LAPD - Devonshire Station

If you, a loved one or a family member was arrested by or is being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Devonshire Area unit, it can cause a lot of questions. Facing such a situation, it is normal to need to know the bail amount (if any) associated with the offense (if an own recognizance (OR) release is denied), the evidence needed to convict one for the crime that allegedly took place, the defenses possible and the sentence a judge can impose if one is convicted of the crime.

We at Greg Hill & Associates believe it is also important to know a few more things before interacting with any branch of law enforcement. It can be valuable to know the size of the police or sheriff’s department, the area’s demographics, the most common types of crime the department investigates and just a bit about the area’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 Devonshire Community Station is staffed with 234 sworn police officers and an unspecified number of civilian members of LAPD. This makes the LAPD, Devonshire Area unit larger-than-average police department within Los Angeles County.

The Devonshire station of the LAPD serves the San Fernando Valley neighborhoods of Chatsworth, Northridge and parts of Canoga Park, Granada Hills and Winnetka. They patrol an area of approximately 48.31 square miles with a population of 210,136. This would make them one of the largest police forces for a city within Los Angeles County.

The predominant crimes in the Devonshire area are aggravated assault, other types of theft, and burglary from vehicles.

Chatsworth has one of the lowest population densities in Los Angeles and a relatively high income level. The 2008 U.S. census counted 37,102 residents in the 15.2 square miles Chatsworth neighborhood, or 2,301 people per square mile, among the lowest population densities for both the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County.

In 2000, the median age for residents was 40, considered old for city and county neighborhoods; the percentages of residents aged 35 and older were among the county's highest. The population was 65.7% non-Hispanic White, 14.4% Asian, 13.5% Hispanic or Latin, 2.2% Black and 4.2% of other origins.

The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $84,456, considered to be a high income for the city.

Chatsworth is the home of the Iverson Movie Ranch, a 500-acre area which was the most filmed movie ranch in history, as more than 2,000 productions used it as a filming location.

Northridge is best known as the area most heavily damaged in the 6.7 magnitude 1994 “Northridge Earthquake.” It was named this because early information showed the epicenter in Northridge, however, further refinements showed it to be technically in neighboring Reseda.

This was the second time in 23 years that the area had been affected by a strong earthquake. On February 9, 1971, the San Fernando earthquake (also known as the Sylmar earthquake) struck, having a magnitude of 6.5.

Northridge is regarded as "highly diverse" ethnically within Los Angeles, with a high percentage of Asian people for the county. The breakdown was 49.5% Whites, 26.1% Latino or Hispanic, 14.5% Asian, 5.4% African American. Mexico (24.7%) and the Philippines (9.8%) were the most common places of birth for the 31.8% of the residents who were born abroad—an average figure for Los Angeles.

Canoga Park is a relatively small city of just 4.5 square miles. It is south of Chatsworth. Canoga Park is considered "highly diverse" ethnically within Los Angeles. The breakdown was 50.9% Latino or Hispanic, 30.7% White, 11.1% Asian, 4.3% African American and 3.1% other. Mexico (45.8%) and El Salvador (11.6%) were the most common places of birth for the 42.8% of the residents who were born abroad—which was about an average percentage for Los Angeles as a whole.

In 1955, Rocketdyne, then a division of North American Aviation (NAA), moved into the area and built its main manufacturing facility in Canoga Park. The facility became a major employer along with Atomics International and the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and the Santa Susana Field Laboratory divisions of NAA. Other aerospace companies followed: including Thompson Ramo Wooldridge (TRW), Hughes Aircraft, Rockwell International, Boeing and Teledyne. Small machine shops and other ancillary businesses also sprang up to service the aerospace industry. The Rocketdyne facility was in the end operated by Aerojet Rocketdyne, which moved out of Canoga Park in 2014.

Granada Hills is a much larger city, at 15.11 square miles. Korea (16.0%) and Mexico (13.8%) were the most common places of birth for 29.2% of the residents who were born abroad.

Winnetka is the last city patrolled by the Devonshire Division of the LAPD. It is 4.78 square miles, or about the size of Canoga Park. It shares a relatively diverse racial composition, but it is known as more of a blue-collar, or less wealthy area than Chatsworth and Granada Hills.

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