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.
Sexually Exploited Child Unit
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.
TYPE /NUMBER
/ % of TOTALPhysical Abuse (Includes ADW and battery) / 1,101 / 47.43%
Sexual Abuse / 574 / 24.73%
Endangering
/ 514 / 22.15%Homicide / 5 / 0.22%
Others / 127 / 5.47%
TOTALS / 2,321 / 100%
LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
GEOGRAPHIC AREAS
2007 CRIMES INVESTIGATED
Figure 2: Indicates the number of crimes investigated by the geographic Areas in 2007.
TYPE /NUMBER
/ % of TOTALPhysical Abuse / 0 / 0.00%
Sexual Abuse (Includes Child Annoying) / 953 /
74.69%
Endangering (Includes Child Abandonment)
/ 323 / 25.31%Homicide / 0 / 0.00%
TOTALS / 1,276 / 100%
Figure 3: Indicates the number of other investigations, of a child abuse nature, conducted by Juvenile Division in 2007.
TYPE /NUMBER
/ % of TOTALInjury / 4,776 / 19.13%
Death / 69 / 0.28%
Exploitation / 59 / 0.24%
Internet Crime / 223 / 0.89%
SCAR Reports / 19,838 / 79.46%
TOTALS / 24,965 / 100%
Figure 4: Indicates the number of arrests processed by Juvenile Division in 2007.
TYPE /NUMBER
/ % of TOTALHomicide (187 PC) / 3 / 1.08%
Child Molest (288 PC) / 119 / 42.65%
Child Endangering (273a PC) / 26 / 9.32%
Child Abuse (273d PC) / 100 / 35.84%
Others / 31 / 11.11%
TOTALS / 279 / 100%
Figure 5: Indicates the number of arrests processed by geographic Areas in 2007.
TYPE /NUMBER
/ % of TOTALHomicide (187 PC) / 0 / 0.00%
Child Molest (288 PC) / 271 / 91.55%
Child Endangering (273a PC) / 0 / 0.00%
Child Abuse (273d PC) / 6 / 2.03%
Others / 19 / 6.42%
TOTALS / 296 / 100%
Figure 6: Indicates the number of dependent children processed by Juvenile Division in
2007.
TYPE /NUMBER
/ % of TOTAL300 WIC (Physical Abuse) / *** / ***%
300 WIC (Sexual Abuse) / *** / ***%
300 WIC (Endangered) / *** / ***%
TOTALS / 1,492 / 100%
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.
TYPE /NUMBER
/ % of TOTAL300 WIC (Physical Abuse) / 184 / 13.05%
300 WIC (Sexual Abuse) / 365 / 25.89%
300 WIC (Endangered/Neglect) / 861 / 61.06%
TOTALS / 1,410 / 100%
Figure 8: Indicates the age categories of children who were victims of child abuse in 2007.
Physical Abuse / 115 / 222 / 107 / 67 / 511
Sexual Abuse / 176 / 389 / 717 / 253 / 1,535
Endangering / 552 / 394 / 311 / 122 / 1,379
TOTAL / 843 / 1,005 / 1,135 / 442 / 3,425
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.
Los Angeles Police Department – 2007 Child Abuse Findings
Juvenile Division
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).
Geographic Areas
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).
Figure 9: Indicates a comparison of 2006 and 2007 total figures from Juvenile Division and the geographic Areas, and the percentage of change between the two years.
TYPE / 2006 / 2007 / % of CHANGETotal Investigations
/ 21,002 / 28,562 / 35.99%Total Adult Arrests / 547 / 575 / 5.12%
Dependent Children / 2,525 / 2,902 / 14.93%
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).
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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
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