Gardena Police Department

If you, a loved one or a member of your family is arrested or under investigation by the Gardena Police Department, it is only natural that you will need to know the bail amount associated with the offense, the legal and factual requirements to convict one of the crime that allegedly took place, the defenses possible and the punishment a judge can impose if one is convicted of the crime.

Criminal cases involving arrests by the Gardena Police Department are now filed at the Inglewood Superior Court (no longer Torrance) or, with more serious cases, at the Clara Shortridge Foltz criminal courts building (CCB) in downtown Los Angeles.

We at Greg Hill & Associates believe it is also prudent for one to know a few more things before interacting with any police or sheriff’s department. It is good to know the size of the police department, the city’s demographics, the most frequent types of crime the department investigates and just a bit about the city’s history to make one’s communication with law enforcement more meaningful, more savvy and perhaps, more respectful. This can lead to a better outcome than if one lacks such perspective.

This article is presented with this goal in mind.

The Gardena Police Department jail manual, which is available online, states, “Every incarcerated person detained in this detention facility shall be entitled to at least three completed telephone calls immediately upon being admitted and no later than three hours after arrest. The calls may be of a duration that reasonably allows the incarcerated person to make necessary arrangements for matters that the person may be unable to complete as a result of being arrested. The calls are not intended to be lengthy conversations and the members [Gardena Police Department staff] may use their judgment in determining the reasonable duration of the calls.”

The manual adds, “There is no obligation for the detention facility staff to make a telephone call on an incarcerated person's behalf, for example in the case of a person who is intoxicated and is unable make a call.”

The manual continues: “Incarcerated persons in housing will be permitted reasonable access to public telephones at scheduled times for collect calls unless such access may cause an unsafe situation for the detention facility, members, or other incarcerated persons. The jail supervisor shall ensure a notice is conspicuously posted near the telephones informing the incarcerated persons that non-attorney calls may be monitored and recorded. Incarcerated persons are not permitted to receive telephone calls. Messages will only be delivered in the event of a verified emergency.”

The Gardena Police Department is relatively large for Los Angeles County. It has ninety-nine sworn police officers and forty-six additional, non-sworn employees. Gardena is a city of 58,829 as of the 2010 census, so such a large police force is relatively greater on an officer per citizen ratio than other cities in Los Angeles County. Until 2014, the U.S. census cited the City of Gardena as the city with the highest percentage of Japanese Americans in California. The city covers 5.9 square miles, which is a relatively small size for such a large police force.

As of 2010, the racial makeup of Gardena was 14,498 (24.6%) White, 14,352 (24.4%) African American, 348 (0.6%) Native American, 15,400 (26.2%) Asian and22,151 people of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race (37.7%).

During 2009–2013, Gardena had a median household income of $48,251, with 15.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

From 1936 to 1980, Gardena held a local monopoly on legal cardrooms, the taxes from which accounted for nearly a third of its annual budget. The city used to have a large number of farms, particularly Japanese-owned farms. Some still survive.

As of statistics available for 2021, the highest number of arrests involved non-auto theft-related crimes, followed by auto theft, followed by assault and burglary. There were seven homicides in Gardena in 2021 and twenty reported rapes.

We at Greg Hill & Associates have handled hundreds of cases arising out of Gardena over the last 25 years. The most frequent type of case is DUI, followed by domestic violence, followed by shoplifting and then vandalism.

For more information about being arrested and possibly facing a criminal case, please click on the following articles: