Birth of Contract Law Enforcement

The end of World War II marked the beginning of the aerospace industry. With large numbers of former servicemen settling in the California area, jobs were plentiful and the rapid growth of bedroom communities led to eventual incorporation efforts throughout Southern California.

The City of Lakewood incorporated in 1954, becoming the first Los Angeles community to do so since 1939. Upon incorporation, the new city was obligated by State law to begin providing municipal law enforcement services, heretofore provided by County government. Faced with burdensome capital expenditures and commensurate public indebtedness needed to finance its own police department, Lakewood looked for an alternative method to providing municipal law enforcement services at a reduced cost.

Lakewood deputy circa 1950's

Lakewood city officials and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department executives formulated the first Contract Law Enforcement Program. While expanded and modified in Los Angeles County, it has served as a model for many other cities throughout California and across the nation.

The intergovernmental contract system offers a wide range of services at a reduced cost, allowing each contract city to choose a level of service that best meets the needs of its community. Duplicate costs are avoided because contract cities draw upon the full potential of the Sheriff’s Department, sharing support resources and paying only their proportionate “user costs.” As a result of this “cost sharing” concept, contract cities can obtain an optimum level of police service for a lesser cost than would be required for them to maintain their own police department. In addition, the contract cities can draw upon the full resources of the largest Sheriff’s Department in the world.

The Sheriff’s Department’s contract law enforcement program is not limited to municipal police services. It also includes contract law enforcement services for transit and school policing; public and private entities; the state funded trial courts throughout the county; and, state and federal custody operations. These contract law enforcement programs provide combined annual revenues of approximately $550 million.