The men and women of the California Highway Patrol who are assigned to Southern Division Headquarters, have called the city of Glendale home for approximately three decades. Southern Division is small in geographical size, but large in traffic flow. The major arteries intersecting Los Angeles County include Interstate 405 (San Diego Freeway), Interstate 10 (Santa Monica / San Bernardino Freeway), State Route 60 (Pomona Freeway), Interstate 105 (Glenn Anderson / Century Freeway), U.S. Route 101 (Hollywood / Ventura Freeway), State Route 134 (Ventura Freeway), Interstate 210 (Foothill Freeway), Interstate 5 (Golden State / Santa Ana Freeway), State Route 2 (Glendale Freeway) and State Route 110 (Arroyo Seco / Harbor Freeway). With busy freeways and 64 unincorporated communities of Los Angeles County as its primary jurisdiction, Southern Division serves over 10 million residents. This population is larger than the population of 41 states and is home to 26 percent of all California residents.
Southern Division boundaries reach from the Malibu coastline to the Inland Empire and from the beaches of Los Angles County to the high desert of the Antelope Valley. Within these boundaries are the Los Angeles International Airport, dozens of sporting and entertainment venues and several major world amusement/theme parks. Los Angeles County is commonly associated with the entertainment and digital media industry as all five major film studios—Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and Walt Disney Studios—are all located within the county.
Despite being the smallest geographically of the CHP's eight field Divisions, Southern Division has the largest number of uniformed and non-uniformed employees. Los Angeles is the real-world training ground for recently graduated officers. It is largely due to the workload of Southern Division whose officers documented 49,778 collisions and issued 251,418 citations from January 2019 to December 2019.
Approximately one-third of all CHP motorcycles are assigned to Southern Division, 104 in total. Motorcycles are an effective tool to navigate the well-known congested Los Angeles traffic. Some freeways have no shoulders to allow emergency vehicles access to a collision scene, motorcycles are the only vehicles that can weave between the gridlocked cars. With Los Angeles being a favorite destination for dignitaries and visiting heads of state, motorcycle officers serve as part of the Protective Services Detail.
The purpose of the Protective Services Detail (PSD) is to provide assistance to federal law enforcement agencies for national and foreign government officials and dignitaries who are traveling within the state. Officers and Sergeants who are selected to a PSD will potentially receive additional training from the United States Secret Service, the Department of Justice, the United States Marshal’s Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Since its inception, the PSD has been comprised of specially selected, highly trained and motivated, and dedicated motor personnel. PSD personnel are responsible for a myriad of motor-related duties deemed critical by the Department. As such, the qualifications and expectations required to be a member, either as an officer or supervisor are exceptionally high.
Southern Division is a partner with Caltrans in the Los Angeles Regional Transportation Management Center. With a staff of CHP and Caltrans employees, the center uses advanced transportation management technology, including computer-aided dispatch, adjustable ramp meter intervals, changeable message signs and closed-circuit cameras with live views of most Los Angeles County highways.
Each day, Southern Division employees strive to maximize service to the public in need of aid or information. The California Highway Patrol has built durable partnerships with over 50 allied agencies in Los Angeles County. Our goal is to collaborate with these agencies to protect the residents of Los Angeles County and develop innovative ways of delivering services tailored to each community’s needs.
