About the Torrance
Police Department The City of Torrance is located in southwest
Los Angeles County in a region known as the South Bay. The fourth largest municipality in Los Angeles County, the City is
bordered on the southwest by one mile of beach, on the west by the City of Redondo Beach, on the north by the community of
Lawndale, on the east by the Cities of Los Angeles' Harbor Gateway and Gardena, and on the south by the communities of
the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The City is part of the greater suburban
Los Angeles area. Prior to 1912, Torrance was part of a Spanish land grant belonging to the Dominguez family. The land was
largely unpopulated, open, dusty plain. By 1912, a real estate developer from Pasadena named Jared Sidney Torrance had purchased
2800 acres to make his vision of a "Modern Industrial City" a reality. Police services during this period were provided
by Los Angeles County in the form of a Constable stationed in Lomita. During these early years, the City's physical layout
followed Jared Sydney Torrance's master plan. Today, the Torrance
Police Department has 240 sworn police officers and 101 civilian support personnel. In addition to the
main police station, the Torrance Police Department operates four Police Community Centers. The Torrance
Police Department is organized into four Bureaus, with a Captain in charge of each bureau, reporting to the Deputy Chief of
Police. The four bureaus are: Administrative, Services, Patrol and Special Operations. The
Patrol Bureau contains the Patrol Division which is the largest personnel pool in the department.
The Patrol Division is under the command of one captain. Six lieutenants serve as watch commanders. There are twelve
field sergeants and 80 officers in Patrol. Lieutenants, sergeants and officers are assigned to work one of three different
shifts, 07,15 or 00 watch. The City is divided into 6 beats, with each beat patrolled by at least one unit. Patrol is
the largest division within the Police Department, and the Patrol Officers are the first responders to our community's
calls for service; playing a key role in our public service, crime prevention, crime detection, criminal apprehension, S.W.A.T.,
C.S.I., K9 and Community-Oriented Policing efforts. Patrol Officers
generally work in full uniform and operate marked black and white police vehicles. A Patrol Officer's day ranges from
handling routine reports to life threatening dangerous situations. When not answering calls for service, Patrol Officers seek
out and proactively suppress criminal activity. They also routinely participate in such activities as traffic enforcement,
community problem-solving activities, assisting citizens in improving the quality of life in the City and numerous other law
enforcement functions Sources: torrnet.com
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