Geographic Operations Bureaus

Geographic Operations Bureaus
Abbreviation	OCB, OSB, OVB, OWB
Organizational structure
Part of	Los Angeles Police Department Office of Operations

The geographic operations bureaus of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) are responsible for providing primary uniformed, traffic, and investigative activities within their jurisdictions. There are four geographical bureaus which are divided into 21 geographic areas, commonly referred to as divisions, and a dedicated traffic division.

Bureaus

• The Central Bureau is responsible for downtown Los Angeles and Eastern Los Angeles, and it's the most densely populated of the four patrol bureaus.
  • Central Area
  • Rampart Area
  • Hollenbeck Area
  • Northeast Area
  • Newton Area
  • Central Traffic Division

• The South Bureau oversees South Los Angeles with the exception of Inglewood and Compton, which are both separate cities that maintain their own law enforcement agencies.
  • 77th Street Area
  • Southwest Area
  • Harbor Area
  • Southeast Area
  • Criminal Gang Homicide Division — known in real life as South Bureau Homicide Division since July, 2017, was the first centralized homicide unit of the geographical bureaus to be established in 2007, owing to the fact that South Bureau homicide detectives investigate more than 40% of all homicides which occur in the entire city of Los Angeles each year, often involving criminal gangs.
  • South Traffic Division

• The Valley Bureau oversees operations within the San Fernando Valley.
  • Van Nuys Area
  • Mission Area
  • North Hollywood Area
  • Foothill Area
  • Devonshire Area
  • West Valley Area
  • Topanga Area
  • Valley Traffic Division

• The West Bureau covers most of the well-known areas of Los Angeles, including Hollywood, Westwood, the Hollywood Hills area, the UCLA campus and Venice. This does not include Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, which are both separate cities that maintain their own law enforcement agencies.
  • Wilshire Area
  • Hollywood Area
  • West Los Angeles Area
  • Olympic Area
  • Pacific Area
  • LAX Field Services Division
  • West Traffic Division

Organization

Bureau

• Deputy Chief, Commanding Officer
  • Commander, Assistant Commanding Officer (occasionally two Commanders)
    • • Lieutenant II, Bureau Gang Coordinator
      • Lieutenant II, Bureau Vice Coordinator
      • Lieutenant II, Officer-in-Charge – Bureau Homicide Section
      • Lieutenant II, Officer-in-Charge – Bureau Special Assault Section
      • Administrative/other bureau staff
    • Captain III, Commanding Officer – Geographical Areas
    • Captain II, Commanding Officer – Traffic Division

Geographic Areas

• Captain III, Commanding Officer – Geographical Area
  • Captain I, Commanding Officer – Patrol Division: responsible for providing uniformed law enforcement to their jurisdiction.
    • Lieutenant I (multiple), Watch Commanders
  • Lieutenant II, Commanding Officer – Detective Division: responsible for investigating felony and misdemeanor crimes which are not solved by an arrest by patrol or which do not fall under the jurisdiction of another specialized division. The Detective Division is comprised of the following investigative tables:
    • Homicide. Starting in 2007 with the South Bureau and ending in 2015 with the Valley Bureau, centralized homicide units have been established at every geographical bureau; Area Detective Divisions therefore no longer investigate homicides.
    • Robbery
    • Major Assault Crimes
    • CAPs (Crimes Agains Persons)
    • Burglary
    • Theft
    • Auto Theft / Auto Crimes
    • Juvenile
    • Gangs (see below: Gang Impact Team, Investigation Detail)
    • Sex Crimes. Following budget cuts in 2021, the Special Assault Section of the Robbery-Homicide Division was disbanded and centralized Special Assault Sections were established at every geographical bureau. Area Detective Divisions therefore no longer investigate sex crimes.
  • Lieutenant II, Officer-in-Charge – Gang Impact Team (GIT)
    • The Gang Enforcement Detail (GED) is the GIT's primary uniformed component focusing on gang members and associated crimes.
    • The Narcotics Enforcement Detail (NED) shall address street sales, illegal use, and covert trafficking of narcotics.
    • The Investigation Detail is responsible for investigating gang-related crimes, with the exception of homicides and sex crimes. The Investigation Detail is staffed by detectives from the Area Detective Division.
    • The Gang Crime Analysis Detail (G-CAD) shall review all Area crime, arrest and follow-up reports that are completed for identified gang crimes, and review all crime, arrest and follow-up reports to determine gang involvement using the gang-related indicators.
  • Other area units/components (not an all-inclusive list):
    • Sergeant II, Officer-in-Charge – Senior Lead Officer Unit & Community Relations Office (SLO/CRO)
    • Sergeant II, Officer-in-Charge – Area Vice Unit
    • Sergeant II, Officer-in-Charge – Special Problems Unit (SPU)
    • Sergeant I, Area Training Coordinator
    • Sergeant I, Area Complaint Investigator
    • Sergeant I, Adjutant to Area Commander
    • Sergeant I, Adjutant to Patrol Division Commander

Personnel levels for all Geographical Areas are dependent on the area's size and overall crime statistics and therefore no universal pattern exists for personnel deployment. For an example, though, below is listed the authorized personnel levels for the Devonshire Area (Valley Bureau) for July, 2021:

• Captain III — 1
• Captain I — 1
• Lieutenant II — 2
• Lieutenant I — 4
• Detective III — 6
• Detective II — 11
• Detective I — 12
• Sergeant II — 6
• Sergeant I — 23
• Police Officer III+1 — 7
• Police Officer III — 47
• Police Officer I & II — 133

Geographic Traffic Divisions

• Captain II, Commanding Officer – Traffic Division
  • Lieutenant I, Officer-in-Charge – Administrative Section
  • Lieutenant I, Officer-in-Charge – Patrol Section
  • Lieutenant I, Officer-in-Charge – Detective Section
  • Sergeant II, Officer-in-Charge – Traffic Training Unit
  • Sergeant II, Officer-in-Charge – Community Traffic Safety Unit

The Geographic Traffic Divisions (Central, South, Valley, and West) are comprised of the following functions:

• Administrative Section is responsible for the Personnel Complaint Coordinator, Subpoena Control Unit, Sick/IOD Coordinator, and the Traffic Analytical Unit.
  • The Traffic Analytical Unit is responsible for compiling traffic statistics, preparing daily briefs, and for preparing reports for COMPSTAT from their geographical area of responsibility.

• Patrol Section is responsible for:
  • investigating traffic collisions
  • traffic collision prevention activities
  • general patrol activities (as necessary)
  • driving under the influence (DUI) detail
  • street racing task force
  • enforcement of traffic laws and ordinances, utilizing the principles of selective enforcement

• Detective Section is responsible for:
  • auditing all information contained in traffic collision reports to ensure adherence to the accident investigation policies and procedures of the department
  • classifying and distributing traffic collision reports as required
  • follow-up investigation of "felony evading" (as defined in the California Vehicle Code) when all connected crimes are traffic related
  • follow-up investigations concerning felony and misdemeanor traffic collision cases
  • forwarding completed traffic citations and attached filing documentation to the Traffic Court Liaison Unit for filing with the Superior Court
  • handling false impersonation cases resulting from a traffic notice to appear (citation) or traffic collision report
  • investigating traffic collisions involving trains
  • issuing traffic citations to juveniles for alleged traffic violations based upon information contained in traffic collision reports or resulting from follow-up investigations
  • preparing all requests for reexamination of drivers to be sent to the Department of Motor Vehicles
  • sending copies of all DUI arrest reports involving refusals to complete a chemical test to the Department of Motor Vehicles

• Traffic Training Unit is responsible for:
  • reviewing all pursuits
  • reviewing all use of force incidents relating to traffic enforcement duties
  • coordinating and ensuring that all officers have completed mandated training

• Community Traffic Safety Unit is responsible for:
  • receiving and investigating all traffic complaints
  • attending community meetings
  • conducting child seat installations

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