Baldwin Park Police Department

If you or a family member have been arrested by or are under investigation by the Baldwin Park Police Department, it can be helpful to know more than just what bail is for the crime at issue, what the elements (requirements) of the crime or crimes at issue are, what the defenses are and what the punishment limits are.

We at Greg Hill & Associates know it can be helpful to know a bit about the specific police department (how big it is, when it began operating, i.e.) and the history of the cities or cities that the police department has jurisdiction over, to put the crime at issue in context of how it is regarded by the that police department and possibly prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office or the city attorney or city prosecutor for the city at issue (Baldwin Park does not have its own city attorney or city prosecutor).

Indeed, Baldwin Park is much more than just a small city (6.8 square miles) nestled in the San Gabriel Valley near the intersection of the 10 and 605 Freeways and south of the Santa Fe Dam recreation area to the north.  West Covina borders Baldwin Park to the east and La Puente is to the south.

The City of Baldwin Park is patrolled by a total of about forty officers, although well below 15 may be actively on patrol at any one time (one platoon covers the city by day, the other by night).  The department has one police service dog. 

The department made 12,098 arrests between 2013 and 2021.  Eighty-seven percent of those arrested were Hispanic (the population of Baldwin Park is approximately 60% Hispanic, although this number may be understated).

The Baldwin Park jail is very small.  It has two holding cells and can sleep only up to sixteen individuals.  It operates as a “private jail” for those who wish to serve time in Los Angeles County jail instead at the Baldwin Park jail facility.

The majority of crimes in Baldwin Park parallel those in other nearby communities.  The city experiences a high number of burglaries, assaults and hit and run incidents.  Less frequent crimes include sex offenses, motor vehicle thefts, robberies and other thefts such as vandalism and graffiti. 

The most well-known gangs in Baldwin Park are the KHA (Kings Have Arrived), Varrio East Side Bolen Parque 13 and Varrio North Side Bolen Parque.  Most gangs are Hispanic in nature. The gangs have various sub-groups or cliques (including the Charros, the Vineland Street Boys, the Termites and the Malditos) and assert themselves in a variety of ways, including stabbings and gun violence.  The KHA gang is one of the newer gangs in Baldwin Park.

Baldwin Park was originally named Vineland, but changed its name to Baldwin Park in 1906.  It was named after Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin, a real estate speculator from the second half of the 19th Century.  He had the nickname of “Lucky” because a few of his investments made him quite wealthy.

In 1956, Baldwin Park incorporated and became the 56th city in Los Angeles County to do so.

Baldwin Park is home to the first In-N-Out burger stand.  The original one was built there in October 1948.  This was also the first drive-thru in California.

As of the 2020 census, 20.7% of Baldwin Park’s population is Asian, 15.7% white, and 60% “other race” or a mix of two races.  Of the “other race” or mixed-race, 74% were of Hispanic origin.  There are approximately 70,000 residents of Baldwin Park.  Many believe that the Hispanic population is underreported.  Eighty-two percent of the residents of Baldwin Park speak a language other than English at home. 

Only 11.1% of Baldwin Park residents graduated from college. The average household size is 4.37 people, far in excess of the national average of 2.61 people per home.

The Baldwin Park Unified School District is the largest employer for residents of Baldwin Park, employing nearly 2,000 people.  Walmart employees another four hundred or so.

Below is the Google Map to the Baldwin Park Police Department.