The Los Angeles General Services Police was a

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LE ...

that provided

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

and

security officer A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...

services to

Los Angeles City Hall Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is located in the Civic Ce ...

Los Angeles Central Library Richard J. Riordan Central Library, also known as the Los Angeles Central Library, is the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), in Downtown Los Angeles. It is named after Mayor of Los Angeles Richard Riordan. It consists of tw ...

Los Angeles Zoo The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. The city of Los Angeles owns the entire zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals. Animal care, grounds maintenance, construction, ed ...

Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center is a convention center in the southwest section of downtown Los Angeles. It hosts multiple annual conventions and has often been used as a filming location in TV shows and movies. History The convention center, ...

and city parks, recreation centers, senior centers, Venice and other beaches, and recreational facilities. The department had similar duties of the now also defunct

Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety The Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety (LACOPS), less formally known as the Los Angeles County Police, was a police agency for the County of Los Angeles. It was formed in 1998 by consolidating three Los Angeles County law enforcement age ...

, which was absorbed into the

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States ...

. The department's last

police chief The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

was Gary S. Newton. The department was established as a security force in 1979. A peace officer component was created in the late 1980s and reorganized in 2003 when

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro temp ...

members

Wendy Greuel Wendy Jane Greuel (born May 23, 1961) is an American politician. She served as Los Angeles City Controller from 2009–13. Greuel was the second woman elected to citywide office in Los Angeles, after her predecessor Laura Chick. Previously, she ...

and

Jack Weiss Jack Stephen Weiss (born August 21, 1964) is an American entrepreneur and former politician. He is co-founder of BlueLine Grid, Inc., formerly known as Bratton Technologies, Inc. Weiss is also a former member of the Los Angeles City Council repre ...

proposed to create the Office of Public Safety by merging the many city security services (General Services Police, Library Security, City Park Rangers, Convention Center Security, and Los Angeles Zoo Security) into one centralized division of the Department of General Services. In July 2012 through January 2013, the department and its duties were absorbed into the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-lar ...

. As of 2007, GSPD was authorized 112 police officers and over 350 security officers and support staff with an annual budget of over 30 million dollars excluding employee benefits. The department patrolled over 470 parks, 72 libraries and 900 municipal buildings. It was the 10th largest law enforcement agency in L.A. County. The department was also responsible for citywide contract security services as well as physical and technology based access and surveillance throughout the city (excluding proprietary departments). The department was dissolved by the Los Angeles City Council. The City Council voted to close the department to save the city money and as a result, police and security personnel were transferred into the new Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Security Services Division, Division #36.

External links

Los Angeles General Services Police (2019 archive)
{{Los Angeles Government Government of Los Angeles Defunct law enforcement agencies of California Government agencies established in 1979

See also

External links