Los Angeles Police Department

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said his office has been receiving piles of calls from law enforcement agencies throughout the country, all of whom want to know how the department overcame similar issues in the past.

Back in 1992, in the middle of the Rodney King riots, the city was set ablaze as protesters ran amok in many areas of the city.

In the years moving ahead, court-ordered reforms alongside a commitment to make things better provided the Los Angeles Police Department with a solid foundation to help change its ways.

The reforms were widespread, according to sources, and addressed everything from institutionalized …

The Los Angeles Police Department is hardly denying that it's using technology to help keep track of where ex-cons, and those who are most likely to break the law, are most likely to be found.

Not only do these tools allow higher-ups to assign additional patrol officers to these areas, they say, it's also helped reduce crime rates.

Part of it relates to data collection while the other part is real-time computer tracking; the program uses both street-intelligence and high-speed computer calculations to point officers in a particular direction.  Sources within the LAPD says it's been so successful that the program …

Sources within the LAPD have confirmed the existence of video footage that confirms that a program designed to help identify corrupt officers.

Members of the Special Operations Division say it's all about weeding out "the bad apples".   Officers who willfully do wrong while wearing the badge leave a stain on the entire department, they said, which is why the SOD works hard to investigate allegations of officer misconduct.

Those who perform the investigations say it definitely takes a toll; they can't share the details of the operations with anyone, especially since that could compromise the safety of department personnel.   They also …

After the recent events in Ferguson, MO, there's been a lot of conversation about whether the government should continue its practice of giving military gear to local law enforcement agencies.

Where did law enforcement militarization begin in the US, we should be wondering.

According to Robert Slayton, a Chapman University professor we should be looking back to the 1950s and LAPD Chief William Parker.

When Chief Parker took over the department, a number of changes took place:

First, they started hiring officers based on merit (as opposed to the former "old boy network" or who knew who within the city's political ranks).
Parker started …

Members of the Los Angeles Police Department said they're starting to think outside the box when it comes to making the northwestern San Fernando Valley a bit safer.

To do that, they said, they're putting together a volunteer civilian bike patrol.

Participants will need to provide their own bikes but they will be given matching uniforms.  Although they won't be able to do things like make arrests or write tickets, they will be extra eyes and ears on the ground.

The LAPD said each volunteer will undergo about a week of training and officers will help teach them what to look for …

It's that time of year again.

This month, it's believed more than 27,000 senior high school students from throughout the city will celebrate their 12th grade graduation.

And for many, when this type of milestone achievement is reached, there's a certain amount of celebrating that goes along with it.  This is why the LAPD has teamed up with the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) for their 16th annual Safe and Sober Graduation Operation.

Using alcohol to enhance a celebration is ill advised, they said, with the most obvious problem being the fact that graduating seniors fall short of the legal drinking …