Talk:LAPD

There are only 456976 possible four letter acronyms. The number of different meanings is several magnitudes higher. While "Los Angeles Police Department" is one (and may be the best known one -- at least in the USA) it is one of several meanings of LAPD. The police does not own that acronym. Therefore a disambiguation is needed. (Here may be some alternatives, though IMHO not as appropriate.) Chronist 07:41, 4 May 2005 (UTC)

I do not agree with this at all. The LAPD is an internationally known organization, and I'm sure 99% of users who type "LAPD" into their search box are attempting to visit the police department's entry. Take for example the FBI page. The vast majority of people associate the acronym with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and that is reflected by the fact that FBI automatically redirects to the agency's entry and not to a disambiguation page informing them that it also refers to "Flying Buffalo."

I will create a disambiguation page for LAPD and place the appropriate link at the top of the police department's page for those who wish to research the Large Plasma Device and what have you.

~  Butros ( Talk ) 07:55, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

Please do not rollback this page without first discussing the issue here. The Wikipedia article traffic statistics for November, 2009 clearly indicate that this page should redirect to Los Angeles Police Department.
 * This should have been discussed first before make any changes. Kbrose (talk) 07:47, 3 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Sorry for jumping ahead, but unless this redirect can be found to violate WP:PT it should be left as is. I am aware the Los Angeles Police Department does not have exclusive rights to this term, but an article need not attract 100% of users to be considered the primary topic. ~  Butros ( Talk ) 08:55, 3 December 2009 (UTC)

The combined hits in November, 2009 for the six articles listed on the LAPD disambiguation page totaled 32,645. Los Angeles Police Department is clearly the most popular article, receiving 28,289 (87%) of those views. The next most popular page (L.A.P.D._(band)) only garnered 2,523 views--barely 9% as popular as Los Angeles Police Department.

The vast majority of users associate "LAPD" with the Los Angeles Police Department. This acronym belongs to the department much in the way "CIA" belongs to the Central Intelligence Agency and "NYPD" belongs to the New York Police Department. A disambiguation page may be appropriate for less well-known agencies (not everyone associates "APD" with Atlanta Police), but not for the United States' third-largest police force.

The fact that many of the subjects referenced in the disambiguation page are so named in reference to the agency is another clear indicator of its importance. When one visits NYPD they are informed at the beginning of the page that the article on the 60's television show is located elsewhere, as opposed to LAPD where one must choose between reading about the agency or a reality show based around it.

Please discuss reasons for reinstating the disambiguation before rolling back. ~  Butros ( Talk ) 07:32, 3 December 2009 (UTC)