Field Support Division

Field Support is the largest, most diverse division in the Patrol Bureau, consisting of over 200 sworn and civilian personnel. The division is organized into the Traffic and Special Enforcement Sections. The Special Enforcement Section also includes several specialized tactical support teams.

Motorcycle Unit

This Unit includes two squads of officers who enforce general traffic laws throughout the City. The Commercial Enforcement Team is a subsection of the Unit and enforces commercial vehicle codes in Long Beach and its Port six days per week, 15 hours per day.

The Motorcycle Unit is affiliated with the very active Long Beach Motor Patrol Association, which supports the Unit's mission and charitable activities in the community. Association members and motor officers bring joy to Long Beach residents by organizing a very successful holiday toy drive each year.

DUI Team

DUI Task Force officers concentrate on apprehending impaired drivers during the nighttime hours. Every 32 minutes, someone in America dies in an impaired driving crash. Every two minutes, someone is injured. One in three Americans will be affected by this violent crime in their lifetime. The Department’s DUI team is made up of one Motor Sergeant, four Motor Officers and two transport Security Officers. Their mission is to find and arrest impaired drivers. They combine this enforcement effort with a number of education programs that will cut down the number of impaired drivers on the streets. In the last three years the DUI team have arrested over 1,580 impaired drivers.

Parking Enforcement Detail

This Detail enforces parking laws pertaining to sections in the Long Beach Municipal Code and the California Vehicle Code. In 2004, employees issued 80,729 citations, responded to 2,072 dispatches, investigated over 4,500 abandoned vehicles, towed 2,083 vehicles and recovered 67 stolen vehicles.

Accident Investigation/Fleet Safety Detail

These officers investigate hit-and-run cases, employee-involved traffic collisions, and other miscellaneous traffic incidents. The Detail also administers the 30-Day Impound Program, under which vehicles driven by unlicensed drivers are impounded.

Using internal resources, the Fleet Safety Detail instructs officers in driver safety and pursuit liability.

Special Events Section

This Section acts as a liaison for, and provides security to, all major events in the City including sporting venues, concerts, motion picture filming, and any other event requiring a special permit.

Reserve Unit

The Reserve Unit is an exceptional resource for the Department and City. The Unit includes 106 citizen volunteers who have graduated from the Departments Reserve Police Officer Basic Academy. When on-duty, reserve officers perform the same functions as full-time police officers. Reserve police officers not only provide staffing for the Business Desks at all police facilities in Long Beach, but they participate in DUI checkpoints, assist on area sweeps for narcotics, prostitution, and illegal gang activity, patrol the streets, and represent the Department at such functions as parades and sporting events.
Reserve officers donate over 24,000 hours of police service to the Department, saving the City approximately $850,600.

School Crossing Guard Detail

This Detail, so vital to the community, is comprised of 91 part-time civilian employees who maintain the safety of children crossing streets to and from school.

Special Weapons and Tactics Team The SWAT Team includes 30-40 officers from various details in the department. The team trains together on a regular basis and is prepared to handle critical incidents. The SWAT Team responds to 50+ incidents per year, including high-risk situations like hostage rescues, barricaded suspects, dangerous warrant services, skyjackings, sniper incidents, and terrorist activity. Negotiation Team The SWAT Negotiation Team is a cadre of 9 negotiators including a sergeant. The negotiation team responds on all SWAT callouts and is responsible to the SWAT Commander. They negotiate with barricaded suspects and gather intelligence related to the incident. The team is made up of officers and detectives working in various areas in the Department.

The Negotiation Team trains one or two times per month and frequently attends seminars on negotiation techniques, criminal trends and psychological profiling. The Negotiation Team has recently acquired 2 new negotiator response vehicles (NRV's), a state of the art telecommunication suite and computer system. This type of equipment proved invaluable in negotiating the surrender of the suspects in the shooting of gang Detectives Daryle Black and Rick Delfin.

Marine Patrol Unit

Marine security officers provide uniformed presence in the largest municipally owned marina system in the United States. These officers use bicycles as their primary patrol method, allowing them to be on the gangways, interacting closely with boat owners.

Air Support Unit

The Air Support Unit uses EC130 American Eurocopter B4 helicopters to provide an overhead observation platform to support ground units. The department's pilots have been trained to commercial standards to fly all missions as required.

The Air Support Unit has a video down-link system in each aircraft, allowing field supervisors to view crime scenes via monitors in their patrol units. Photo #1 Photo #2 Photo #3 Photo #4 Photo #5 Photo #6 Photo #7

K-9 Unit

The K-9 Unit supports all police field operations. This team of specially trained officers work with their canine partners to search dangerous or inaccessible locations and apprehend hidden suspects.

In 2004, K-9 officers completed 469 deployments, taking 52 suspects into custody. K-9 personnel also finished certification of a bloodhound program, and acquired two trained bloodhounds.