About the Hawthorne Police Department

The Hawthorne Police Department has been serving the City of Hawthorne since 1922, over 78 years of service. The Hawthorne Police Department consists of 96 sworn officers, 46 civilians, 6 part-time Reserve Officers and 15 explorers.

The Patrol Bureau is under the direction of the Operations Division Captain. There are four Lieutenants who act as Watch Commanders, and six Sergeants who are field supervisors. Current staffing in the Patrol is 37 patrol officers, four K-9 officers with dogs, and five civilian Police Service Officers who man the front desk. The jail is staffed with civilian jailers and is supervised by the on-duty Watch Commander.

The Detective Bureau of the Hawthorne Police department is responsible for investigation of all felony crimes/complaints, and select-misdemeanor crimes/complaints. A Lieutenant, three Sergeants, and sixteen investigators staff the Detective Bureau. The Bureau is divided into three sections - Adult crimes, Juvenile Crimes, and Narcotics. The Adult Crimes section is further broken down into specific crime types, as shown in the organization chart.

The Traffic Bureau is currently staffed with one sergeant, one accident investigator, and five motorcycle officers. These sworn officers are supported by the efforts of one Traffic Service Specialist and ten Parking Enforcement Officers. In 2005, there were 278 documented injury traffic accidents, and 349 documented non-injury traffic accidents. Two of the accidents resulted in a death. 222 of the documented accidents were hit and runs. 15,578 moving violations were issued along with 35,391 parking citations. 275 arrests of DUI drivers also occurred.

The Narcotics Units of the Hawthorne Police Department is responsible for investigating and interdicting the importation of illegal drugs in the City of Hawthorne and assisting prosecuting agencies in preparing successful narcotics cases for court. The Unit Prepares narcotic-related civil and criminal forfeiture cases involving illegal profits derived from drug transactions. The Narcotics Unit is responsible for all narcotic related arrests and investigations regarding any reported drug activity within the City of Hawthorne. Most investigations are either self initiated by the unit or initiated by information supplied by citizens of the community. The Narcotics Unit is comprised of one Police Sergeant, three Narcotic Investigators and one narcotics trained K-9 named “Heidi.”

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