L.A. IMPACT

Inaugurated in July 1991, the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (L.A. IMPACT) is the brainchild of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association. The task force is a compilation of numerous federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County whose primary focus is to investigate major crimes, with an emphasis on dismantling mid to major level drug trafficking organizations.

In 2011, L.A. IMPACT became a Joint Powers Authority (JPA). The task force is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of a law enforcement executive from each member agency. From that Board, an Executive Committee is formed which helps direct the goals and objectives of the task force. The Executive Committee consists of thirteen executives from participating local municipal police agencies, including the President of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association, the Police Chief for the Los Angeles Police Department and the Sheriff of the County of Los Angeles.

L.A. IMPACT headquarters shares a facility with the California Department of Justice in the city of Commerce. The task force also has an office in the city of La Verne. The personnel deployment consists of approximately seventy-five sworn investigators and nineteen civilian staff. The executive staff is made up of a California Department of Justice Bureau of Investigation (CA DOJ BI) Special Agent in Charge (SAC) who is designated as the executive director. The executive director is supported by a civilian administrative assistant director and four deputy directors, who are sworn management personnel assigned from the various participating agencies. The deputy directors manage the enforcement teams, which are divided into approximately ten groups, each consisting of a group manager and supervisor (lieutenant, special agent supervisor, sergeant, supervisory detective) and a varied number of investigators.

L.A. IMPACT’s primary area of expertise is narcotic enforcement. The task force is known for its surveillance capabilities and possesses some of the most extensive surveillance resources in California. The enforcement groups have specialized proficiency in the following areas: major drug trafficking organizations, money laundering, covert operations/informant development, clandestine laboratory investigations, parcel interdiction, property crimes, violent crimes and gang enforcement. L.A. IMPACT is the primary clandestine laboratory response team for Los Angeles County.

Additionally, L.A. IMPACT is partnered with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Project “Taking Out Urban Gang Headquarters” (T.O.U.G.H.) and has a full-time deputy city attorney based out of headquarters. The task force works in conjunction with T.O.U.G.H. for the purpose of investigating public nuisance properties and prosecuting individuals and/or entities that commit and/or permit criminal activity (i.e., narcotics and gangs) within those properties.