LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
Abused Child Section and Child Protection Section
The Abused Child Section, Juvenile Division, was created to provide a high level of expertise to
the investigation of child abuse cases. The unit investigates child abuse cases wherein the
parent, stepparent, legal guardian, or common-law spouse appears to be responsible for any of
the following:

Depriving the child of the necessities of life to the extent of physical impairment;

Physical or sexual abuse of a child;

Homicide, when the victim is under 11 years of age;

Conducting follow-up investigations of undetermined deaths of juveniles under 11 years
of age;

The tracking of Suspected Child Abuse Reports (SCARs);

Assisting Department personnel and outside organizations by providing information,
training, and evaluation of child abuse policies and procedures;

Implementing modifications of child abuse policies and procedures as needed;

Reviewing selected child abuse cases to ensure that Department policies are being
followed;

Acting as the Department's representative to, and maintaining liaison with, various public
and private organizations concerned with the prevention, investigation, and treatment of
child abuse.
Sexually Exploited Child Unit
The Sexually Exploited Child Unit, Juvenile Division, is responsible for seeking out and
investigating violations of state and federal laws pertaining to the sexual exploitation of children
when:

The Children are under the age of 16;

Suspects are recidivist and cases involving multiple victims;

There has been substantial, felony, sexual conduct and the suspect is in a position of trust;

Child pornography cases, not involving the Internet, including production, distribution, or
possession of child pornography;
1

Complaints of possible child pornography from photography processing facilities,
computer repair businesses, or community members;

Providing child exploitation advice and expertise to the Department, including training
for Department schools.
Internet Crimes Against Children Unit
The Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, Juvenile Division is responsible for seeking out and
investigating violations of state and federal laws pertaining to the exploitation of children when:

The Children are under the age of 16;

There has been substantial, felony, sexual conduct;

The sexual predator used the Internet to contact the child and lure the child away for the
purpose of having sex with the child;

Child pornography cases involving the Internet, including production, distribution, and
possession of child pornography;

Child pornography Web sites, email Spam, and Cyber tips received from the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC);

Manage the Los Angeles Internet Crimes Against Children (LAICAC) Task Force;

Conduct Internet Safety presentations for children, parents, schools, and community
groups;

Provide child exploitation advice and expertise, when the Internet is involved, to the
Department, including training for Department schools.
Geographic Areas
The Los Angeles Police Department maintains 19 community police stations known as
geographic Areas. Each Area is responsible for the following juvenile investigations relating to
child abuse and endangering cases:

Unfit homes, endangering, and dependent child cases;

Child abuse cases in which the perpetrator is not a parent, stepparent, legal guardian, or
common-law spouse;

Cases in which the child receives an injury, but is not the primary object of the attack;

Child abductions.
2
LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
JUVENILE DIVISION
2007 CRIMES INVESTIGATED
Figure 1:
Indicates the number of crimes investigated by Juvenile Division in 2007.
TYPE
Physical Abuse
(Includes ADW
and battery)
Sexual Abuse
Endangering
Homicide
Others
TOTALS
NUMBER
% of TOTAL
1,101
47.43%
574
514
5
127
2,321
24.73%
22.15%
0.22%
5.47%
100%
LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
GEOGRAPHIC AREAS
2007 CRIMES INVESTIGATED
Figure 2:
Indicates the number of crimes investigated by the geographic Areas in 2007.
TYPE
Physical Abuse
Sexual Abuse
(Includes Child
Annoying)
Endangering
(Includes Child
Abandonment)
Homicide
TOTALS
Figure 3:
NUMBER
% of TOTAL
0
0.00%
953
74.69%
323
0
1,276
25.31%
0.00%
100%
Indicates the number of other investigations, of a child abuse nature, conducted by
Juvenile Division in 2007.
TYPE
Injury
Death
Exploitation
Internet Crime
SCAR Reports
TOTALS
3
NUMBER
% of TOTAL
4,776
69
59
223
19,838
24,965
19.13%
0.28%
0.24%
0.89%
79.46%
100%
Figure 4:
Indicates the number of arrests processed by Juvenile Division in 2007.
TYPE
Homicide (187 PC)
Child Molest (288 PC)
Child Endangering (273a PC)
Child Abuse (273d PC)
Others
TOTALS
Figure 5:
% of TOTAL
3
119
26
100
31
279
1.08%
42.65%
9.32%
35.84%
11.11%
100%
Indicates the number of arrests processed by geographic Areas in 2007.
TYPE
Homicide (187 PC)
Child Molest (288 PC)
Child Endangering (273a PC)
Child Abuse (273d PC)
Others
TOTALS
Figure 6:
NUMBER
NUMBER
% of TOTAL
0
271
0
6
19
296
0.00%
91.55%
0.00%
2.03%
6.42%
100%
Indicates the number of dependent children processed by Juvenile Division in
2007.
TYPE
300 WIC (Physical Abuse)
300 WIC (Sexual Abuse)
300 WIC (Endangered)
TOTALS
NUMBER
% of TOTAL
***
***
***
1,492
***%
***%
***%
100%
NOTE: Juvenile Division no longer separates 300 WIC by category. Only the
total amount of 300 WIC which are handled by the division.
Figure 7: Indicates the number of dependent children processed by geographic Areas in 2007.
TYPE
300 WIC (Physical Abuse)
300 WIC (Sexual Abuse)
300 WIC (Endangered/Neglect)
TOTALS
4
NUMBER
% of TOTAL
184
365
861
1,410
13.05%
25.89%
61.06%
100%
Figure 8: Indicates the age categories of children who were victims of child abuse in 2007.
TYPE
0-4 YRS
Physical Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Endangering
TOTAL
115
176
552
843
5-9 YRS
10-14 YRS
15-17 YRS
TOTAL
222
389
394
1,005
107
717
311
1,135
67
253
122
442
511
1,535
1,379
3,425
NOTE: The data in Figure 1 and Figure 2 shows a different number of victims than indicated
in Figure 8. This is due to a minor administrative anomaly.
LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT – 2007 CHILD ABUSE FINDINGS
Juvenile Division
1. The total investigations (crime and non-crime) conducted by the unit in 2007 (27,286)
showed an increase (39.66 percent) over the number of investigations in 2006 (19,538).
2. Adult arrests by the unit in 2007 (279) showed an increase (48.40 percent) in the number of
arrests made in 2006 (188).
3. The number of dependent children handled by the unit in 2007 (1,492) showed an increase
(15.66 percent) from the number handled in 2006 (1,290).
Geographic Areas
1. The total investigations conducted by the Areas in 2007 (1,276) showed a decrease of
(12.84 percent) from 2006 (1,464).
2. Adult arrests made by the Areas in 2007 (296) showed a decrease of (17.55) percent from
2006 (359).
3. The number of dependent children handled by the Areas in 2007 (1,410) was an increase of
(14.17 percent) from the number handled in 2006 (1,235).
Figure 9: Indicates a comparison of 2006 and 2007 total figures from Juvenile Division and
the geographic Areas, and the percentage of change between the two years.
TYPE
Total Investigations
Total Adult Arrests
Dependent Children
2006
2007
21,002
547
2,525
28,562
575
2,902
5
% of CHANGE
35.99%
5.12%
14.93%
Glossary
Child – A person under the age of 18 years.
Physical Abuse – Any inflicted trauma through non-accidental means.
SCAR (Suspected Child Abuse Report) – Department of Justice Form SS 8572, is completed
by Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) personnel, as well as, other mandated
reporters including teachers and medical health professionals.
Sexual Abuse – Any touching with a sexual context.
Sexual Exploitation – As defined by Penal Code Section 11165, subdivision (b) (2), sexual
exploitation includes conduct in violation of the following sections of the Penal Code: Penal
Code Section 311.2 (pornography), Penal Code Section 311.3 (minors and pornography), Penal
Code Section 288 (lewd and lascivious acts with a child), and Penal Code Section 288a (oral
copulation).
THIS SPACE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY
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ABUSED CHILD UNIT FIVE-YEAR TRENDS
The following charts represent the Abused Child Unit’s five-year trends in the respective areas.
Figure 10: Crimes Investigated
Figure 11: Crimes Investigated
Sexual Abuse
Physical Abuse
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2007
2003
Figure 12: Crimes Investigated
2004
2005
Homicide
600
15
400
10
200
5
0
2004
2005
2006
2007
Figure 13: Crimes Investigated
Endangered
2003
2006
0
2007
2003
7
2004
2005
2006
2007
Figure 14: Other Investigations
Figure 15: Other Investigations
Injury/SCARs/Exploitation/Internet
Injury/SCARS/Exploitation
Injury/SCARS
Deaths
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
100
50
2003
2004
2005
2006
0
2007
2003
Figure 16: Total Investigations
Total Investigations
30000
20000
10000
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
8
2004
2005
2006
2007
9