| NOTE: The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) featured in the Major Crimes Universe is fictional but it's loosely based on the organization of the real LAPD from 2005, the year The Closer premiered. This article about the Major Crimes Division is fiction, as the way it's depicted in the Major Crimes Universe differs from its real world counterpart. |
Logo of the Major Crimes Division
The Major Crimes Division (MCD), or "Major Crimes" as it is generally called, is an elite investigative unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) which investigates cases that are mostly high-profile in nature.
The Major Crimes Division is responsible for investigating a variety of cases, including homicides that involve multiple or high-profile victims and/or high-profile suspects; all cases involving missing, kidnapped or murdered LAPD officers; select major fraud investigations; select sexual assault investigations; and select kidnappings and missing person cases, including "critical missing" cases, which involve children who are under 14 years old and/or have mental illnesses or disabilities.
The Chief of Police and the Director of Operations can also assign the Major Crimes Division any special investigation that they deem necessary. (“High Crimes”) (“Cheaters Never Prosper”) (“Intersection”) Also, when a body of a murder victim is found on public property, it is also a de facto "major crime," allowing MCD to assume control of the investigation if deemed necessary. (“Heart Failure”) MCD is also known to fill in for other homicide divisions when needed (e.g. when the other division is in training or otherwise unavailable).
History
The Major Crimes Division started out as the Priority Murder Squad, answering directly to Captain Russell Taylor of the Robbery-Homicide Division. After Capt. Taylor was replaced by Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, the squad was renamed the Priority Homicide Division and placed under the direct supervision of the Director of Operations.
The division was renamed as the Major Crimes Division in “Tijuana Brass” of The Closer, Season 4, after the LAPD came under criticism that it was assigning Priority Homicide cases in anticipation of newsworthy crimes, which primarily had victims who were white and/or rich. During this same time, the Division's investigative responsibilities were extended to what they are now, having previously been involved in just high-profile murder investigations.
The Priority Homicide Division, and later Major Crimes Division, was headed by Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson for seven years and following her retirement from the LAPD, command of the division was assumed by Captain (later Commander) Sharon Raydor. Following Cmdr. Raydor's death in “Conspiracy Theory, Part 4”, Lieutenant Louie Provenza assumed command of the division, first as the Acting Commanding Officer before being confirmed as the new permanent Commanding Officer in “By Any Means, Part 4”.
During The Closer and most of Major Crimes, Lt. Provenza was the division's Assistant Commanding Officer and in that capacity, he was the division's immediate supervisor in standard day-to-day operations. After Provenza was confirmed as the new Commanding Officer, the role of Assistant Commanding Officer was assumed by Lt. Andy Flynn.
Squad Room
The LAPD's current headquarters, the Police Administration Building.
The Major Crimes Division is currently located in the ninth floor of the LAPD's headquarters, the Police Administration Building (PAB), located in downtown Los Angeles, next to the Los Angeles City Hall.
The LAPD's old headquarters, Parker Center.
The Priority Homicide Division (and later Major Crimes Division) was originally located in Parker Center which was the LAPD's headquarters until October 2009. The Major Crimes Division moved out from the Parker Center and into the PAB in “The Big Bang” of The Closer, Season 6.
For Major Crimes, Season 5, the MCD received a miniature version of the RACR system used by the LAPD to their office. MCD can be seen using this new room extensively when going through large quantities of video material or when they are watching live-feed from surveillance operations conducted by the division and/or by the Special Investigation Section.
In Major Crimes, Season 5 finale, “Shockwave, Part 2”, the Major Crimes' squad room was the target of a bombing, severely damaging it. In “Sanctuary City, Part 1”, it is shown that the squad room has been repaired since the explosion and upgraded. These upgrades include a sliding wall between the murder room and Electronics instead of a opaque glass wall and a simple door, although it still remains, and a TV connected to Buzz's computer that's used in conjunction with the murder board. Provenza's printer appears to have survived or been replaced and he continues to use the money jar for it.
Personnel
Support Personnel
Los Angeles Police Department
- Assistant Chief William Pope is the Director of Operations during The Closer and Deputy Chief Johnson's immediate supervisor. Later in the series, he becomes the Interim Chief of Police and is subsequently appointed as the Chief of Police.
- Assistant Chief Russell Taylor is the Director of Operations during Major Crimes until “White Lies, Part 1” of Season 5 when he was killed in the line of duty. He was Captain Raydor's immediate supervisor when she assumed command of MCD. The former commanding officer of the Robbery-Homicide Division and later the Office of Operations' Operations Coordinator, Taylor long felt passed over and unappreciated by Chief Pope and the LAPD upper echelon command.
- Assistant Chief Leo Mason is the Director of Operations during Major Crimes, Season 6. After his promotion, he had his own ideas about how to improve the Major Crimes Division. He is currently Lieutenant Provenza's immediate supervisor. Mason was previously the Commander of the Criminal Intelligence Division.
- Deputy Chief Fritz Howard is the Commanding Officer of the Special Operations Bureau during Major Crimes from Season 3, “Sweet Revenge” onward. During The Closer and the beginning of Major Crimes, he was a Special Agent for the FBI and the liaison officer to the LAPD. Chief Howard served as the Acting Assistant Chief of Operations following Chief Taylor's murder (“White Lies, Part 1” to “Shockwave, Part 2”).
- Lieutenant Chuck Cooper is the Officer-in-Charge of the Special Investigation Section of the LAPD. He and his unit has helped the MCD multiple times with surveillance and arrests. He is also dating Major Crimes detective Amy Sykes.
Los Angeles County Department of the Coroner
- Dr. Fernando Morales: Los Angeles County Deputy Medical Examiner (2007- )
- Kendall: Los Angeles County Coroner's Investigator (2008- )
- Dr. Crippen: Los Angeles County Deputy Medical Examiner (2005-2007)
- Terrence Hynes: Los Angeles County Coroner's Office Forensics Technician (2006-2008) / Deputy Medical Examiner Intern (2009)
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
- Deputy District Attorney Andrea Hobbs
- Deputy District Attorney Emma Rios
- Deputy District Attorney Martin Garnett
- Deputy District Attorney Claire Baldwin
- Deputy District Attorney Ozzy Michaels
- Deputy District Attorney Janet Powell
Superior Court of California
- Judge Steven Grove
- Judge Craig Richwood
Trivia
Call signs
In the Major Crimes Universe, the Major Crimes Division appears to have the call signs of the 4 King 60 -series. In the real LAPD, the call sign 4K is assigned to the Robbery-Homicide Division (RHD). The unit's numerical designation (last two numbers) would be assigned by the RHD commanding officer to a member of the division. Call signs ending in the number 0 (e.g. 10, 20, etc.) are used by supervisory personnel. It's possible that the reason why MCD has call signs from the Robbery-Homicide Division is because MCD was originally a squad of the Robbery-Homicide Division (Priority Murder Squad).
In the real LAPD, the call sign for the Major Crimes Division is 6K. The Major Crimes Division commanding officer would be identified by the word Commander followed by 6K (i.e. Commander 6K). All other personnel would be identified by 6K, followed by the numerical designation assigned by the commanding officer. It's more than likely that the call sign 6K is used by another entity of the Major Crimes Universe LAPD, like the Counter-Terrorism Division, which has some investigative responsibilities of the real life MCD. Realistically, if a unit was to transfer from one division to another, it would receive a new call sign from it's new parent Office/Bureau/Group/Division.
When Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson was the MCD Commanding Officer (and after Sharon Raydor was promoted to Commander for Major Crimes, Season 6), the Commanding Officer would have been given a call sign representing their Staff Officer -status (e.g. Staff 2 G, which would have been unused at the time).
Based on rank and seniority, the call signs for the division are, or should be, as follows (as of Major Crimes, Season 6):
- 4 King 60 – Commanding Officer: Commander Sharon Raydor.
Heard in “Heart Failure”. - 4 King 61 – Assistant Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Louie Provenza.
Used the call sign 4 King 60 in “By Any Means, Part 4” when acting as the Commanding Officer. - 4 King 62: Lieutenant Andy Flynn.
This call sign was also used by Deputy Chief Fritz Howard in “Foreign Affairs” even though his call sign should have been Staff 2 David. - 4 King 63: Lieutenant Michael Tao.
- 4 King 64: Detective Julio Sanchez.
- 4 King 65: Detective Amy Sykes.
Heard in “Bad Blood” & “Shockwave, Part 1”. - 4 King 66: Detective Wes Nolan.
- 4 King 67: Detective Camila Paige.
Used the call sign 4 King 64 in “By Any Means, Part 1” even though divisional seniority at the time would have made her call sign 4 King 66.
See also
| MAIN ARTICLE: LAPD | Organizational chart (.PDF version) |
Ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department | Awards of the Los Angeles Police Department | Police Administration Building | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office of the Chief of Police | Professional Standards Bureau: Force Investigation Division |
Counter-Terrorism Bureau | |||
| Office of Operations | Major Crimes Division | Criminal Intelligence Division | |||
| Special Operations Bureau: SIS • ASD • Metro • SOSD • SCID |
Detective Bureau: CCD • DSD • JUV • ND • RHD • VD | ||||
| Other units | Office of Support Services: Scientific Investigation Division |
Office of Constitutional Policing and Policy | |||
