LAPD Reserve Officers Provide Increased Patrol During the Holiday Shopping Season

Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Police Department’s West Bureau, in conjunction with LAPD reserve officers, provided increased police presence in several westside neighborhood shopping centers during “Black Friday”. These areas included The Grove and the Beverly Center. Thousands of shoppers visited these areas after the Thanksgiving holiday. Many cities across the country, including Los Angeles, have experienced an increase in property crime during the holiday season.

To address the crime increase, Operations-West Bureau took a different approach by deploying reserve officers rather than full-time police officers. Reserve police officers were deployed so that full-time officers could be utilized in traditional patrol assignments.

Reserve police officers are sworn officers; however, they are not paid for their services. These community volunteers attend the Los Angeles Police Academy, where they receive the same training as full-time officers. Reserve police officers work a minimum of 32 hours every two months, serving the community in a patrol car or in other capacities within LAPD.