General Plan Update - City of Inglewood

Chapter 6 Community Safety and Hazards
the City. These divisions include Patrol, Traffic, K-9 unit, Anti-Crime Team, and the
Transit Safety Team. The Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and Crisis Negotiation
Teams are also functions managed within the Patrol Bureau.
The Patrol Division is primarily responsible for answering calls for service and
conducting proactive enforcement, with an emphasis on community policing and
problem-solving approaches. Inglewood has the same contemporary crime problems
facing other large cities and congested urban areas. The City’s close proximity to the Los
Angeles International Airport brings a significant number of visitors and travelers
through the city each day. 107 Each patrol officer works four 10-hour shifts per week. Shift
times overlap to ensure adequate patrol of the City. Shifts last from 7:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.,
from 3:00 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. and from 10:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M. 108
The Traffic Division is primarily responsible for the safety of Inglewood’s streets and
thoroughfares and for ensuring the smooth flow of traffic. In addition, the Traffic
Division conducts regular checkpoints for violators of the state’s Driver License and
Driving Under the Influence (DUI) laws. Since 2001, the Inglewood Police Department
has received a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety that has covered most of
the costs related to such checkpoints. Finally, the Traffic Division is responsible for
coordinating the city’s red light camera enforcement program.
The Department’s K-9 Unit consists of three K-9 handlers. The Inglewood Police
Department uses German Shepherds for its K-9 program.
The Anti-Crime Team (ACT) consists of one lieutenant, two sergeants, and 17 police
officers. The unit is primarily responsible for street gang enforcement, street narcotics
enforcement and prostitution enforcement. In order to carry out its mission effectively,
the unit regularly conducts parole and probation searches, “John” Stings and reverse-buy
narcotics operations, as well as conducting undercover surveillances of criminal targets.
Many of the Department’s SWAT members are assigned to the ACT unit.
The Patrol Bureau is also responsible for parking enforcement activities including special
enforcement, traffic control, and the school crossing guard program.
Response Times
The IPD does not set a minimum service ratio. Additions to the Police Department are
made at the recommendation of department heads on an as-needed basis. The average
emergency response times, however, for the period of January 1, 2005 through
December 1, 2005 are as follows: For morning watch, 6 minutes 28 seconds; day watch,
7 minutes and 29 seconds; and evening watch, 6 minutes and 48 seconds. The average
non-emergency response time is as follows: For morning watch, 8 minutes and
107 City of Inglewood website. www.cityofinglewood.org/depts/police/patrol/default.asp. Accessed March
23, 2006.
6.6-6
City of Inglewood General Plan Update Technical Background Report