The mission of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association (LAAPOA) is to maintain a leadership role in organizing, empowering and representing the interests of all current and retired members by:
- Facilitating a member-driven organization that promotes public awareness that encourages and upholds a professional image to the aviation community and public at large.
- Preserving an environment in which members interact and work towards achieving common goals and objectives; defining and enhancing standards for professionalism.
- Advocating and ensuring that the latest training and equipment is identified, provided, and implemented for all of its law enforcement and public safety professionals.
- Representing and protecting the rights and benefits of all our members.
LAAPOA represents the sworn police officers of the Los Angeles Airport Police, the Los Angeles Municipal Police and the Los Angeles Park Rangers assigned to protect and serve Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Van Nuys Airport (VNY) and the city of Los Angeles.
THE STORY
The Los Angeles Airport Police Department is the fourth-largest law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County, with more than 1,200 law enforcement, security and staff personnel.
The Airport Police Department is a division of Los Angeles World Airports, the City department that owns and operates two airports in Southern California: LAX and Van Nuys (general aviation).
Although the Los Angeles Airport Police Department has served the aviation security needs of the Los Angeles World Airports since 1946, the birth of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association (LAAPOA) can be traced to a single event in the history of the Department: the 1984 Summer Games. In conjunction with the opening of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and Terminal 1 for the Olympics, staffing increased to handle the influx of travelers flying to Los Angeles.
Today, at the request of the membership, LAAPOA has grown into an outspoken, proactive organization that works to enhance professional and personal benefits for its members. In recent years, the association has built a successful track record of protecting its members’ contracts against fluctuations in the local economy.
As part of the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), LAAPOA members have access to comprehensive legal defense coverage and several insurance and benefit options.
Throughout the year, LAAPOA hosts a number of free activities for members and their families, including a holiday party and picnic. The association’s Los Angeles Airport Police Athletics & Activities League sponsors members and the surrounding communities to participate in athletics and charity events that better the membership and the community at large.
As aviation security requirements change to secure the dynamic environment at LAX — the number-one terrorist target on the West Coast — and Van Nuys airports, LAAPOA will continue to evolve to protect the sworn personnel of the Los Angeles Airport Police Department.