Starting tonight, four Los Angeles Police Department stations will begin a new schedule in which the front desk will close overnight from 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM freeing up additional officers for patrol and other duties. Beginning with Devonshire, West Valley, Southeast, and Southwest, the new schedule will eventually be realized at all but five LAPD stations. Once fully adopted, this new schedule will allow 48 additional officers to return to the field nightly.
Before this change, Los Angeles was one of the only cities to staff the front desks of all police stations 24 hours a day resulting in the underutilization of available personnel. Many of these stations would see little to no activity at their front desks during these hours. While the front desk will be closed, the station will remain open with a phone system installed at the front door to alert officers in case of someone in need of assistance.
“As Chair of the Los Angeles Public Safety Committee and Vice Chair of the Budget & Finance Committee, it is my priority to ensure that we are deploying resources effectively and efficiently across our departments,” Councilmember Englander said. “By adopting this new schedule, we’re maximizing the deployment of our public safety personnel and allowing police officers to do police work, rather than unnecessarily occupy a desk at a time when it is rarely used.”
The five stations that will maintain a 24 hour front desk staff schedule are 77th, Van Nuys, Central, Hollywood, and Pacific.
