Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) serves Los Angeles County, California. It also serves the incorporated cities and towns within the county who have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services (known as "contract cities" in local jargon). It is the largest sheriff's department in the country. http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/iden032802.htm

Related Topics:
Los Angeles County, California - Incorporated

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Sheriff's deputies patrol both unincorporated County land and the territories of the contract cities.

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The Sheriff's Department also operates a gigantic jail system which provides short-term incarceration services for all of the County (including the cities like Los Angeles which have their own police departments). Most of the jail facilities are located in a dense cluster northeast of Union Station that is surrounded by the station's rail yard. The most important is the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. The Department claims that it operates the largest jail in the free world.

Related Topics:
Los Angeles - Twin Towers Correctional Facility

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Some of the newer contract cities like Santa Clarita and West Hollywood never had police departments. When their city governments were founded, they took over what was formerly unincorporated land, but then contracted their police responsibilities right back to the county sheriff. Since the sheriff already had substations in those areas anyway, the result was to maintain the status quo.

Related Topics:
Santa Clarita - West Hollywood

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In contrast, Compton, California, used to have a police department, but then the city council in 2000 voted to dismantle the police department and become a contract city. Compton has been at times notorious for gang violence.

Related Topics:
Compton, California - Gang

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Leroy D. Baca is the current sheriff.

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