This is the comprehensive list and description for all of the police ranks within the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and all known rank holders in the Major Crimes Universe.
This does not generally include background characters (i.e. characters with no part in the story and/or no spoken lines). However, pictures of such characters may be found elsewhere on the wiki.
Ranks at a glance
| Senior ranks | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Chief of Police |  |
| Assistant Chief |  |
| Deputy Chief |  |
| Commander |  |
| Captain I–III |  |
| Lieutenant I–II |  |
| Police Officers | Insignia | Detectives | Insignia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant II |  |
Detective III |  |
| Sergeant I |  |
Detective II |  |
| Detective I |  | ||
| Police Officer III+1 |  | ||
| Police Officer III |  | ||
| Police Officer I & II | N/A |
Terminology
- Director: Commanding Officer of an Office.
- Staff Officer: Any rank above Captain.
- Commanding Officer: Any officer who is in charge of a bureau, group, geographical area, or a division.
- Officer-in-Charge: Any officer who is in charge of a section, unit, or detail.
- Supervisor: Any officer who is engaged in field supervision or in general supervision of a division, section or unit.
- Incident Commander: Any officer who takes command at an emergency situation, crime scene, or who is in command at planned special events.
- Watch Commander: An officer who is in charge of a specific watch within a division or geographical area. Geographical areas have generally four primary watches: AM1 (00:00–05:59), AM2 (06:00–11:59), PM1 (12:00–17:59), and PM2 (18:00–23:59).
Senior Ranks
Chief of Police 
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The Chief of Police (COP), colloquially referred to as just "Chief", is the highest-ranking officer in the department. The Chief of Police directs, plans, and coordinates the enforcement of laws for the purpose of protecting persons and property, and for the preservation of the peace in the community.
The Chief is generally selected from within the department and the appointee should have a college degree and at least 12 years of law enforcement experience. The Chief is appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles and the appointment is ratified by the Los Angeles City Council. The Chief of Police can serve a maximum of two five-year terms.
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Edward Thompson — Chief of Police /// The Closer, Seasons 1–6 |
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Thomas Delk — Chief of Police /// The Closer, Seasons 6–7 Tragically, Delk died of a brain aneurysm after only 10 months in office. He served previously as the Deputy Chief in charge of the Counter-Terrorism Bureau. |
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William Pope — Interim Chief of Police /// The Closer, Season 7 — Chief of Police /// Major Crimes Pope served previously as the Assistant Chief of Operations. |
Assistant Chief
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An Assistant Chief (Asst. Chief), colloquially referred to as just "Chief", is the commanding officer of an office. Assistant Chiefs are officially titled as Director of their office.
In the Major Crimes Universe, there are currently two Assistant Chiefs:[note 1]
- Director, Office of Operations (Assistant Chief of Operations)
- Director, Office of Administrative Services (Assistant Chief of Administrative Services)
Additionally, the Assistant Chief of Operations is also considered to be the de facto First Assistant Chief. Unless directed otherwise by the Chief of Police or the Police Commission, the First Assistant Chief will assume command of the department during an authorized absence of the Chief of Police. The Assistant Chief of Operations is most likely chosen to be in that position because they already oversee most of the department's personnel and as such, they are the most qualified person to lead the department during the Chief's absences.
The rank of Assistant Chief is officially, in the LAPD pay grade system, known as "Deputy Chief II". The rank system, as established by the Civil Service Commission, only recognizes one rank of "Deputy Chief" but it does not specify pay grades. The Chief of Police has the authority to promote, remove or replace Assistant Chiefs at will, with or without providing a reason. Removed Assistant Chiefs automatically revert to the previous civil service rank of Commander, unless the Chief of Police specifically only demotes them to Deputy Chief.
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William Pope — Assistant Chief of Operations /// The Closer In Season 7, Pope was appointed as the Interim Chief of Police but served concurrently as the Assistant Chief of Operations for budget reasons. Pope was confirmed as the new Chief for the beginning of Major Crimes. |
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Russell Taylor — Assistant Chief of Operations /// Major Crimes (until Season 5, “White Lies, Part 1”) Before his promotion to Assistant Chief, Taylor served as the Office of Operations' Operations Coordinator at the rank of Commander. |
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Leo Mason — Assistant Chief of Operations /// Major Crimes, Season 6 During Major Crimes, Season 5, before his promotion to Assistant Chief, Mason served as the Commanding Officer of the Criminal Intelligence Division at the rank of Commander. |
Deputy Chief
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A Deputy Chief (Dep. Chief), colloquially referred to as just "Chief", is typically assigned as a commanding officer of a bureau. In the Major Crimes Universe, some Deputy Chiefs may also be assigned as the Assistant to the Director of an office[note 2] or as the commanding officer of a specialized division[note 3].
Bureau commanding officers shall exercise line command over the employees of their assigned bureaus. In addition, they shall assume staff responsibility over all matters relating to, or concerned with, the fulfillment of the functions of their assigned bureaus. A Deputy Chief represents the LAPD at meetings to promote the LAPD's missions and goals in order to foster mutual trust between the community and the LAPD.
Deputy Chiefs are generally promoted from the ranks of Captain or Commander after one year of experience in the previous rank. Deputy Chief is also the first rank where a person from outside of the department can be hired, aside from starting out as a rookie police officer, although outside hires straight to Deputy Chief are rare in the real LAPD. The Chief of Police has the authority to promote, remove or replace Deputy Chiefs at will, with or without providing a reason. Removed Deputy Chiefs automatically revert to the previous civil service rank of Commander.
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Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson — Commanding Officer, Major Crimes Division /// The Closer At the end of The Closer, she retired from the LAPD to become the Chief of the District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation. |
| N/A | Deputy Chief Dennis Murdoch — Commanding Officer, N/A /// The Closer, Season 2 Chief Murdoch was mentioned in “Tijuana Brass” to be the LAPD liaison to the archdiocese of Los Angeles. However, as the real LAPD does not have a permanent liaison with such responsibility, we do not know his exact assignment within the LAPD. |
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Deputy Chief Thomas Delk — Commanding Officer, Counter-Terrorism Bureau /// The Closer, Season 6 Delk was later appointed as the Chief of Police. |
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Deputy Chief Fritz Howard — Commanding Officer, Special Operations Bureau /// Major Crimes (Season 3, “Sweet Revenge” onward) Before his appointment as Deputy Chief, Howard was a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. |
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Deputy Chief Winnie Davis — Assistant to the Director of Operations /// Major Crimes, Season 5 |
Commander
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A Commander (Cmdr.) is typically assigned as an assistant commanding officer of a bureau, though some Commanders may also be assigned as the commanding officer of a specialized group or division[note 4] within the department.
The duties of the Commander are dependent upon their assignment to a specific bureau and may include: overseeing and directing the activities of patrol officers within geographic areas, coordinating detectives' investigative efforts within the City, and exercising functional supervision over officers engaged in specialized enforcement functions. In addition, a Commander maintains contact with civic leaders and community groups within their geographic bureaus to promote the goals and missions of the LAPD. Also, a Commander is responsible for ensuring compliance with LAPD policies and procedures by personnel under their supervision, conducting audits of operations, and making recommendations to higher management for improving productivity and increasing efficiency. Further, a Commander may act as the Department Commander, a staff level officer assigned to oversee night-time operations citywide.
Commanders are promoted from the rank of Captain after passing the Commander's examination and interview.
Historically, the rank of Commander was known as "Inspector", changing to the current "Commander" in the early 1970s.
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Commander Russell Taylor — Operations Coordinator, Office of Operations /// The Closer, Seasons 2–7 Taylor was promoted to Assistant Chief of Operations for the beginning of Major Crimes. |
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Commander Ann McGinnis — Assistant Commanding Officer, Special Operations Bureau /// Major Crimes |
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Commander Leo Mason — Commanding Officer, Criminal Intelligence Division /// Major Crimes, Season 5 Mason was promoted to Assistant Chief of Operations in the Season 5 finale, “Shockwave, Part 2”. |
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Commander Sharon Raydor — Commanding Officer, Major Crimes Division /// Major Crimes (until Season 6, “Conspiracy Theory, Part 4”) |
Captain
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Captains (Capt.) act as divisional commanding officers within the department. The rank of Captain is divided into three pay grades (I–III). Upgrades between pay grades require only an interview, but at each pay grade level they assume a more complex and difficult level of responsibility within their assignment.
- Captain I is usually the commanding officer of a geographical patrol division.
- Captain II is usually the commanding officer of a specialized division or, in some cases, the assistant commanding officer of a large specialized division (e.g. Metropolitan Division).
- Captain III is usually the commanding officer of a geographical area or specialized division.
As a commanding officer of a patrol or detective division, the Captain is responsible for the following duties: inspecting and overseeing the functions of the patrol officers and detectives to ensure compliance with the department policies, procedures, regulations and standards; supervising the administrative and support functions of non-sworn personnel; inspecting personnel, facilities, and tactics for safety and/or training needs; maintaining liaison with numerous municipal, government, civic organizations, and private citizens to establish and maintain rapport to facilitate department's functions and to promote neighborhood safety and community policing programs. In addition to carrying out the aforementioned duties, Captains assigned to specialized divisions are responsible for unique duties characteristic of the division. Captains perform administrative duties such as reviewing correspondence, budget requests, and activity reports, and interviewing and hiring sworn and civilian personnel to their division.
Captains are promoted from the rank of Lieutenant after passing the Captain's examination and interview, and after one year of satisfactory service as a Lieutenant. Additionally, the promotion may not always be linear, as Lieutenants can be promoted directly to Captain II or III, skipping the previous pay grade(s).
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Captain III Russell Taylor — Commanding Officer, Robbery-Homicide Division /// The Closer, Season 1 For the beginning of Season 2, Taylor was promoted to Commander and became the Operations Coordinator. |
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Captain III Leahy — Commanding Officer, Central Area /// The Closer, Season 2 Capt. Leahy has only been seen in “Blue Blood”. He was portrayed by Paul Dillon (at IMDb). |
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Captain II West — Commanding Officer, West Bureau Traffic Division /// The Closer, Season 2 Capt. West has only been seen in “Borderline”. He was portrayed by Glenn Morshower (at IMDb). |
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Captain III Sharon Raydor — Commanding Officer, Force Investigation Division /// The Closer — Commanding Officer, Major Crimes Division /// Major Crimes Raydor was promoted to Commander in the Major Crimes Season 5 finale, “Shockwave, Part 2”. |
Lieutenant
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The rank of Lieutenant (Lt.) is divided into two pay grades (I–II). Upgrade from Lieutenant I to Lieutenant II requires only an interview.
- Lieutenant I is usually assigned as a patrol watch commander at a geographical area. They may also be assigned to administrative or specialized assignments at a geographical area or bureau, or at a specialized division or bureau (e.g. adjutant to a Deputy Chief, Bureau Gang Coordinator or Bureau Vice Coordinator, task force officer-in-charge, etc.).
- Lieutenant II is usually assigned to specialized administrative or command positions throughout the department, including: assistant commanding officer of a specialized division; officer-in-charge of a specialized section; commanding officer of a geographical area detective division; task force officer-in-charge; adjutant to a Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief, or the Chief of Police; or as a Bureau Gang Coordinator or Bureau Vice Coordinator.
Lieutenants assigned to specialized divisions perform unique duties characteristic of their division. Depending upon the division of assignment, a Lieutenant supervises the activities of their subordinates, coordinates specialized training and ensures sufficient stock of tactical supplies and equipment, maintains liaison with appropriate department entities, acts as a leader at the scene of crime, and reviews and completes all reports for the approval of the Commanding Officer. In the Major Crimes Universe, Lieutenants can also be assigned to specialized investigative divisions, acting more akin to standard detectives with only nominal supervisory responsibilities rather than full-fledged supervisors, though it has been stated that more administrative duties for Lieutenants are still the norm.(“Red Tape”)
Lieutenants are promoted from the rank of Sergeant or Detective after passing the Lieutenant's examination and interview, and after two years of satisfactory service at their previous rank. Additionally, the promotion may not always be linear, as Sergeants/Detectives can be promoted directly to Lieutenant II, skipping the first pay grade.
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Lieutenant II Louie Provenza — Assistant Commanding Officer, Major Crimes Division /// The Closer & Major Crimes In “Conspiracy Theory, Part 4” of Major Crimes, Season 6, he was designated as the Acting Commanding Officer of MCD and was confirmed as the permanent Commanding Officer in the Major Crimes finale, “By Any Means, Part 4”. |
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Lieutenant II Andy Flynn — Robbery-Homicide Division /// The Closer, Season 1 — Major Crimes Division /// The Closer & Major Crimes During Season 1 of The Closer, Flynn was officially assigned to the Robbery-Homicide Division but was on loan to the Major Crimes Division (then known as the Priority Homicide Division). He requested a permanent transfer to Priority Homicide in “Fatal Retraction”. Flynn became the Assistant Commanding Officer of Major Crimes in the Major Crimes finale, “By Any Means, Part 4”. |
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Lieutenant II Michael Tao — Major Crimes Division /// The Closer & Major Crimes |
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Lieutenant II Waters [note 5] — Robbery-Homicide Division /// The Closer, Season 1 Lt. Waters has only been seen in “The Closer (Pilot)”. He was portrayed by Julius Tennon (at IMDb). |
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Lieutenant II Sean Dorsey — Officer-in-Charge, D Platoon (SWAT), Metropolitan Division /// Major Crimes, Season 2 Lt. Dorsey has only been seen in “I, Witness”. He was portrayed by Kevin McCorkle (at IMDb). |
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Lieutenant I (unnamed) [note 6] — Watch Commander, Hollywood Patrol Division /// Major Crimes, Season 2 He has only been seen in “D.O.A.”. He was portrayed by Tom Billett (at IMDb). |
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Lieutenant II Chuck Cooper — Officer-in-Charge, Special Investigation Section /// Major Crimes |
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Lieutenant II Reid — Officer-in-Charge, Hazardous Devices and Materials Section, Emergency Services Division /// Major Crimes, Season 2 Lt. Reid has only been seen in “Year-End Blowout”. He was portrayed by James MacDonald (at IMDb). |
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Lieutenant II Hector Camacho [note 7] — Officer-in-Charge, Section N/A, Force Investigation Division /// Major Crimes, Season 5 Lt. Camacho has only been seen in “White Lies, Part 1”. He was portrayed by Emanuel Borria (at IMDb). |
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Lieutenant II Capra [note 8] — Officer-in-Charge, Hazardous Devices and Materials Section, Emergency Services Division /// Major Crimes, Season 5 Lt. Capra has only been seen in “Shockwave, Part 1” and “Shockwave, Part 2”. He was portrayed by Lochlyn Munro (at IMDb). |
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Lieutenant II Julio Sanchez — Officer-in-Charge, Section N/A, Criminal Intelligence Division /// “By Any Means, Part 4” |
Detectives
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The rank of Detective is assigned to police officers who take on a specific group of specialized investigative duties, including conducting narcotics investigations, performing surveillance and establishing and maintaining contact with informants, investigating gang related crimes, responding to and investigating scenes of crime such as homicide, theft, robbery, auto theft, sex crimes, and crimes committed by juveniles.
Detectives are considered specialists within the LAPD and they are normally considered to be separate from the uniformed chain-of-command. This means that the senior-most detective on the scene is permitted to take charge of an incident when it is necessary for investigative purposes, even if other higher-ranking officers are present. Traditionally, detectives are plain-clothes officers in the field who wear their uniforms only for ceremonial and certain other official occasions.
In the real LAPD, attaining the rank of Detective II or III (i.e. Detective Supervisor) is a requisite in order to be assigned to certain specialized divisions like the Robbery-Homicide Division and the Force Investigation Division.
Historically, the rank of Detective was known as "Investigator", changing to the current "Detective" in the late 1970s.
Detective III
Detective III (Det. III / D3), colloquially referred to as just "Detective", is a supervisory detective position (officially "Detective Supervisor") which is responsible for training and overseeing the activities of Detectives I and II, Police Officers, and/or civilian employees, in addition to regular detective duties. The rank of Detective III is equivalent to the rank of Sergeant II.
A Detective III is responsible for the above described duties in addition to serving as the leader in high profile cases of major robbery, fraud and homicide. Detective III can also be assigned as the assistant officer-in-charge of a specialized investigative section or as the officer-in-charge of a specialized investigative unit. Detective III also reviews reports prepared by their subordinates, informs their commanding officer of the status of investigations, trains and supervises newly assigned Detectives and civilian personnel, and performs related administrative duties.
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Detective III Nick Carey [note 9] — Drug Task Forces Section, Narcotics Division /// The Closer, Season 5 Det. Carey has only been seen in “Products of Discovery”. He was portrayed by Lee Tergesen (at IMDb). |
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Detective III Julio Sanchez [note 10] — Major Crimes Division /// Major Crimes In “By Any Means, Part 4”, Julio accepted a promotion to Lieutenant and a transfer to the Criminal Intelligence Division, as transferring to more administrative duties allows him to spend more time with his foster son. |
Detective II
Detective II (Det. II / D2), colloquially referred to as just "Detective", is the first supervisory detective position (officially "Detective Supervisor") which is responsible for training and overseeing the activities of Detectives I, Police Officers, and/or civilian employees, in addition to regular detective duties. The rank of Detective II is equivalent to the rank of Sergeant I.
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Detective II Julio Sanchez — Major Crimes Division /// The Closer & Major Crimes Julio later received a promotion to Detective III for the beginning of Major Crimes, Season 2.[note 10] |
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Detective II Ross [note 11] — Robbery-Homicide Division /// The Closer, Seasons 1–4 He is a staunch supporter of Taylor and is also occasionally loaned to the Priority Homicide Division, usually when Taylor is put in charge temporarily for various reasons. |
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Detective II Pike [note 12] — Major Enforcement Section B, Narcotics Division /// The Closer, Season 2 Det. Pike has only been seen in “The Other Woman”. He was portrayed by Mark Allan Stewart (at IMDb). |
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Detective II McHale [note 11] — Robbery-Homicide Division /// The Closer, Season 2 He was temporarily assigned to the Priority Homicide Division in “Serving the King (Part 1)” during Taylor's brief command of the Division. He was portrayed by Brady Smith (at IMDb). |
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Detective II Mikki Mendoza [note 11] — Special Investigation Section /// The Closer, Season 5 — Robbery-Homicide Division /// The Closer, Season 6 |
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Detective II Ally Moore [note 13] — Force Investigation Division /// The Closer, Season 5 Det. Moore has only been seen in “Dead Man's Hand”. She was portrayed by Brooke Langton (at IMDb). |
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Detective II David Gabriel — Major Crimes Division /// The Closer Gabriel was laterally promoted from Sergeant I to Detective II in Season 6 after passing his detectives exam. |
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Detective II Steve Hayward [note 14] — Hostage negotiator, Metropolitan Division /// The Closer, Season 6 Det. Hayward has only been seen in “Jump the Gun”. He was portrayed by Tom Verica (at IMDb). |
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Detective II Amy Sykes — Special Investigation Section /// Major Crimes (“Reloaded” only) — Major Crimes Division /// Major Crimes |
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Detective II Miller [note 11] — Robbery-Homicide Division /// Major Crimes, Season 1 Det. Miller has only been seen in “Reloaded”. He was portrayed by Vyto Ruginis (at IMDb). |
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Detective II Ronald "Ron" Capra [note 15] — Bomb Squad Unit, Emergency Services Division /// Major Crimes Det. Capra is real life LAPD a bomb tech. He joined the LAPD in 1985 and the Bomb Squad in 2000; he has since retired. He has appeared as himself on Major Crimes in “Flight Risk” and “Shockwave, Part 2”, and has also served as a technical advisor on the show. |
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Detective II Stephanie Dunn [note 16] — Major Enforcement Section B, Narcotics Division /// Major Crimes, Season 4 |
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Detective II Jordan Valdez [note 17] — Special Enforcement Section, Vice Division[note 18] /// Major Crimes, Season 5 Det. Valdez has only been seen in “N.S.F.W.”. She was portrayed by Romi Dias (at IMDb). |
Detective I
Detective I (Det. I / D1), colloquially referred to as just "Detective", is the first detective rank available to officers if they pass their detectives exam and departmental interviews.
Note: this list includes all known Detectives whose exact rank can not be directly or indirectly determined.
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Detective Garth — Priority Murder Squad /// “The Closer (Pilot)” Det. Garth's character did not continue to the main series. He was portrayed by John Livingston (at IMDb). |
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Detective Irene Daniels — Major Crimes Division /// The Closer, Seasons 1–4 |
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Detective Lawrence Xavier — Central Area Detective Division (Homicide) /// The Closer, Season 2 Det. Xavier has only been seen in “Blue Blood”. He was portrayed by James Black (at IMDb). |
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Detective Hubbard — Central Area Detective Division (Homicide) /// The Closer, Season 2 Det. Hubbard has only been seen in “Blue Blood”. He was portrayed by Kevin Kilner (at IMDb). |
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Detective Rios — Major Enforcement Section B, Narcotics Division /// The Closer, Season 2 Det. Rios has only been seen in “The Other Woman”. She was portrayed by Jossara Jinaro (at IMDb). |
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Detective Ranski — Hollenbeck Area Detective Division (Homicide) /// The Closer, Season 5 Det. Ranski has only been seen in “The Life”. He was portrayed by Josh Cooke (at IMDb). |
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Detective Donna Hendrix — Hollenbeck Area Detective Division (Sex Crimes)[note 19] /// The Closer, Season 5 Det. Hendrix has only been seen in “The Life”. She was portrayed by Moe Daniels (at IMDb). |
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Detective Frank Verico — Threat Management Unit, Detective Support Division /// The Closer, Season 6 Det. Verico has only been seen in “Off the Hook”. He was portrayed by Jon Seda (at IMDb). |
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Detective Sean Mackeroy — Rampart Area Detective Division (Homicide) /// Major Crimes, Season 2 Det. Mackeroy has only been seen in “Risk Assessment”. He was portrayed by Josh Randall (at IMDb). |
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Detective Robert Oderno — Missing Persons Unit, Detective Support Division /// Major Crimes |
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Detective Mike Alamo — Special Investigation Section /// Major Crimes, Season 4 Det. Alamo has only been seen in “Hindsight, Part 2”. |
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Detective Drew Hudson — Special Enforcement Section, Vice Division[note 18] /// Major Crimes, Season 5 Det. Hudson has only been seen in “N.S.F.W.” which is the same episode in which he was murdered in. He was portrayed by Thomas Daniel Smith (at IMDb). |
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Detective Wes Nolan — Special Investigation Section /// Major Crimes (Season 5, “White Lies, Part 2” – “White Lies, Part 3”) — Major Crimes Division /// Major Crimes (Season 5, “Heart Failure” onward) |
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Detective Camila Paige — Missing Persons Unit, Detective Support Division /// Major Crimes (Season 6, “Sanctuary City, Part 1” – “Sanctuary City, Part 5”) — Major Crimes Division /// Major Crimes (Season 6, “Conspiracy Theory, Part 1” onward) |
Sergeants
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Sergeant II
Sergeant II (Sgt. II / S2), colloquially referred to as just "Sergeant", is a supervisory position with specialized and administrative assignments.
As a patrol supervisor, Sergeant II supervises a squad or detail of Police Officers and/or civilian employees. Sergeant II can also act as the assistant watch commander during their tour of duty (and in rare cases as the watch commander), but they can also be assigned to specialized divisions to perform specific duties, including: officer-in-charge of a specialized unit (e.g. area vice unit); assistant officer-in-charge of a specialized section or task force; adjutant to a patrol division Captain or the Area Commander; area training coordinator; area complaint investigator; internal affairs investigator; area community relations officer; aide to a Commander, Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief or the Chief of Police; or area or bureau special events coordinator.
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Sergeant II Staples [note 20] — Force Investigation Division /// Major Crimes, Season 3 Sgt. Staples has only been seen in “Internal Affairs”. He was portrayed by Daniel Roebuck (at IMDb). |
Sergeant I
Sergeant I (Sgt. I / S1), colloquially referred to as just "Sergeant", usually supervises a squad or detail of Police Officers and/or civilian employees as a patrol supervisor. Sergeant I can also be assigned to specialized divisions to perform specific duties, including: adjutant to a patrol division Captain or the Area Commander; area training coordinator; area complaint investigator; internal affairs investigator; or area community relations officer.
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Sergeant David Gabriel — Major Crimes Division /// The Closer Gabriel was laterally promoted to Detective II for Season 6 after passing his detectives exam. |
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Sergeant Steve Roussell — Tactical Flight Officer & Command Pilot, Air Support Division /// The Closer & Major Crimes Sgt. Roussell is a real life LAPD Officer who has appeared as himself in multiple episodes of The Closer and Major Crimes. He also consults with the production team on all aspects of filming which require the use of LAPD helicopters. |
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Sergeant Ryan Dunn — Patrol Supervisor (unknown Division) /// The Closer, Season 5 Sgt. Dunn has only been seen in “Dead Man's Hand”. He was portrayed by Jackson Hurst (at IMDb). |
Police Officers
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A Police Officer may be assigned to a foot beat, a black and white patrol car, bicycle patrol, Mounted Unit, motorcycle, or a specialized unit such as SWAT or K-9 Unit.
Historically, the rank of Police Officer was known as "Policeman", and when the first female officers were hired, their rank was "Policewoman". These ranks were changed to the now unisex "Police Officer" in the early 1970s.
Police Officer III+1
Police Officer III+1 (PO III+1 / PO3+1), colloquially referred to as just "Officer", designation is given to certain Police Officer III's in special or hazard pay situations.
These include, but are not limited to, traffic investigators, canine handlers, SWAT assistant squad leaders, and senior lead officers who coordinate geographical areas.
Police Officer III
Police Officer III (PO III / PO3), colloquially referred to as just "Officer", is the highest pay grade available to standard officers.
The most visible Police Officer III's are assigned to a geographical area patrol division, but they also serve in numerous other positions within the department, including (but not limited to): vice investigator, police academy instructor, detective trainee, legislative officer, news media coordinator, Metropolitan Division member, range officer, recruitment officer, driver-security aide to the Chief or the Mayor, or unusual occurrence planning officer. A Police Officer III may also supervise probationary Police Officers (Police Officer I) as their Field Training Officer (FTO).
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Police Officer III Jamey Perez — D Platoon (SWAT), Metropolitan Division /// Major Crimes, Season 3 |
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Police Officer III Chad Stuart — D Platoon (SWAT), Metropolitan Division /// Major Crimes, Season 3 |
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Police Officer III Falzone — Patrol Officer, Olympic Patrol Division /// Major Crimes, Season 5 PO Falzone has only been seen in “Bad Blood”. She was portrayed by Lisa Kaminir (at IMDb). |
Police Officer II
Police Officer II (PO II / PO2), colloquially referred to as just "Officer", is the standard officer rank after satisfactory completion of an 18-month probationary assignment. Officers must serve at least three years as a Police Officer II before eligibility to be promoted to Police Officer III.
The most visible Police Officer II's are assigned to a geographical area patrol division, but they also serve in numerous other positions within the department, including (but not limited to): vice investigator, police academy instructor, detective trainee, legislative officer, news media coordinator, range officer, recruitment officer, driver-security aide to the Chief or the Mayor, or unusual occurrence planning officer. Regardless of assignment, Police Officer II's do not hold any supervisory powers over any other officers.
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Police Officer II Kate Sherman — Gang Intelligence Unit, Gang and Operations Support Division /// Major Crimes, Season 3 |
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Police Officer II Jackson — Patrol Officer, Olympic Patrol Division /// Major Crimes, Season 5 PO Jackson has only been seen in “Bad Blood”. He was portrayed by Javier Calderon (at IMDb). |
Police Officer I
Police Officer I (PO I / PO1), colloquially referred to as just "Officer" (or as "boot" or "rookie" by their training officer), is a probationary rank. Police Officer I's attend six months of training at the LAPD Academy after which they are assigned to their first field assignment(s) for a 12-month probationary field training period. They are automatically promoted to Police Officer II after successfully completing their training and probationary assignment.
Police Officer I's are accompanied by a Field Training Officer (FTO) who holds the rank of Police Officer Officer III, or occasionally Police Officer III+1. In practice, they have the same duties as a Police Officer II but they operate under the constant supervision of their FTO in order to "learn the ropes".
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Police Officer I Cooper — Juvenile Narcotic Section, Narcotics Division /// Major Crimes, Season 2 Officer Cooper has only been seen in “Pick Your Poison”. Cooper was assigned to Juvenile Narcotics as a "buy guy"[note 21] straight out of the police academy. After finishing the temporary assignment, he will go on patrol to finish his field training. He was portrayed by Devon Werkheiser (at IMDb). |
Reserve Police Officer
The Los Angeles Police Reserve Corps is comprised of community members who volunteer their time to fulfill many of the roles handled by full-time sworn police officers. Reserve officers receive the same training as full-time officers and work alongside them in every aspect of department operations. As of May, 2015 (per the September 15, 2015, LAPD Inspector General's report on the Reserve Officer Program), the majority of LAPD's Reserve Officers were Level 1's, with 255 Reserve Officers. At the same, only 29 Reserve Officers were classed as Level 2, and 106 Reserve Officers were classed as Level 3.
- Level III Reserve Officers are uniformed, but unarmed Police Officers, who perform various administrative functions within the LAPD. Level III Reserve Officers are assigned duties at the front desk, with area detectives, and in community relations.
- Training: Level III Reserve Officers receive approximately 240 hours of professional classroom instruction.
- Supervision: Must be supervised by a full-time Police Officer.
- Authority/Power: Can carry a firearm on-duty only if specifically qualified. No off-duty police officer powers. Same as citizen off-duty.
- Level II Reserve Officers perform the same functions as regular, full-time police officers. They are armed, uniformed peace officers who work in police vehicles along with full-time police officers.
- Training: Level II Reserve Officers receive approximately 490 hours of professional classroom instruction (240 hours of basic training and 250 hours of additional training).
- Supervision: Must be supervised by a full-time Police Officer.
- Authority/Power: Same as full-time officer on-duty. No off-duty police officer powers. Same as citizen off-duty.
- Level I Reserve Officers perform the same functions as regular, full-time police officers. They are armed, uniformed peace officers who work in police vehicles along with full-time police officers.
- Training: Level I Reserve Officers receive approximately 580 hours of professional classroom instruction (240 hours of basic training and 340 hours of additional training).
- Supervision: Can work alone. Supervision through the normal chain of command.
- Authority/Power: Same as full-time officer on/off-duty. Can carry concealed/loaded firearm on/off-duty.
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Buzz Watson is a Reserve Police Officer, having qualified for the job for Season 4 of Major Crimes. For Season 6 of Major Crimes, he also qualified as a Reserve Detective, which in the real LAPD is a very rare qualification, allowing for Reserve Officers to work in investigative assignments. |
Trivia
Salary
In 2010, the Los Angeles City Controller posted the annual salaries of every L.A. city employee, including police officers. Salaries for all officers in a certain rank is not always the same as it is dependent on the officers assignment and other possible personal bonuses. At the time of this listing, the LAPD had 9926 Police Officers on the job.
- NOTE: this list does not include the most extreme outliers (i.e. salary given to only one employee which is considerably lower or higher than the rest of the group as such deviation could be for a number of reasons and therefore doesn't give an accurate representation of the situation). Additionally, all figures are rounded to the nearest full dollar.
| Rank | No. of Officers | Salary (2010) |
|---|---|---|
| Chief of Police | 1 | $307,291 |
| Assistant Chief | 3 | $206,086–$256,072 |
| Deputy Chief | 7 | $195,708–$218,092 |
| Commander | 16 | $179,589–$189,695 |
| Captain III | 37 | $161,194–$170,235 |
| Captain II | 15 | $151,171–$161,194 |
| Captain I | 21 | $134,342–$152,633 |
| Lieutenant II | 159 | $127,326–$145,972 |
| Lieutenant I | 99 | $120,624–$138,246 |
| Detective III | 346 | $109,307–$125,171 |
| Detective II | 652 | $102,542–$125,134 |
| Detective I | 704 | $92,895–$118,536 |
| Sergeant II | 477 | $108,263–$134,625 |
| Sergeant I | 738 | $99,911–$127,545 |
| Police Officer III | 2113 | $83,269–$112,120 |
| Police Officer II | 3987 | $61,095–$127,610 |
| Police Officer I | 544 | $45,226–$71,869 |
Notes
- ↑ In “Blue Blood”, up to four background characters could be seen wearing Assistant Chief's rank insignia, indicating that there would be at least five Assistant Chiefs (when counting Assistant Chief Pope, who was not present). This is presumed to be a prop department oversight rather than a deliberate choice of "worldbuilding".
At the time, it's presumed that there were three Assistant Chiefs:
- Assistant Chief of Operations
- Assistant Chief of Support Services (now known as Administrative Services)
- Assistant Chief of Human Resources (no longer exists)
- ↑ In the real LAPD, Assistants to the Directors of Offices are Commanders, not Deputy Chiefs
- ↑ In the real LAPD, Deputy Chiefs command Bureaus or the Office of the Chief of Police (as the Chief of Staff to the Chief of Police), never Divisions.
- ↑ In the real LAPD, while Commanders can command divisions, it is very rare. In the real LAPD, the latest and only case of a Commander heading a Division was between 2015–2017 when the Force Investigation Division was headed by a Commander, though even they started out in the position as a Captain III in 2012.
- ↑ Waters was indicated to be subordinate to Lt. Flynn, at least by seniority, though they are both Lieutenants.
- ↑ Character was not named and had no nametag on his uniform. In the end credits he was only listed as "Watch Commander".
- ↑ Character's first name is usually noted to be Joe Camacho (e.g. on IMDb), but his ID card says Hector and his first name was never stated out loud on screen.
- ↑ Lt. Capra was named as a homage to Ron Capra, a real life LAPD bomb tech, who he appeared along side with in “Shockwave, Part 2”
- ↑ While Det. Carey's exact rank was never stated, he was stated to be the LAPD "lead officer" in an FBI task force, a high ranking position. As such, it's presumed he was a Detective III.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Sanchez's promotion from D2 to D3 is never mentioned, and therefore the exact date of promotion can't be determined. However, Sanchez's badge number changed between Season 1 and Season 2 of Major Crimes, which is the only visible change that has happened between the times he has been seen in uniform in “Repeat Offender” (when he was a D2) and “By Any Means, Part 1” (when he was a D3). It should be noted that Detectives in the real LAPD do not receive new badges when they are promoted within the Detective ranks.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Exact rank was never stated, but in real life, RHD is exclusively staffed by Detective II and III's, so it's therefore presumed they are at least Detective II.
- ↑ Exact rank was never stated, but it was alluded to that he was Det. Rios' supervisor by the way they were acting.
- ↑ Exact rank was never stated, but in real life, FID is exclusively staffed by Detective II and III's (in addition to Sergeants), so it's therefore presumed they are at least Detective II.
- ↑ Exact rank was never stated, but they were noted to have been assigned to the Robbery-Homicide Division for 8 years before transferring to Metro where he has been an additional 12 years. As RHD is exclusively staffed by Detective II and III's in real life, it's therefore presumed they are at least Detective II.
- ↑ Det. Capra was a Detective II in June, 2013, but it's not known if he eventually retired at this rank or higher
- ↑ Det. Dunn's exact rank was never stated, but as she was assigned to the Robbery-Homicide Division as early as 2004 before transferring to Narcotics, it's presumed she is at least a Detective II (RHD in real life is staffed exclusively by Detective II and III's).
- ↑ Det. Valdez's exact rank was never stated, but she was stated to be a supervisor, meaning that she is at least a Detective II.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Referred to in the episode as the "Sex Crimes Unit".
- ↑ Area is unconfirmed as it was never actually mentioned, but presumably she is assigned to Hollenbeck as that is primarily where the episode took place.
- ↑ Sgt. Staples' exact rank was never stated, but based on his service years in FID (which were alluded to during his conversations with Capt. Raydor), he is presumed to be a Sergeant II, but technically he could also be just a Sergeant I.
- ↑ "Buy Guy" is an undercover officer who poses as a student at schools and makes drug buys.
| MAIN ARTICLE: LAPD | Full organization list • Chart/image • Chart/PDF |
• Awards of the LAPD • Ranks of the LAPD |
• Police Administration Building • Piper Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office of the Chief of Police | Professional Standards Bureau | FID • IAG • SOD | ||
| Office of Administrative Services | ||||
| Office of Constitutional Policing and Policy | ||||
| Office of Operations | Major Crimes Division | |||
| Assistant to the Director | CSD • PD • RACR • SECSD | |||
| Detective Bureau | CCD • DSD • FD • JUV • ND • RHD • SID • VD | |||
| Special Operations Bureau | SIS • ASD • CT • CI • EOD • ESD • GOSD • METRO • SCID | |||
| Field Operations | OCB/OSB/OVB/OWB • TSB • Gang Units | |||
| Disbanded components | Office of Human Resources • Counter-Terrorism Bureau | |||
