Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department - Century Station

If a family member, a loved one or you have been arrested by or are being investigated by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LAPD), Century Station, it can cause a lot of anxiety.  Facing such a situation, one may want to know the bail amount (if any) associated with the offense if police deny an own recognizance (OR) release.  It is also common to ask what evidence is 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 good 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 crimes 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 Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Century station, is located at the Lynwood Jail building.  It has an undisclosed number of sworn police officers and an undisclosed number of civilian support personnel assigned to it. 

The Century Station is responsible for the area of Florence/Firestone, the City of Lynwood, Walnut Park, Willowbrook and Athens Park.
For traffic matters that arise on the freeways in this area, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) generally handles such matters, not the Century Station.

Most cases arising out of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Century Station’s areas of responsibility are brought at the Compton Courthouse, but some are also brought at the Clara Shortridge Foltz criminal courts building (CCB) at 210 West Temple Street in downtown Los Angeles.  Cases that may be filed at CCB instead of at the Compton Courthouse would be very serious cases needing specialized prosecutors trained in handling such cases.

The City of Lynnwood is located east of South Gate and north of Compton in the middle portion of the Los Angeles Basin.  It is named after the Lynwood Dairy and Creamery.  Lynnwood is home to the Century West Women’s Detention Facility, next to the I-105 Freeway. 

Lynnwood is infamous for its corruption.  On March 20, 2006, Lynwood's longest serving former mayor, Paul H. Richards II, was sentenced to 188 months (15 years and 8 months) in federal prison after being convicted in 2005 on numerous corruption charges that centered on his funneling of $6 million in city business — including exorbitant no-bid contracts — to a "consulting company" controlled by him and his family.  Richards had served on the City Council from 1986 until he was recalled by voters in 2003; during that time he served seven terms as mayor.

In 2010, the racial makeup of Lynnwood was 86.3% Hispanic or Latino, 2.2% non-Hispanic White, 10.3% African American and 0.7% Asian.  Lynwood went through five phases of demographic change in the 20th century.  First, a colonial settlement.  Second, a farming small town.  Third, a mostly working-class white suburb from 1940 to 1970.  Fourth, a majority African American city between 1970 and 1990, and today, predominantly Latino.

In 2000, Mexico (68.1%) and Salvadoran (2.9%) were the most common ancestries in Lynwood.  Mexico (84.0%) and El Salvador (7.8%) were the most common foreign places of birth.

Hispanic gangs are common in Lynnwood with Lynnwood Varrio, Brown Pride Locos (BPL) and Varrio Banning Street begin the top three gangs, although there are dozens of smaller gangs as well.  The Hustler Mafia Crip Gang is the most well known African American gang in Lynnwood.

Willowbrook is the home to the newly renovated Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center.  The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is also located in Willowbrook.  It oversees residency training programs, allied health programs, a medical education program (jointly with the University of California, Los Angeles), a medical magnet high school, the area Head Start program, and various centers for health disparities research.  Due to severe deficiencies, the former King/Drew Medical Center lost accreditation of several key residency training programs.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Willowbrook had a median household income of $34,005, with 31.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.