The Airport Police are a Division of Los Angeles World Airports and trace their roots back to 1946, when the War Department transferred the “Los Angeles Airport” to the City of Los Angeles. Originally staffing was only six armed guards and one supervisor to provide physical security over City property.

In the early nineteen-seventies, in response to world-wide aircraft hijacking concerns, a Boarding Services Bureau, was created. The 82 man force was primarily tasked to provide an armed presence at passenger screening stations.

Although the Division grew in size and responsibility during the decade of the eighties and nineties, the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in September of 2001, focused a new element of responsibilities—the protection of global aviation operations. Currently, the Airport Police Division is the fourth largest law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County and has the largest deployment of canine bomb detection dogs of any airport in the United States.

Today, the primary duty of the Airport Police Division is to enforce the provision of its Airport Security Plan, a document which supports the efforts of the Transportation Security Administration at LAX, LA Ontario, Van Nuys and Palmdale Regional Airports. However, the expertise of the organization includes a much wider variety of duties. These include traffic control, ground transportation regulations and airfield safety enforcement, specialized units that deal with cargo theft and an emergency response unit. The Division is also on the forefront of intelligence and planning to mitigate the possibility of any major disruption (natural or manmade) to airport operations and passenger safety.

The Airport Police Division is structured under the Executive Director of Los Angels World Airports and the Deputy Executive Director of Law Enforcement and Protection Services. Divisional management is provided by one chief, three assistant chiefs, and a deputy chief. Together they administer the Division’s four offices of operation: Administrative; Patrol Services; Traffic & Security; and, Intelligence & Emergency Operations.

Airport police are peace officers under the authority of 830.33 of the California Penal Code, whose authority extends to any place in the state for the purpose of performing their primary duty.