The heavily populated neighborhoods west of Downtown Los Angeles are about to get a little safer, we hope. Construction on the new LAPD Rampart Division Station should be complete by summer of next year at 6th and Valencia in Westlake near the Good Samaritan Hospital.

The Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department serves the communities of Angelino Heights, Echo Park, Historic Filipinotown, Koreatown, Westlake/Macarthur Park, Pico-Union, Temple-Beaudry and City West. These districts comprise one of the densest urban areas west of the Mississippi River.

This precinct is relocating its station from a current location on Temple and Rampart near the 101 Freeway. A new facility for the Los Angeles Unified School District is planned on that site to help alleviate the area’s congested elementary schools.

While researching this post, I discovered some interesting trivia on the Rampart Division. Its Community Organization Against Street Hoodlums (or CRASH) squad – an anti-gang program – fell under heavy scrutiny in the late 1990s during a misconduct scandal.

This infamous reputation became the inspiration for FX Network’s popular police drama The Shield. In fact, the show’s original working title was “Rampart”, but later changed (along with its realistic LAPD-style badges) upon request of the LAPD amid concerns that it would construe the department as corrupt. Imagine that!

-Additional photos of the new LAPD Rampart Station here.