Reorganizing the Department at the Division level

There's been a major change for the better in how the Divisions will be doing business from now on ... but it's not a new approach. Rather it's a command decision to put things back to what closely resembles an older, proven structure.

As you'll see from Chief Pomeroy's Administrative Order No. 3 below, and from the chart at the bottom of the page, the responsibilities for many hands-on duties will revert back to the Division's Captain I, the Lieutenants and the Watch Commanders. This will free up the Captain III, the Area Commander, to over-all command and community policing activities.

Vice Units, Training Coordination, Analytical Records, and Complaints will belong to the Area Commander, as will supervision of the Senior Lead Officers, Community Relations, Crime Prevention Units, Reserve Coordination, and oversight of the Division's participation in the Community Police Academy.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Community Police Academy classes are held regularly, and if you're at all interested in community policing or simply interested in better understanding how LAPD works we strongly suggest you take the course. It's taught at the Police Academy once a week over a ten week period. Contact Operations Central Bureau at 213 / 485-3101 to find out when the next class starts.

Here's the way the Community Police Stations at the Divisions will work, beginning July 28th:

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 3
JULY 9, 2002

SUBJECT: REORGANIZATION OF THE AREA COMMAND STRUCTURE

PURPOSE: Administrative Order No. 3, 1997, outlined a major reorganization of the Department, including the restructuring of our Area commands. However, several recent initiatives, including implementation of the Consent Decree, management of the flexible Work Schedule (FWS), and reestablishment of the Senior Lead Officers (SLO) as our primary community mobilizers, have significantly increased the Area commanding officers' responsibilities. Recognizing the importance of those initiatives, this order reorganizes the Area command structure to accomplish these missions while providing effective command oversight of patrol operations.

REORGANIZATION: The new Area command structure is effective on July 28, 2002, the first day of Deployment Period (DP) No. 8. The new structure is depicted on the attached Are Organization Chart, the majority of which is self-explanatory. However, the following components require some explanation:

· The Captain III Area Commanding Officer (C/O) retains line command of the entire Area, exercising direct command of the Vice Unit, SLOs, Community Relations and administration.

· The Captain I becomes the Patrol Division C/O with line command over the Area's patrol function and the Special Enforcement Unit, including the Gang Detail and Career Criminal Detail, if staffed (Administrative Order 3, 2000).

· The Lieutenant II becomes the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Detective Section. The Lieutenant II, with concurrence from the Area C/O, will determine the Assistant OIC's specific duties provided, however, that the Homicide Unit shall report directly to the OIC.

· The Lieutenant I becomes the Assistant OIC of the Detective Section. However, the Area C/O may retain the Lieutenant I in the Administrative Section for up to three DPs to clear up existing personnel complaints. Any extension must be approved by the bureau C/O and the Chief of Police.

AUDIT RESPONSIBILITY: The Operations Committee shall monitor compliance with this directive (Manual Section 0/080.30).

MARTIN H. POMEROY
Chief of Police