The Departments of the LAPD are the various divisions of police force personnel in Los Angeles. Each attends to different types of crime and have different briefing rooms across the various police stations throughout the city, with a different Captain who oversees that department. As he is promoted, Cole Phelps operates within multiple departments, and has the aid of a different partner for each one.
Within the context of gameplay, the five departments Cole works for are referred to as "Desks," the latter of which act as the four main chapters of the game's story.
Featured Departments[]
Patrol[]
The Patrol Department is concerned with monitoring assigned geographical areas in Los Angeles, offering quick response to street crimes such as petty theft and hit-and-runs which require relatively little investigation, as the culprits will usually be caught in the act. As such, When Cole joins the LAPD, he starts off in this department as a beat cop at the Wilshire Police Station, but the department quickly notes that his ability to investigate crimes, and promotes him to Detective. Cole's partner in this department is Ralph Dunn.
Patrol is essentially the tutorial desk, and is even completely skippable, after which you will start the game at the Traffic Desk.
Traffic[]
Central Police Station briefing room
The Traffic Department is a section of the LAPD concerned with hit-and-runs, felony driving, and car burglaries. The Traffic crime desk also investigates vehicular manslaughter and murder cases, and collision reports involving serious injuries or fatalities where a car may be involved.
Cole Phelps starts in Traffic at the Central Police Station when he first becomes a detective in the LAPD. Cole's partner in Traffic is Stefan Bekowsky. The Captain of the department is Gordon Leary.
Homicide[]
The Homicide Department is a section of the LAPD concerned with the investigation of murders within the city of Los Angeles. Cole's partner in Homicide is Rusty Galloway. The Captain of the department is James Donnelly.
Vice[]
The Administrative (Ad) Vice Department, also known as Vice Narcotics is a section of the LAPD concerned with offenses involving prostitution, drugs, lewdness, lasciviousness and obscenity. Cole is transferred to Vice at the Hollywood Police Station and is partnered with Roy Earle In Vice. The Captain of the department is Captain Lazarus Cafarelli.
Arson[]
The Arson Department is a section of the LAPD concerned with maliciously, voluntarily, and willfully setting fire into buildings, or other property of another or of burning one's own property for an improper purpose, as to collect insurance. When Cole returns to Wilshire Police Station to work in Arson, his partner is Herschel Biggs. The Captain of the department is Lachlan McKelty.
Cut/Removed Desks[]
Two crime desks were not included the final version of L.A. Noire: Bunco (Fraud) and Burglary (Robbery). Team Bondi's Brendan McNamara explained in an interview that Bunco and Burglary were cut from the game early on:
"We had so much to work with that some material never made it past the conceptual stage: we never ended up shooting capture or creating substantial code for Burglary and Bunco, for instance, although they were part of the original idea." [1]
The names of some songs in the soundtrack also reference the Bunco and Burglary desks.
Bunco[]
Bunco, also known as the Fraud Division of the LAPD, is responsible for investigating fraud and other white-collar crimes. Its department is located at Wilshire Police Station. It is possible that this desk, like Burglary, took place during the six months between Traffic and Homicide.
Burglary[]
The Burglary Department of the LAPD investigates robberies involving private homes, home invasions and thefts. When Cole is introduced to the Homicide desk, Captain Donnelly mentions he was transferred from Burglary. It is assumed that this desk took place during the six months between Cole's service in Traffic and his promotion to Homicide. Harold Caldwell may have been Cole's Partner in this desk.