Chief of Police Luke Hellinga

Chief of Police Luke Hellinga was born and raised in the South Bay and has been with the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department since 2001, when he started as a part-time Police Intern. Soon thereafter, he started working for PVEPD full time as a service officer.

In 2005, Luke graduated towards the top of his class at the prestigious Orange County Sheriff’s Academy. Since then he has worked his way up through the ranks and has worked many assignments which include Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Detective, Corporal, Sergeant, Patrol Watch Commander and Detective Sergeant. In 2009, Chief Hellinga earned the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Award for making 100 DUI arrests in one year. In 2019, Chief Hellinga, along with Detectives Shea and Crisfield, received the Centurion Award for “Excellence in Criminal Investigations” from the Peace officers Association of Los Angeles County for their work in solving a series of violent armed home invasion robberies.

Luke’s leadership, experience, and deep understanding of the community will serve the department and the community well as a Police Chief.

The Operations Division oversees the following departments:

• Traffic
• Special Enforcement
• Reserve Corp
• Patrol