Hawthorne Police Department

If the Hawthorne Police Department has arrested or is investigating you, a loved one or a member of your family, 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 Hawthorne Police Department are filed at the Inglewood Superior Court 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 branch of law enforcement.  It is good to know the size of the police or sheriff’s 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 Hawthorne Police Department nearly one hundred sworn police officers and another sixty support staff.  This relatively large police force is responsible for public safety and law enforcement in Hawthorne, a city of approximately 95,000 residents packed into 6.09 square miles.  It is the only police department in the South Bay with its own helicopter, an armored rescue vehicle and a tactical medicine program.

According to City Data.com, Hawthorne’s crime rate is just below that of neighboring Inglewood, El Segundo and Gardena, but higher than neighboring Lawndale, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance.

The most frequent arrests in Hawthorne are non-auto thefts (shoplifting, embezzlement, grand theft) and auto theft, followed by assaults, followed by burglaries (residential and commercial) and then robberies.  The city experiences about four or five murders per year as well as forty rapes per year.  In other words, violent crime is more common in Hawthorne than in some of the beach cities nearby.  The murder rate per 100,000 citizens, rape incidence rate and robbery rates are above the national average.

The population of Hawthorne, according to the 2020 census, is 53.7% Hispanic or Latino, 23.57% African American, 10.38% White and 7.44% Asian.  57.8% speak a language other than English in the home.  15.9% of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher and 73.5% have a high school degree.

During 2009–2013, Hawthorne had a median household income of $44,649, with 19.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.  In 2022, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count counted 173 homeless individuals in Hawthorne.

During the 1930s the town had a Whites only policy, with signs against Blacks posted at its borders.  Since the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement and the demographic change sparked by the 1965 Immigration Act, the roles are reversed.  Black and Mexican gangs regularly tag their territory in the area.

The 118th Gangsta Crips gang, the Hawthorne Thug Family (HTF), the Hawthorne Piru Gang (a Bloods subset),  the Water Gate Crips and the Neighborhood Crips are just some of the gangs known to call Hawthorne home.  Inglewood to the north of Hawthorne is home to the Avenue Gang, as well as the Pirus.

The Hawthorne Thug Family (HTF) is a predominantly African American gang centered on the west side of Hawthorne, near 139th Street between Crenshaw Boulevard and Prairie Avenue.  This gang has been active for at least the last 20 years.

Hawthorne is proud to market itself as the “Home of the Beach Boys,” as well as the home of Northrup Gruman, Space X and Tesla Motors Corporation.  Over 6,000 people are employed by Space X, making it the largest employer in Hawthorne, although certainly not all of its employees live in Hawthorne.

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