Charles Lloyd Beck is the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department

Los Angeles Police Department

The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...

 (LAPD). A veteran of the department with over three decades of service, he is known for commanding and rehabilitating the Rampart Division

LAPD Rampart Division

The Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department serves communities to the west and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles including Echo Park, Pico-Union and Westlake, all together designated as the Rampart patrol area. Its name is derived from Rampart Boulevard, one of the principal...

 after the Rampart Scandal

Rampart Scandal

The Rampart scandal refers to widespread corruption in the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums anti-gang unit of the Los Angeles Police Department Rampart Division in the late 1990s. More than 70 police officers in the CRASH unit were implicated in misconduct, making it one of the most...

; and for technology enhancements during his time as Chief of Detectives.

Career

Beck was appointed to the Los Angeles Police Department in March 1977 after serving two years with the Los Angeles Police Reserve Corps. As a patrol officer, his assignments included both the Rampart and Hollywood divisions. After promotion to sergeant in June 1984, Beck served in the department's controversial C.R.A.S.H. program under then-chief Daryl Gates

Daryl Gates

Daryl Gates was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992.-Early life:...

 in the 1980s and early 1990s. Beck served in the department's Internal Affairs division as a sergeant and a lieutenant.. He was promoted to Lieutenant in April 1993, to Captain in July 1999 (following that promotion he was initially assigned to Southeast Division, followed by terms as the Commanding Officer of Juvenile Division, Central Area and finally Rampart Area), and then Commander in April 2005. In August 2006, he achieved the rank of Deputy Chief, the same rank his father, a retired Los Angeles Police Officer, had attained. Upon that promotion, he assumed command of Operations-South Bureau. Beck went on to become Chief of Detectives, where he implemented a number changes to the Detective Bureau, paticularly in the use of technology (for which the Detective Bureau has overall responsibility for the entire LAPD). 'Charlie' Beck was appointed the LAPD's Chief of Police in November 2009.

Personal life

A native of Long Beach, California, Beck earned his B.A.

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 from California State University, Long Beach

California State University, Long Beach

California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...

. He also attended Mayfair High School

Mayfair High School

Mayfair High School is a high school in the Bellflower Unified School District 9 in the city of Lakewood, California. The school first opened in 1959. The student population is approximately 3616 in grades 7 through 12...

 in Lakewood

Lakewood, California

Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, and Hawaiian Gardens on the southeast. Major thoroughfares...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. Beck's family is one of police legacy: his father, George, was also an LAPD officer, retiring at the rank of Deputy Chief in 1980. His sister, Megan, was a detective

Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

, his wife, Cindy, was a narcotics K9

Police dog

A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...

 handler and two of his children, Brandi and Martin, are also LAPD officers.

He is known to be an avid motocross

Motocross

Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...

enthusiast, winning several awards in the sport, and is the current Police and Fire Motocross national champion.