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The Laguna Beach Police Department is under the direction of The Chief of Police, Michael F. Sellers. The address of the Laguna Beach Police Department is 505 Forest Avenue Laguna Beach, CA 92651. The department is located in downtown Laguna Beach at the corner of Forest Avenue and Third Street. Telephone number for the Laguna Beach Police for non-emergencies is 949 497-0701. For emergencies call 911. There is currently a regular force of aproximately 49 sworn officers. The department is organized into 3 major divisions
In addition to these three main divisions, the Laguna Beach Police Department supports an Explorer Post, Reserve Officers and a Retired Senior Citizens’ Volunteer unit. Reserve officers, police explorers and retired senior volunteers perform many duties, which would otherwise be assigned to full time employees.
Field Services Division consists of 38 field officers and breaks down into the following smaller units. The Patrol Section has 23 officers who respond to calls and enforce municipal, state and federal laws. In addition, six sergeants are assigned to Field Services as watch commanders and as the traffic unit supervisor. The traffic Unit has 4 motorcycle officers who support the patrol officers’ duties. Some patrol officers assigned to the traffic unit are assigned to special duty such as The Downtown Foot Patrol, The Beach Patrol Unit that uses ATV vehicles to assist in patrolling the beach areas, The Bike Patrol Unit that provides service in the downtown area. Bicycles are useful in that they give the officers the contact with the public much like the foot patrol officers but they also have the ability to move at a faster speed when necessary. Also, under the auspices of the Field Services Division is the City of Laguna Beach Animal Shelter. The shelter, with three full time personnel, depend heavily on volunteers to help care for over 600 impounded animals every year. The three animal services officers enforce animal regulations, license approximately 2,500 animals, assists with the rehabilitation of injured wild animals, and oversees the city’s dog park. The City of Laguna Beach Animal Shelter is located at 20612 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA, 92651. Telephone number is (949) 497-3552. The hours of the shelter are 11am to 4pm, 7 days a week. Unclaimed stray animals, and animals that are dropped off are available for adoption.
In addition to investigations unit, investigative services is over the Community Services/Crime Prevention Unit and parking services.
The Investigations Unit investigates crimes that have been committed in Laguna Beach. These investigative responsibilities are divided into two groups:
Investigation of crimes committed against persons, property, fraud, thefts and juvenile crimes. Other special investigations handle narcotic and vice crimes and any other as assigned. Property and Evidence section takes custody of all physical evidence collected in criminal investigations. They examine all evidence and perform qualitative and quantitative identification of organic and inorganic substances. They provide comparative identification of evidence and standards materials including firearms and tools. They prepare and present expert testimony in regard to criminal cases. In addition to these duties, the Investigations Unit has administrative responsibility for the DARE program and the Community Services Unit. Investigations Division can be contacted by calling (949) 497-0377 Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm.
The Parking Services Unit is organized into two divisions Parking Enforcement and Management and Parking Maintenance.
Parking enforcement and management. Comprised of five officers and three clerical staff employees, enforcement and management process in excess of 56,000 citations per year. They also oversee the collection and disposition of the parking fines. In addition to enforcing all parking regulations, these officers also remove traffic hazards and monitor abandoned vehicles. Laguna Beach parking enforcement will use the ‘boot’ attached to the tire of a vehicle that has had five or more unpaid parking tickets. In addition, all parking personnel are trained to provide immediate field support during major incidents, disasters and traffic/crowd control situations. For parking enforcement and management related questions, the number to call is (949) 497-0355.
Parking Maintenance. The parking maintenance division, comprising three full time employees, is actually managed by the Public Works Department. Their task is to maintain over 2,100 meters each year, including installation and replacement of the meters as well as the daily collection of coins. There are also two city parking lots that have two-hour parking permits. Part of their responsibility also includes maintaining the change machines located in these parking lots. The six city-owned public parking lots and the Glenneyre Parking Garage are also operated and maintained by this division. Questions regarding parking in these facilities will be answered by calling (949) 497-0450.
This unit, under the direction of Colleen Walloch, Community Services Officer for the Laguna Beach Police Department, focuses on teaching residents and business owners how to protect themselves against crime in the following ways:
When requested, a free Safety Inspection of homes or businesses will be conducted including recommendations to make the home or business less susceptible to robbery or vandalism. This Unit keeps crime statistics and analysis for the city, Coordinates the annual Police Department Open House and conducts tours of the police facility, Produces all crime prevention literature, Conducts various age-appropriate presentations on crime prevention for school children of all levels, Oversees the DARE program. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) started in 1983, has proven to be successful in a reduction of children experimenting with drugs. DARE Officer, Detective Richard White, is trained to present 17 week program for school children ages from Kindergarten through Junior High School. Because of Detective White’s unique ability to relate to the children, this program has proven to yield a specific reduction in children experimenting with drugs. To contact Detective White you may call (949) 497-0368. This Unit also oversees the Neighborhood Watch program, including recruiting and training block captains, producing a monthly newsletter, and speaking at neighborhood watch meetings. To contact the Community Services Officer, call Colleen Walloch at (949) 497-0382.
This division provides such things as facility maintenance, computer systems, purchasing, planning and research, vehicle maintenance, trustee program, management of records, statistical services and jail operations. They support all functions for the entire police department. One of the vital sections of the support division is the Records Section. The personnel of this section assist the public at the business counter, and receive non-emergency calls to the police department. In addition, they compile statistical information, process reports, help prepare documentation for arrests, court citations, and criminal cases. Another responsibility of the Support Services Department is to process the payroll for the department, oversee all of the maintenance for the department’s vehicles and co-manage the parking management program. To contact the Support Services Division, call (949) 497-0701