserve Mounted Unit. The WMD trained and prepared for the inevitable chaos at county medical facilities in the event of a terrorist attack. TRF officers trained and prepared for civil disturbances and crowd control. Both were part time, on-call units which depend on officers in other full time assignments to fill their ranks. Plans to develop investigations, traffic, and gang units languished for years in a state of indecision, often blamed on the uncertainty of a merger and a class action suit filed by its officers.

Recruitment & Retention

OPS had difficulty recruiting and retaining sworn officers. Owing to pay below that of rival agencies, and limited career growth has made drawing applicants a challenge. OPS retained a full time recruitment unit to overcome this. Dozens of officers left the agency to other law enforcement agencies in recent years, usually citing pay or opportunities. Because of the structure of county government, County Police command staff is not permitted to adjust the salary of their personnel. 2007 saw the bulk of the canine unit leave at the same time to another agency.

Controversy with the agency

The County Police was relatively free of scandal and bad press. Professional Law Enforcement publications such as the monthly publication from PORAC (Peace Officers Research Association of California) have published articles discussing the high rate of discipline, and specifically discipline overturned by the county's Civil Service Commission, which hears appeals to discipline issued to county personnel. The agency has experienced a sudden loss of many officers, often with significant experience. Officers left to other agencies in an exodus similar to what the Long Beach Police Department experienced in 2006-2007. Unlike LBPD however, little official acknowledgment has been made to the loss of personnel.

Former Requirements to become an OPS Officer

County Police recruits were to have been 20 years and six months old at the time of hire. They had to possess a high school diploma or GED, a California driver's license, and pass all phases of the selection process, consisting of: a written exam, an oral interview, a background investigation (including a polygraph exam), and medical and psychological exams.

OPS officers were required to have and maintain Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST License) for all sworn officers, which substantiates that their character, education, training, and experience are up to California State standards.

See also

• List of law enforcement agencies in California
• Department of Public Safety

External links

• The Official LASD site