After calls for criminal justice reform swept throughout Southern California in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a new Los Angeles Police Department bureau centered on community safety and policing last July. 

What You Need To Know

  • Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the creation of the Community Safety Partnership Bureau last July

  • The new LAPD bureau places specially trained officers in five-year community-based assignments

  • Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides has been tapped to lead the CSP Bureau

  • The bureau was announced after protests erupted following George Floyd’s death

The Community Safety Partnership, or CSP, was initially created as a community policing program in 2011 and is now being expanded into a permanent bureau within LAPD. 

Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides is in charge of the bureau and tells Inside the Issues the CSP’s main focus is to strengthen relationships between community members and law enforcement.

“We started off with just wanting to build relationships, not wanting to come in and suppress a community but wanting to come in and learn the community,” Tingirides said.

The CSP places specially trained officers in five-year assignments so they can integrate into the communities they serve. The program partners with LAPD and the city’s housing authority to position law enforcement in neighborhoods experiencing high levels of crime and poverty.

Tingirides explained that officers assist communities by meeting with nonprofit organizations, attending community meetings and working closely with the Mayor’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development Program.

“Officers really became engaged and treated the community like their own family. When we did that, we found that trust was built,” she said. “We also found that crime was reduced, but most importantly we felt hope within the community.” 

However, Tingirides noted that the new bureau is more necessary than ever after protests against police brutality rocked Los Angeles County last summer.

“People are hurting and they’re trying to understand why this incident happened. It’s truly tragic what happened to George Floyd. I found myself understanding that pain, not necessarily understanding the violence after the incident and the destruction of property within our city,” Tingirides added.

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She now hopes the CSP Bureau will be the first step in building back trust and transforming what public safety looks like throughout the city of Los Angeles.

“I hear the call for reimagining, I understand that we need to hold additional resources accountable,” Tingirides said. “Right now the LAPD is the only 24/7 entity that’s called upon to respond to a neighbor dispute, to respond to traffic collisions, to respond to a cat in the tree, to respond to mental health concerns. So I think there are a lot of entities that need to be re-evaluated and re-aligned to address some of these social ills and concerns that people are crying out about across this country.”

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