Summary

In 1869, the Los Angeles City Council organized the city's first paid police force. The unit had only six officers, and they did not receive traditional salaries. Today, there are approximately 9,000 uniformed officers and 3,000 civilian employees of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) charged with maintaining law and order in the city's 468 square miles. Los Angeles Police Department follows the force's evolution from a small band of crime fighters to one of America's most well-known, cutting-edge police departments.

Key topics covered include:

• Pre-LAPD law enforcement in Los Angeles
• Police chiefs and their policies
• LAPD activities during World War I
• Prohibition and the Great Depression
• Zoot Suit Riots
• Black Dahlia murder investigation
• Watts Riots
• The Rodney King incident.

Specifications

Full-color and black-and-white photographs. Sidebars. Chronology. Endnotes. Bibliography. Further resources. Index.

About the Author(s)

Richard Worth has 30 years of experience as a writer, trainer, and video producer. He has written more than 50 books, as well as an eight-part series about Fiorella LaGuardia for National Public Radio. He received the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age 2003 award for Gangs and Gang Crime in Chelsea House's Crime, Justice, and Punishment.