Los Angeles Police Department

Abused Child Section and Child Protection Section

The Abused Child Section, Juvenile Division, was created to provide a high level of expertise to the investigation of child abuse cases. The unit investigates child abuse cases wherein the parent, stepparent, legal guardian, or common-law spouse appears to be responsible for any of the following:

· Depriving the child of the necessities of life to the extent of physical impairment;

· Physical or sexual abuse of a child;

· Homicide, when the victim is under 11 years of age;

· Conducting follow-up investigations of undetermined deaths of juveniles under 11 years of age;

· The tracking of Suspected Child Abuse Reports (SCARs);

· Assisting Department personnel and outside organizations by providing information, training, and evaluation of child abuse policies and procedures;

· Implementing modifications of child abuse policies and procedures as needed;

· Reviewing selected child abuse cases to ensure that Department policies are being followed;

· Acting as the Department's representative to, and maintaining liaison with, various public and private organizations concerned with the prevention, investigation, and treatment of child abuse.

The Sexually Exploited Child Unit, Juvenile Division, is responsible for seeking out and investigating violations of state and federal laws pertaining to the sexual exploitation of children when:

· The Children are under the age of 16;

· Suspects are recidivist and cases involving multiple victims;

· There has been substantial, felony, sexual conduct and the suspect is in a position of trust;

· Child pornography cases, not involving the Internet, including production, distribution, or possession of child pornography;

· Complaints of possible child pornography from photography processing facilities, computer repair businesses, or community members;

· Providing child exploitation advice and expertise to the Department, including training

for Department schools.

Internet Crimes Against Children Unit

The Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, Juvenile Division is responsible for seeking out and investigating violations of state and federal laws pertaining to the exploitation of children when:

· The Children are under the age of 16;

· There has been substantial, felony, sexual conduct;

· The sexual predator used the Internet to contact the child and lure the child away for the purpose of having sex with the child;

· Child pornography cases involving the Internet, including production, distribution, and possession of child pornography;

· Child pornography Web sites, email Spam, and Cyber tips received from the National

Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC);

· Manage the Los Angeles Internet Crimes Against Children (LAICAC) Task Force;

· Conduct Internet Safety presentations for children, parents, schools, and community groups;

· Provide child exploitation advice and expertise, when the Internet is involved, to the

Department, including training for Department schools.

Geographic Areas

The Los Angeles Police Department maintains 19 community police stations known as geographic Areas. Each Area is responsible for the following juvenile investigations relating to child abuse and endangering cases:

· Unfit homes, endangering, and dependent child cases;

· Child abuse cases in which the perpetrator is not a parent, stepparent, legal guardian, or common-law spouse;

· Cases in which the child receives an injury, but is not the primary object of the attack;

· Child abductions.

LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT

JUVENILE DIVISION

2007 CRIMES INVESTIGATED

Figure 1: Indicates the number of crimes investigated by Juvenile Division in 2007.

LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT

GEOGRAPHIC AREAS

2007 CRIMES INVESTIGATED

Figure 2: Indicates the number of crimes investigated by the geographic Areas in 2007.

Figure 3: Indicates the number of other investigations, of a child abuse nature, conducted by Juvenile Division in 2007.

Figure 4: Indicates the number of arrests processed by Juvenile Division in 2007.

Figure 5: Indicates the number of arrests processed by geographic Areas in 2007.

Figure 6: Indicates the number of dependent children processed by Juvenile Division in

NUMBER

NOTE: Juvenile Division no longer separates 300 WIC by category. Only the

total amount of 300 WIC which are handled by the division.

Figure 7: Indicates the number of dependent children processed by geographic Areas in 2007.

NUMBER

Figure 8: Indicates the age categories of children who were victims of child abuse in 2007.

NOTE: The data in Figure 1 and Figure 2 shows a different number of victims than indicated in Figure 8. This is due to a minor administrative anomaly.

1. The total investigations (crime and non-crime) conducted by the unit in 2007 (27,286) showed an increase (39.66 percent) over the number of investigations in 2006 (19,538).

2. Adult arrests by the unit in 2007 (279) showed an increase (48.40 percent) in the number of arrests made in 2006 (188).

3. The number of dependent children handled by the unit in 2007 (1,492) showed an increase (15.66 percent) from the number handled in 2006 (1,290).

1. The total investigations conducted by the Areas in 2007 (1,276) showed a decrease of

(12.84 percent) from 2006 (1,464).

2. Adult arrests made by the Areas in 2007 (296) showed a decrease of (17.55) percent from 2006 (359).

3. The number of dependent children handled by the Areas in 2007 (1,410) was an increase of (14.17 percent) from the number handled in 2006 (1,235).

Glossary

Child – A person under the age of 18 years.

Physical Abuse – Any inflicted trauma through non-accidental means.

SCAR (Suspected Child Abuse Report) – Department of Justice Form SS 8572, is completed by Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) personnel, as well as, other mandated reporters including teachers and medical health professionals.

Sexual Abuse – Any touching with a sexual context.

Sexual Exploitation – As defined by Penal Code Section 11165, subdivision (b) (2), sexual exploitation includes conduct in violation of the following sections of the Penal Code: Penal Code Section 311.2 (pornography), Penal Code Section 311.3 (minors and pornography), Penal Code Section 288 (lewd and lascivious acts with a child), and Penal Code Section 288a (oral copulation).

ABUSED CHILD UNIT FIVE-YEAR TRENDS

The following charts represent the Abused Child Unit’s five-year trends in the respective areas.

Figure 10: Crimes Investigated Figure 11: Crimes Investigated

Figure 12: Crimes Investigated Figure 13: Crimes Investigated

Figure 14: Other Investigations Figure 15: Other Investigations

Figure 16: Total Investigations

Los Angeles Police Department