# Vintage LAPD Recruiting Video



## Hush (Feb 1, 2009)

http://www.code3products.com/pdvideo/


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## 7costanza (Aug 29, 2006)

I thought I was watching Dragnet for a second.


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## LA Copper (Feb 11, 2005)

Wow, that was different! Hush, you made me want to join the department all over again. It's amazing how things have changed yet stayed the same after all these years.

The population has more than doubled to close to five million now. The department has almost tripled to close to ten thousand. The patrol divisions went from 13 in this film to 21 that we have now.

So Hush, when are you coming out to apply?


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## Johnny Law (Aug 8, 2008)

That officer's patrol car is a 1957 Ford Custom, so that's what year I'm pegging this recruitment film. To be an officer back in the 50's, that would be awesome! Simpler time, boys were boys with crew cuts, girls actually wore dresses, and most of society would be glad to see you show up on a call. Men and women dressed up if they were going out, Sinatra and his Rat Pack, cars with fins, and you didn't have any pussified elected officials like now (or at least not for long, they got voted out). I'm sure paperwork was minimal, unlike now, and it was either stick time or guns for use of force. Thanks for the retro view Hush!


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2012)

Those of us in Massachusetts think the concept of a police recruiting film is unnecessary and somewhat amusing. We practically have job hopefuls sending *us* propaganda videos about why we should hire them.


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## sdb29 (Jul 17, 2002)

Anybody looking to get on this job should run, not walk, to some other state.


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## Hush (Feb 1, 2009)

Filled out the online preliminary app, just need to find a time to get out and take the exam. Really looking forward to seeing the gritty parts from an LAPD black and white!!

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2


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## LA Copper (Feb 11, 2005)

Delta784 said:


> Those of us in Massachusetts think the concept of a police recruiting film is unnecessary and somewhat amusing. We practically have job hopefuls sending *us* propaganda videos about why we should hire them.


Putting aside this film was made back in what appears to be the 60s, we at the LAPD have the same beliefs as you guys there in Mass about hiring.

For every one person that makes it to the academy, 30 people were turned down. We have people from all over the United States coming out to take our tests, so we don't have any problems with hiring, at least not yet.


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2012)

LA Copper said:


> Putting aside this film was made back in what appears to be the 60s, we at the LAPD have the same beliefs as you guys there in Mass about hiring.
> 
> For every one person that makes it to the academy, 30 people were turned down. We have people from all over the United States coming out to take our tests, so we don't have any problems with hiring, at least not yet.


That's because you don't have sinecures set aside for the 3rd cousin of the city assessor's best friend's brother's son, who held a sign for a city councilor at a stand-out in the last election.


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## LA Copper (Feb 11, 2005)

Good point.


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## Herrdoktor (Jun 23, 2010)

Johnny Law said:


> That officer's patrol car is a 1957 Ford Custom, so that's what year I'm pegging this recruitment film. To be an officer back in the 50's, that would be awesome! Simpler time, boys were boys with crew cuts, girls actually wore dresses, and most of society would be glad to see you show up on a call. Men and women dressed up if they were going out, Sinatra and his Rat Pack, cars with fins, and you didn't have any pussified elected officials like now (or at least not for long, they got voted out). I'm sure paperwork was minimal, unlike now, and it was either stick time or guns for use of force. Thanks for the retro view Hush!


You also had rampant corruption and racism throughout the ranks of most major police departments. So along with the good came the bad.

The main reasons our job sucks today is because the guys of the previous generations had so much 'fun.'


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2012)

Herrdoktor said:


> The main reasons our job sucks today is because the guys of the previous generations had so much 'fun.'


No, it sucks now because of liberal activist judges, shitty parents, and an absurdly biased media who revel at every opportunity to place the blame for every societal ill on the police.


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## LA Copper (Feb 11, 2005)

Herrdoktor said:


> The main reasons our job sucks today is because the guys of the previous generations had so much 'fun.'


I'm glad I'm not you guys. My job doesn't suck. I've been quite happy with my job for the last 23 years. The system may suck but the job is great, at least I think so.


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## Herrdoktor (Jun 23, 2010)

Delta784 said:


> No, it sucks now because of liberal activist judges, shitty parents, and an absurdly biased media who revel at every opportunity to place the blame for every societal ill on the police.


Oh those are all factors as well.


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## Kilvinsky (Jan 15, 2007)

Pretty good movie though, especially considering when it was made, Thanks for finding it.

As I watched, I couldn't help but think that if I had the abilities to dub movies, I could have a lot of fun with this:

"Here I visit my wife, her sister and their grandmother. Sure, my wife seems young, but this is California"

"At the Police Academy we teach our recruits the "Confuse the Criminal" method of apprehension in which the officer runs in circles until the suspect is confused and baffled, THEN we subdue him with ease. It's quite effective as you can see."

"Armed blind children are a problem here in Los Angeles. As you can see here, I managed to take him into custody before he can do any harm to himself or this telescope. We're lucky to have couples who roam the city willing to claim these kids and teach them that blindness and guns do NOT mix."

"That man I just stopped is a bad man, you could see it in his demeanor. Here in the Traffic Division we are often called on to use witchcraft in our duties. What that man didn't know was, as I wrote his ticket, I put a hex on him which will cause him to crash within minutes of our encounter. It's a better lesson than a simple fine and it'll stay with him for the rest of is life&#8230;if he lives. Oh, there's the call now. Gotta go. Maybe I'll see you there."

"The Police Academy offers a full spa, a lounge for hanging out in, and a pool. As you can see, cop groupies hang near the pool on a regular basis so that officers under a lot of stress and pressure can, well let's say, let off some steam WITHOUT going to the steam room!"

"This is Police Headquarters, but we'll skip that and look at City Hall. Isn't it BIG?"


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## msw (Jul 19, 2004)

LA Copper said:


> I'm glad I'm not you guys. My job doesn't suck. I've been quite happy with my job for the last 23 years. The system may suck but the job is great, at least I think so.


I've got to agree with LA Copper on this. I left MA in 1977 and was a cop in L.A. - with the _other_ big agency! - for almost 34 years (retired last year)...... and I had a blast for virtually all of that time. Although I spent the last 18 years of my career in specialized units (not uniformed patrol) my best memories are of the time I spent in South Central Los Angeles in the 1980's and early 90's. (FPK and LNX.... LA Copper will know these RD's....... S/E and 77th used to try to dump their 647f's on us there back in the olden days!!) Fun times.


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## Kilvinsky (Jan 15, 2007)

My job has it's issues but as I always say, I LOVE MY JOB, it's the people I work for I hate. More money than the Vatican yet they whine about "oh, we're so poor. we can't afford to get the employees this or that because we just spent $4 million on a really important fence and $20 thousand on a conference table that we REALLY needed and a couple of million to change something we only had done a couple of years ago but we decided we didn't like it that way...."

THAT sucks. My job? No, not all the time.


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## sdb29 (Jul 17, 2002)

msw said:


> (FPK and LNX.... LA Copper will know these RD's....... S/E and 77th used to try to dump their 647f's on us there back in the olden days!!) Fun times.


What is this strange, unknown language which thou speaketh?


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## LA Copper (Feb 11, 2005)

LNX-Lennox Station (LASD)
FPK - Firestone Station maybe? (LASD)
S/E - Southeast Division (LAPD)
77th - 77th Division (LAPD)
647f - Person drunk in public (CA Penal Code)


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## msw (Jul 19, 2004)

LA Copper said:


> LNX-Lennox Station (LASD)
> FPK - Firestone Station maybe? (LASD)
> S/E - Southeast Division (LAPD)
> 77th - 77th Division (LAPD)
> 647f - Person drunk in public (CA Penal Code)


Yup......... all correct. Sadly, both Firestone Station (FPK) and Lennox Station (LNX) - names and units that were revered and respected by many old-time LASD guys _and_, ironically, also by the crooks and gang-members who got put in jail by the Dep's working at those Stations - were both closed down (FPK in the early 90's IIRC, and LNX a couple years ago) with their patrol areas absorbed by newly built stations: Century Sheriff's Station (FPK) and South Los Angeles Station (LNX).

BTW, LASD had some fun/funny recruiting (and other) videos from years gone by... wish I still had copies......... though the (in)famous "Who Are You" tape is out there on youtube I think.


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## cc3915 (Mar 26, 2004)

msw said:


> Yup......... all correct. Sadly, both Firestone Station (FPK) and Lennox Station (LNX) - names and units that were revered and respected by many old-time LASD guys _and_, ironically, also by the crooks and gang-members who got put in jail by the Dep's working at those Stations - were both closed down (FPK in the early 90's IIRC, and LNX a couple years ago) with their patrol areas absorbed by newly built stations: Century Sheriff's Station (FPK) and South Los Angeles Station (LNX).
> 
> BTW, LASD had some fun/funny recruiting (and other) videos from years gone by... wish I still had copies......... though the (in)famous "Who Are You" tape is out there on youtube I think.


I found this on Youtube.


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## msw (Jul 19, 2004)

I remember them making that "I Love L.A." video....... mid-1980's vintage IIRC...... wheel-guns, great haircuts and mustaches, and "old"helicopters. Had not seen that video in awhile......lot of familiar faces, but all much older, grayer, and (mostly) a bit fatter now!


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2012)

LA Copper said:


> I'm glad I'm not you guys. My job doesn't suck. I've been quite happy with my job for the last 23 years. The system may suck but the job is great, at least I think so.


I love the guys & gals I work with (uniformed patrol), and I love to be able to occasionally help the average citizen, but I positively despise my job and would leave right this second if I hit the lottery or qualified for full pension.


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## LA Copper (Feb 11, 2005)

CC, that was a pretty cool video, thanks for finding it. It was fun to watch too.


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## Kilvinsky (Jan 15, 2007)

Ok, I just watched the LASD video and by Gum, I'm applying!

Maybe Monday if I'm not busy.

Great video, no question and it was good to see such enthusiasm. The video from MY department would show a bunch of people shuffling along saying, "Screw this place." I'm not sure what song would be used....

maybe: 




*You would have to work there to really get this.*


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