California Highway Patrol
Southern Division
(Los Angeles County Operations)

Encompassing Los Angeles County and although the smallest geographically of the CHP's eight Divisions, Southern Division encompasses all of Los Angeles County with a population that is more than a quarter of California's population and larger than that of 42 U.S. states. At last count (2005), the Southern Division has the largest number of CHP employees (1,123 uniformed officers and 359 non-uniformed personnel). Los Angeles is the real-world training ground for many new CHP officers. According to the most recent numbers available, more than a third of CHP academy graduates are assigned to Southern Division. In 2012, Southern Division officers documented 50,622 collision reports, the most of any Division in the state.

About one-third of all CHP motorcycles are assigned to Southern Division. When a traffic violation or collision occurs, motorcycles are the only vehicles that can weave between gridlocked cars. Some freeways have little or no shoulder to allow law enforcement cars and emergency vehicles access to an accident scene. CHP motorcycle officers also assist in providing protection to the many visits by national leaders and foreign heads of state to the Los Angeles area.

The Los Angeles Communications Center handles as many as 150,000 "routine" calls each month; responding to
42,000 call boxes and 450,000 potential cell phone users - a figure that grows each week. The Center dispatches for all of Los Angeles County, supporting 1,000 CHP officers operating 600 mobile units and dispatching 144 Metro Freeway Service Patrol trucks.

Source: California Highway Patrol

California Highway Patrol vehicle in Downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles Almanac Photo.

CHP Stations and Facilities in Los Angeles County