A VERY SHORT HISTORY OF THE LOS ANGELES
DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
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The Los Angeles County District Attorney has employed detectives to investigate and/or assist in the prosecution
of criminal cases since at leas 1891. Most, if not all of the early detectives were deputy sheriffs assigned to the
D.A.'s Office and there was at least one recorded dispute between the Sheriff and the District Attorney over the
appointment of a particular deputy sheriff to the D.A.'s Office in 1891.
In 1908, District Attorney John D. "Captain" Fredericks organized his own detective force, called the
"Department of Criminal Investigations." This unit initially consisted of Chief of Detectives Sam L. Browne and
three D.A. detectives; J. B. Campbell, Louis Duni and V.C. Carey. Brownes duties included reviewing cases for
investigation, assigning detectives to cases and approving detectives' reports submitted to the prosecutors. In
1910, Browne was reassigned to investigate the Los Angeles Times bombing and attorney W. T. Helms was
appointed Chief of Detectives.
In December 1912, L.A.D.A. Detective Sam Browne and L.A.P.D. Detective James Hosick heroically disarmed a
suicide bomber who had over 50 sticks of dynamite in a bomb strapped to his body when he walked into the LAPD
Central Station, which was then located at First and Hill Streets. As Det. Hosick attacked suspect Carl Warr
with what is today considered a personal impact weapon but was then called a sap, Det. Browne wrenched the
ignited device from Warr's hand, ran with it through the police station and threw it out on the street. They were
each decorated with arguably the first law enforcement Medal of Valor, then called Medal of Honor, awarded by
the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
In 1913, the D.A.'s detective force was formalized by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors by
incorporating it into the new County Charter. The number of D.A. detectives then gradually rose through the
1920's to well over 50 officers. During this period the detectives were divided into an investigation unit used to
support trial prosecutors and conduct regular criminal investigations and a special enforcement unit that focused
on vice related crimes such as alcohol violations, gambling, and prostitution.
In December 1928, newly elected District Attorney Buron Fitts reorganized the detective force and renamed it
the "Bureau of Investigation", modeled after the early Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Lucien C.
Wheeler, the Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Office of the FBI at the time was appointed Chief
Detective of the D.A.'s Bureau of Investigation. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office was one of the first
major urban county prosecutors to have its own organized detective force, as opposed to the usual practice of
having local police or sheriff's detectives assigned to assist the prosecutor in specific cases. In fact, the very title
of "Detective" was officially eschewed in favor of "Investigator" to further differentiate the Bureau's
investigators from the local police, although they continued to be commonly referred to as detectives. Under
Fitts, the Bureau of Investigation numbered some 65 detectives, including such specialized units as the
Enforcement Bureau, the Grand Jury Detail, and the Racket Squad. Since neither the D.A. nor D.A.
investigators were peace officer positions, they continued the long-standing practice of being sworn in as "Special
Deputy Sheriffs" (without compensation) so they could carry firearms and make peace officer arrests for crimes
not committed in their presence or for probable cause when an arrestee was suspected of committing a felony.
In 1951, the California Penal Code was changed, giving district attorney investigators throughout California
limited peace officer powers, and eliminating the need for them to be sworn in as deputy sheriffs or, in some
cases, deputy constables. There were now well over 100 D.A. Investigators in Los Angeles County alone. In
1978, D.A. Investigators were granted "full" peace officer authority equivalent to county deputy sheriffs and city
police officers under Penal Code section 830.1.
Today, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has approximately 1,000 prosecutors and is the largest
local prosecturial agency in the country. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation has
approximately 300 peace officers and is commensurately the largest local prosecutor's police agency in the
country. The Bureau's primary focus is on providing investigative and trial support to prosecutors. It also has
substantially staffed units with original jurisdictional responsibilities to investigate local government corruption,
complex frauds, organized crime syndicates, computer-related crimes, major county code violations impacting
"quality of life" issues, and active participation in various inter-agency law enforcement task forces.