Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety
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The Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety (LACOPS), less formally known as the Los Angeles County Police, was formed in 1998 as a consolidation of the Department of Parks and Recreation Park Police and the Department of Health Services and Internal Services Department’s Safety Police. LACOPS is the fourth-largest law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County, employing 491 sworn peace officers and 142 civilian personnel, and contract 750 private security guards, and a budget of $100 million. They were previously a division of Los Angeles County Department of Human Resources LACDHR. Currently, they are under a newly-created Public Safety branch of the Chief Executive Office, headed by Deputy CEO Doyle Campbell.
There have been occasional calls for the County Police to be merged with (absorbed into) the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, but the offers have been repeatedly rebuffed by its officers and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. 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 high Court's refusal to hear a final appeal appears to have made 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 will serve as a basis for what should be a final decision about the proposed merger.
The County Police mission is "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 current County Police Chief is Margaret Ann York, the wife of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lance Ito. Chief York came to the County Police after serving 34 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, becoming the first woman to attain the rank of Deputy Chief and was that department's highest ranking woman at the time of her retirement in 2002.
The County Police is not to be confused with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department or with the City of Los Angeles General Services Police.
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[edit] OPS Structure
The OPS maintains four bureaus:
- Administrative Services Bureau
- Contracts & Monitoring
- Fiscal Services
- Fleet Management
- Human Resources
- Information Systems
- Facilities Services Bureau
- Health Services Bureau
- Parks & Recreation Bureau
Belvedere Station South Station Whittier Narrows Station Quartz Hill Substation Castaic Station Bonelli Station
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- Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center
- Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
- King/Drew Medical Center & Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center
- Olive View Medical Center
- Park Services Bureau
- Division I
- Division II
[edit] Requirements to become an OPS Officer
OPS requires Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST License) for all sworn officers.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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