Bell Police Department

If you, a friend or a loved one has been arrested by or are under investigation by the Bell Police Department, it can be valuable to know more than just what the bail amount is associated with the crime at issue, the requirements to prove the crime at issue, the defenses applicable to the crime at issue and the punishment possible.

It can be valuable to understand a small amount of the history of the City of Bell to understand how the police regard the crime at issue, as well as crime statistics for the city and, if the officers live in Bell, what it is like to not only work there, but live there.

The city of Bell is relatively small, with just over 36,000 residents, which while double the size of Beverly Hills, is much smaller than many of its neighboring cities. The city is only 2.5 square miles in size, or half the size of Beverly Hills. Eighty-nine percent of the population is Hispanic. In eighty-nine percent of the households, a language other than English is spoken. The median household income in 2022 was approximately $51,000.

The most common crimes in Bell are thefts, followed by assaults, auto thefts and burglaries. Robberies are not uncommon in Bell. The violent crime rate in Bell is about 1.7 times the national average. Murders, rapes and robberies exceed the national average. Thefts are about double the national average. Bell’s crime rating is twenty-three, meaning it is safer than 23% of the cities in the U.S.

There are thirty-nine police officers in Bell, which is a surprisingly high number for such a small city by size, but the number of officers per 1,000 residents is about half the national average.

The city’s eastern boundary is the I-710 (Long Beach) freeway and Bell Gardens. Along its southern border is Cudahy. Huntington Park is to the west and Commerce is to the north. The southwest corner of the city has the highest crime rate.

The City of Bell has a reputation as being corrupt, or at least a crime-ridden place. In March 2000, Bell gained worldwide publicity, as the media announced that a shipment of 55 Oscar statuettes was stolen from a trucking company loading dock in Bell. In addition to the Los Angeles and Bell police departments, FBI art thief experts investigated. The statuettes were never found. At the Oscars ceremony a few weeks later, Billy Crystal called Bell the “Bermuda Triangle” for Oscars, which was terrible publicity for the city.

Worse yet, but perhaps less followed, was internal corruption in the government of Bell. In July 2010, when two Los Angeles Times reporters, Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives, were investigating possible malfeasance in the neighboring city of Maywood, it was revealed that Bell city officials were receiving unusually large salaries, perhaps the highest in the United States. The salaries came into the public eye after the newspaper's investigation, based on California Public Records Act requests, showed that the city payroll was swollen with six- to seven-figure salaries. Robert Rizzo, the City Manager, received $787,637 a year, almost double the salary of the President of the United States. Including benefits, he had received $1.5 million in the last year. Rizzo's assistant, Angela Spaccia, was earning $376,288 a year, more than the top administrator for Los Angeles County. The police chief, Randy Adams, was paid $457,000, 33% more than then Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck. All three resigned following news reports and public outcry.

Eventually, seven Bell city officials, including former mayor Oscar Hernandez, former city administrator Robert Rizzo, assistant city administrator Angela Spaccia, and four city council members were convicted on graft and corruption charges, and were given sentences ranging from probation to twelve years in prison.

Mr. Rizzo was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment for his role in Bell and to 33 months' imprisonment in a separate income tax evasion case. Ms. Spaccia was sentenced to eleven years and eight months' imprisonment. Both were also ordered to repay millions of dollars in restitution.

Below is the Google Map to the Bell Police Department.

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