PREVIOUS POLICE CHIEFS
Over the years the Los Santos Police Department has seen a number of different people take on the role of Chief of Police. In an effort to recognize their commitment to the faction, we have listed them below:
- Robbie Milne – August 2007 to June 2008
- Lee Johnson - June 2008 8 to July 2008
- Mike Lowrie – July 2008 to September 2008
- Martin Smallwood – October 2008 to February 2009
- Kiril Sokolov – February 2009 to September 2009
- Adam Jamal – September 2009 to December 2009
- Kiril Sokolov - December 2009 to January 2012
- Ethan Garner – January 2012 to February 2012
- Michael Houston – March 2012 to September 2013
- Andre Mitchell - September 2013 to June 2014
- Michael Houston - June 2014 to September 2016
- Caden Lin - September 2016 to April 2017
- Aziz Nazari - April 2017 to October 2018
- Interim Management - October 2018 to November 2018
- Baudelio Huerta - November 2018 to May 2019
- Gibbs Brown - May 2019 to November 2019
- Alexander Munoz - November 2019 to December 2019
- Daniel Swenson - January 2020 to May 2020
- Gibbs Brown - May 2020 to August 2020
- John Carlston - August 2020 to September 2020
- Robert Tillman - September 2020 to January 2021
- Daniel Swenson - January 2021 to Present
FACTION HISTORY
It should be noted that the below history does not fit the immersive aspects of LS:RP's setting, rather recounting the general history of the Los Santos Police Department. Therefore it shouldn't necessarily all be taken from an in-character perspective, as the department did not only consist of ~100 people as recent as 2012 on an in-character basis in the present day.
Same thing with changes when it comes to Chiefs, Commanders, Captains, etc. Just cause a person held a rank for a month, doesn't mean that they held it only for a month ICly. As an example realistically, each Chief of Police would serve until the end of their term, which is a maximum of two five-year terms. It is also common that a Chief maintains the rank of a Deputy Chief after they're done with their Chief of Police term.
By way of detailing the history of this faction, we recognize and pay tribute to those who selflessly dedicated time and effort to the Los Santos Police Department for over an entire decade. Their commitment will always remain respected.
2007 — 2013
During 2007 the Police Department underwent a complete re-haul by the Chief at that time, Robbie Milne. With this re-structure, the department saw the new 'Command' and 'High Command' teams emerge, forming the first two distinct layers of management. The High Command team worked closely with the Chief himself, consisting at this point of Commanders. The Command team, consisting of Captains and Lieutenants, worked in co-operation with High Command.
The introduction of units operating directly under the department, answering to the Chief, as the first official and single layer of the department aiming to target specific crime or aid the department in every-day management. These units included re-trained Special Weapons and Tactics teams, the Anti-Crime Unit consisting of educated detectives, the Air Support Unit with experienced pilots, and additional units for supporting the department's management, such as the Recruitment Unit and Training Unit. The LSPD also moved forward with technology, making use of radios for efficient communication, with the incorporated use of 10-codes and appropriate terminology.
2008 saw further steps in modernizing the Los Santos Police Department. Furthermore the department implemented the Police Community Support Officer program, allowing community minded residents to aid the Los Santos Police Department as a means of entering the department vocationally. This program lasted throughout the year before it was ultimately phased out by Chief Martin Smallwood during a recruitment overhaul late in the year. Additionally 2008 saw a number of physical improvements to the department with the construction of the Los Santos Prison, managed and overseen by the Los Santos Police Department, and the complete refit of the Los Santos Police Department HQ.
Additionally, during the summer of 2008 a major overhaul of departmental structure was undertaken. The entire rank structure was changed to what it is today.
Throughout the year the department underwent significant leadership changes and following the departure of Chief Robbie Milne it was led by a number of short term Chiefs of Police until Martin Smallwood was appointed in late Summer. Existing communication systems were streamlined and the Detective services of the LSPD were enhanced with the modernization of the Detective Bureau to aid the Anti-Crime Unit. The year itself was one of significant public disorder at the aggressive stance taken by the department. Culminating in citywide disorder and riots and significant attempts being made against the life of the Chief of Police. Twice the city, at the recommendation of the Chief, went into a state martial law. Despite these adverse conditions, the department went on to uncover corruption within the San Andreas Network which complimented earlier investigations into the illegal activities of the HFP Warden earlier in the year. Alongside the investigation and take-down of a significant number of contract killers by the Anti-Crime Unit.
The department, alongside those activities, undertook actions to try and dispel the negative image it had garnered through earlier interactions with Los Santos residents. Frequently the Chief of Police was seen in the less affluent areas of the city interacting with local residents and responding to their concerns alongside managing a wide array of festive activities not before seen in the city during the winter months.
2009 began with the departure of Chief Martin Smallwood, replaced by Chief Kiril Sokolov. The department undertook a public relations campaign, 'Operation Pandemonium' which took lessons learnt from previous operations and was lauded as a success. This operation restored public confidence in their law enforcement, and most importantly, re-iterated just what a developed and professional department the city had and was to be one of many more similarly successful operations.
By September of 2009 the Anti-Crime Unit had already dismantled yet another gang, 'Six Points', and a mafia 'Volna Anarxii', as well as a further gang, the 'Los Locotes', at the brink of the festive period in November.
With the Anti-Crime Unit learning all the tricks of the trade, 2009 was no match when an additional two gangs, first the 'Verona Beach Families' broke down on the 16th of June and were swiftly followed by the '54th Street Cyco Clika'. The department was proving itself time and time again to its citizens that it was at the forefront of crime prevention, a step ahead of the criminals themselves.
Pushing with pride into 2010 the Los Santos Police Department underwent its first additional RICO trial. Anti-Crime Units Organized Crime Task Force would decommission the 'Umbrella Corporation' in a four-month investigation into the cities first major illegal weapons importation. With the finding of fully automatic assault rifles and machine guns, ammunition and explosives it became apparent that the city was going through a period of firearm revolution. It was not uncommon for officers to be out-gunned in the ever progressing and changing society, which is where an essential, new layer of foundations were laid to maintain efficiency and stability in the Police Department.
This is when the department split into four new divisions, making three layers of official management - the Department at the top, Divisions in the middle, and Units at the bottom. The past system enabled units, for example the Air Support Unit, to answer directly to the Chief of Police, though as the department grew to over 10000 sworn police officers by 2011, this system was beginning to weaken under pressure. Therefore, the first High Command led divisions emerged, allowing an initial buffer between the Chief (Department) and units themselves. This additional layer included the Operational Support Services, Administrative Support Services, and the Directorate of Criminal Intelligence.
Within six months it was determined this layer was a great importance to internal efficiency. It enabled specific tasks to be tackled by a team of officers than the whole Department, crime to be targeted, with an even more effective law enforcement agency. By the end of 2010, the Department would modernize the Metropolitan Division consisting of four new purely operational platoons, with Special Weapons and Tactics integrated as Platoon D, and other specialized Platoons working as a Crowd and Riot Control Unit and an Emergency Task Force. The Directorate of Criminal Intelligence also gave birth to the Street Crimes Unit, Gang and Narcotics Unit, and of course the Vice Unit, with had assigned and dedicated detectives.
The festive season saw the introduction of the first Monthly Newsletter, trialed by the Public Relations Unit at the time. With the Chief's continued support, the Monthly Newsletter would go on to produce content-filled, monthly bulletins until this day.
In 2011, the Department started off with some administrative reconstruction. 'Divisions' were to operate with at least two units under them were to change the face of departmental operations. The Special Operations Division, Administration Division. Also saw the creation of the Criminal Intelligence Division, spilling and expanding the LSPD's detective presence. To also improve Police Departments presence, the official LSPD's website was launched with all information of the department, its divisions and what its goals are.
With the expansion of the detective presence, more officers were also needed. In March 2011, the academy 35 had the most graduated officers ever counted in the departments entire history so far. Fifty-two academy students passed and obtained the badge, which made them law enforcement officers in Los Santos. At that time, the department also had the biggest amount of sworn officers ever since its creation in 1869.
The first major test for all these proud officers were the July riots. The 'Los Santos Resistance Movement' started their speeches at public places and convinced people that the Government of the city had to be removed or renewed. Other organizations jumped into this resistance, which ended up in unlawful protests in Idlewood and then lead to violent riots, mainly in Pershing Square but also in other parts of the city, if not the entire.
Thanks to the massive amount of hardworking officers, the Los Santos Police Department stopped the resistance movement. Following that, the Criminal Intelligence Division, together with the Metropolitan Division, managed to launch a massive blow against the organized crime of Los Santos. At least five organizations, linked to all kinds of different crimes such as narcotics, weapon supply and homicides, were taken down in a short timespan. Operations like these show the true capability of the department and its members.
The turn of 2012 oversaw an instrumental set of changes to the administration of the department. The first was the resignation of the longest-serving Chief of Police in Los Santos Police Department history, Kiril Sokolov. Commander Ethan Garner was appointed as his successor before resigning a short period after due to personal reasons. The appointment of current Chief Michael Houston preceded a host of fundamental changes to the organizational structure and day-to-day running of the department.
The previously referred to 'four divisions' were replaced with the creation of five offices and the several existing 'units' were renamed to 'divisions'. The most notable addition at this time was the introduction of the Office of the Chief of Police, encompassing the Department's Internal Affairs and Public Relations Divisions. Shortly after came the birth of the Office of Operations, which splits officers up into five Watches, AM, Day, Mid-PM, PM and Night along with the respective Shifts within each Watch. The introduction of this Office allows for a clearer organizational structure of officers and supervisors when out on patrol. The Offices that already existed during this time were all appointed an Assistant Director, where before mostly only a High Command member would lead the Office.
High Command and Command meetings were classified, up until the point Chief Houston implemented the Police Command Meetings system. This system allows officers to listen in to parts of these meetings, while High Command and Command discuss the issues, suggestions and changes of that month. Officers are allowed to give their input as well and are also allowed to ask questions to the members of High Command and Command, allowing for a more transparent Department for all officers on the force.
The radio and callsign system, which had been used for several years, was completely revamped during this time. In order to provide more information in a small amount of time, the use of office codes was added, as well as changing the name of division callsigns to a non-NATO alphabet. The format was modified to: "Office Number, Division Callsign, Callsign Identity, Message".
Several ranks were renamed to maintain the efficient structure of the Department - Lead Officer was changed to Police Officer III; Staff Sergeant was changed to Sergeant II; Command in Training Staff Sergeant was changed to Sergeant III; and Deputy Chief of Police was changed to Assistant Chief of Police. All rank emblems were also changed accordingly.
2013 — 2017
As 2013 arrived, further changes in the Department were implemented early on. There were numerous adjustments to the car designations of the Department, both for the Airship of the Department (XRAY to AIR) and Robbery Homicide (which swapped its callsign with the then "Emergency Services Unit", to be phonetically sound with the name of the division). The manual became more refined with the smaller repetitive tasks that the Department carried out on a daily basis, giving very clear step-by-step instructions on how to issue fines, parking tickets and so on.
In March of 2013, the Los Santos Police Department was of a sufficient capacity to modernize stand-alone ranks for Officers who worked in the Office of Criminal Intelligence. As such, the Department modified four new ranks: Detective I (Equivalent to Senior Lead Officer), Detective II (Sergeant I), Detective III (Sergeant II) and Detective III, CTS (Sergeant III). This was a groundbreaking moment in time for the Department. If a Sergeant or any pay-grade was working for a Division therein the Office of Criminal Intelligence, that Sergeant was to pick whether their primary focus was to be on field supervision (in which case they would retain their rank of Sergeant) or Detective work (in which case their rank would change to the corresponding Detective rank). These Officers became a rarity - Officers that had been trained as fully qualified supervisors AND fully qualified Detectives.
In the mid-point of the year, jurisdictions between the Police Department, Sheriffs Department and Department of Corrections were clarified, showing that LSPD had priority over the Los Santos City (with the exception of Interstates), The Sheriffs Department took the remaining two Cities and the Los Santos Interstates, and the Department of Corrections retained their correctional facility.
During the summer of 2013, the introduction of the Records Desk was an opportunity for both members of the public and companies to check criminal records, allowing members of the public to attach their Criminal Record to their CV, and Companies to check up on applicants to their organisation.
In September 2013, Michael G Houston stepped down as the Chief of Police and appointed Andre Mitchell to be his replacement. Michael G Houston was issued a honorary badge number (001) for his commendable services to the Department.
2014, like all the years that came before, is a year that represents a vast amount of change. Some of the change during this year once again completely changed the face of the LSPD.
In January of the new year of 2014, High Command changed the callsign they would use from ALPHA to STAFF. This allowed for easier identification of High Command officers who were in High Command whilst on the field. Command Officers and Sergeants callsigns remained as "ALPHA", but were accompanied by 10, 20, 30, 40 and so on, making them standout even more when conducting their supervisory duties. In short, the introduction of STAFF had a positive knock-on effect for the rest of the supervisory detail.
The headquarters of the LSPD also went through a great deal of refurbishment for the two-fold purpose of being more pleasing to the eye, as well as being more accommodating for what the rapidly growing Police Department Community. Each Division now had its own space, as well as direct access from the roll-call rooms, to the garage and roof areas, making emergency response easier, as well as organisation of paperwork or meetings. This was one of the most exciting starts to the year that the LSPD could have hoped for.
June of 2014 saw the return of Michael Houston, who once again stepped up to the mark of Chief of Police for the City of Los Santos. His return to the Department sparked a vast amount of excitement among the ranks of the Department in terms of what would change therein the Department. A few months later these changes were put in place and as expected, they were of an extremely large scale. That very much saw the complete and utter revamp of the Office of Operations AND the structure of the Police Department in it's entirety. Areas were introduced within the Office of Operations: West, Central, East and South. There was also the introduction of the Departments larger scale structure - rather than Office > Division, the Department now went by Office > Bureau > Division, which accommodated the growth of the Department and indeed the population of Los Santos. Over the months however, the Areas were chopped down to three (West, Central and East) to ensure that the department wasn't thinned out too much.
The department has changed throughout the year of 2015. Chief of Police Michael Houston's reign kept promising amendments to internal procedure for the benefit of public service. The department's rank structure had changes to reflect a realistic approach to the commissioned sector and its duties within the department. The department's staffing structure and labeling had changes. The 'High Command Team' is now referred to as 'Staff Officers', officially. 'The Command Team' is now known as 'Command Officers'; 'The Sergeant Team' identified as 'Police Sergeants' and 'The Detective Team' being identified as 'Police Detectives'. These changes saw the Commander rank being categorized and identified as a rank in the Command Officer category of the department, rather than the High Command Team.
2016 was a pivotal year for the Los Santos Police Department. Early in the year, the department introduced its first comprehensive evidence logging system, the 'Property Room'. This was a way for evidence seized in the investigation of crime to be documented and recorded. The year also saw a uniquely high number of high profile injunctions issued by the Court. In September 2016, Chief of Police Michael Houston was dismissed for many issues the department faced during his tenure. In the interim, Chief Caden Lin stepped in, surprising much of the city's denizens. Lin sought to rehabilitate the force in the eyes of other state agencies and fix the errors of his predecessor.
Towards the beginning of 2017, Chief Caden Lin stepped down from his position after pressure from city staff over the department's instability. The department had faced much turbulence since the dismissal of Michael Houston. Chief Aziz Nazari was selected by the city along with his close cohorts, Aaron Wilbur and Todd Gibson. All three men were thoroughly experienced police officers from around the country. Introducing new community policing tactics, the three introduced sweeping reforms targeting every facet of the department, rehabilitating the department's image after several years of criticism for unsafe practices and employee turnover. Felony stop procedures were modernized with the "High-Risk Stop" procedure, shootings were reformed to promote distance and safety rather than proximity, and the Detective Bureau's focus shifted away from the reckless pursuits of the past to concise engagement of criminal elements. The first one-hundred days of the new reforms saw many excellent changes to promote financial and internal stability, including the removal of the cost-ineffective high-speed units and promotion of air support. A pursuit policy was also introduced to prevent accidents in the field. The department also saw a rapprochement with the Los Santos Sheriff's Department.
2017 — 2020
The reforms of Chief Nazari continued into 2018, seeing many of the prime divisions operate at their top efficiency. Metropolitan Division had been reformed to focus primarily on the introduction and incorporation of G Platoon as the primary proactive enforcement division. The department established a statewide gang database known as GangNet, sharing it with all county-wide and state-wide agencies interested. 54th Area saw its closure and was reformed into the Harbor Area on modern state property. The department re-negotiated mutual aid agreements with both the Los Santos County Sheriff's Department and San Andreas Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, forming close bonds particularly with the ladder. In October 2018, Chief Nazari and his staff formally stepped down from their positions, marking the first time in years a transition of power was done without controversy. His staff officers were mandated by the city to form an interim council until an adequate replacement could be found. Chief Nazari left a lasting legacy on the department for his ruthless efficiency and reforms.
Chief Huerta took office after being sworn in at the end of November 2018. He promised to continue the reforms of his predecessor.
Chief of Police, Baudelio Huerta, continued to uphold and enforce the divisional standards set forth by former Chief Nazari, ensuring that the department ran as smooth and as efficiently as possible. On April 30th, 2019, he resigned from his position of Chief of Police, which marked his official retirement from a long-time career within the Los Santos Police Department. Assistant Chief of Police, Gibbs Brown, took the office after being sworn in on May 1st. He continued to uphold the high standards that were laid out by those who came before him, and oversaw many additions, departmental, and personnel changes.
On May 20th the Metropolitan Division Facility was opened, and is located north-west of the Conference Center, cross Orinda Street and Cordova Avenue. On June 4th the department received two new staff officers; John Carlston, serving as Commanding Officer of Administrative Services Bureau, and Alexander Munoz, serving as Chief of Detectives. On June 24th Assistant Chief Stephen Vargas and Deputy Chief Patrick Hayes officially retired from the Los Santos Police Department. Following their announced retirements, Deputy Chief Alexander Munoz was promoted to Chief of Staff on June 25th, officially marking him as Assistant Chief, and successor to former Assistant Chief Vargas.
On October 2nd, 2019 Metropolitan Division's newest platoon was established. Alpha Platoon, also known as "A" Platoon, which is an effective tactical support team with the sole purpose of providing tactical support, advanced and specialized tactics alongside specialized weaponry to officers in the field, for high-risk incidents. Later in the month, on October 22nd, the LSPD established a new bureau, the Professional Standards Bureau. This houses the department's Internal Affairs Group, Special Operations Section, Force Investigation Section and the Public Communications Section. With the opening of the bureau, the department's newest Deputy Chief, Kaitlyn Reed, was appointed as the Bureau's Commanding Officer.
On November 1st, 2019, Gibbs Brown resigned from his position of Chief of Police, which marked his official retirement from a long-time career within the Los Santos Police Department. Shortly after Governor Wade Reynolds swore in Brown's successor, Assistant Chief Alexander Munoz, as the next Chief of Police for the Los Santos Police Department.
Munoz continued to manage the Los Santos Police Department, making changes a needed to a already stable foundation. Once Munoz's term came to an end November 16th, 2019, the department saw the retirement of the Chief of Police Alexander Munoz. The LSPD Staff Officer team formed Interim Management for the department until the Governor appointed a new Chief of Police.
In 2020, the department went through a lot of changes, from personnel to internal policies and procedures. In January, Daniel Swenson was appointed to the position of Chief of Police following the resignation of Alexander Munoz. Swenson took up the post having spent six consecutive years as a member of the department. Chief Swenson continued to uphold the highest of standards within the department. In May, an old face of the department, Gibbs Brown returned as the Chief of Police. Chief Brown has been known to rule fairly and ensure that the department, its personnel and the policies that the department operates on are all up to date of the standards that Law Enforcement is expected to meet in the day and age.
August of 2020, one of the most senior Chiefs at the time, First Assistant Chief John Carlston rose to the task and became the departments 19th Chief. Chief Carlston ensured that the department runs as smooth as possible, while updating internal policies, ensuring his Command Officers, Supervisors and Officers alike are meeting the standards that he personally wishes to see. Once Chief Carlston was satisfied with all the changes he made and once he made sure everything's running smoothly, he promoted a Deputy Chief, Chief Robert Tillman to be the executive to the Chief of Police who manages the department in their absence. Once Chief Carlston was sure that Chief Tillman can take the ropes and lead the department while maintaining the standards that he himself put in place, Chief Carlston stepped down to his old position as the Commanding Officer of the Administrative Services Bureau.
September of 2020, Chief Tillman steps up to the role of the Chief of Police. Like the Chiefs before him, he maintains the highest of standards within the department, implementing many changes to department personnel, department policies and procedures and many more internal changes.
2021 — THE PRESENT DAY
January of 2021, the department saw the retirement of the Chief of Police Robert Tillman, and the appointment of Daniel Swenson as the Chief of Police once again. Currently, Chief Swenson oversees the department, building upon the foundation the former Chiefs have built.