Protecting the Rights of First Responders Since 1982
Once the stuff of science fiction, drones are now becoming a regular feature of our skies. Thanks to rapid technological advances, anyone can buy a small, powerful unmanned aircraft system (UAS) online for less than $500, and the military, law enforcement, businesses and hobbyists find more uses for remote-controlled fliers every day.
Police cars are one of the main symbols that the public associates with law enforcement, and one of the primary tools that help officers do their jobs effectively. Hard-driving police work causes tremendous wear and tear on vehicles, and regular repairs and replacements are required to maintain safety and efficiency. Yet Los Angeles Airport Police are saddled with a high-mileage, often dilapidated fleet far beyond the norms of accepted best practices.
The Los Angeles Airport Police Department has grown exponentially since its origin with just six officers and one sergeant in 1946. Along the way, its responsibilities have continued to evolve in response to local events and the shifting global security environment. The rich history of the LAXPD demonstrates its officers’ constant commitment to ensuring the safety of the traveling public and the residents of Los Angeles, as well as the crucial importance of having an on-site, specially trained force dedicated to airport law enforcement.
Among the many challenges of meeting LAX’s growing security needs is maintaining a stable and sufficiently staffed police force. Faced with the reality of recruitment and retention issues — including heightened competition for quality officers among all agencies and police departments — it’s time for the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) to address a glaring problem: the pay and benefit discrepancies between LAPD and LAXPD for performing the same services at LAX.
On April 8, the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT OIG) released its findings from a nine-month investigation into revenue diversion at LAX in a report titled “FAA Oversight Is Inadequate to Ensure Proper Use of Los Angeles International Airport Revenue for Police Services and Maximization of Resources.” The audit found that Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) improperly used more than $8 million of LAX revenues and funding between 2006 and 2012 without adequate documentation or support, most of it for LAPD policing services.
A lot of attention has been rightly focused on the February 27 AP story about how the LAX emergency communications system failed during the November 1, 2013, shooting in Terminal 3. Just seconds after the shooting had begun, a screening supervisor called dispatch but had to flee the area as the gunman approached.
January 1 marked the start of a new era for the Los Angeles Airport Police. As a result of the long-deserved and hard-won passage of AB 128 in October 2013, its officers were reclassified under California Penal Code 830.1, upgrading them to the same status as the LAPD and other municipal police departments in the state. This change not only affords airport police the respect reflective of their training and professionalism, but it also expands their authority, allowing them to provide enhanced service to the traveling public and increasing the efficiency of local law enforcement.
Continuing to consolidate important endorsements and support in the race to fill California’s new 59th Assembly District seat, today Secretary of the California Democratic Party, Reginald (Reggie) Jones-Sawyer won an important public safety endorsement from the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers’ Association (LAAPOA).