Los Angeles Police Department
In a city of endless rain, they hunt the machines that dream.
The Los Angeles Police Department anchors the crumbling social order of a rain-slicked metropolis, tasked with policing a world where bio-engineered replicants walk among humans. Beyond standard beats, the department houses the infamous Blade Runner unit—a specialized task force operating in the shadows to track and "retire" off-world Nexus models. A blade runner investigates, tests and executes replicants, a killing the department calls retirement.
Quick Facts
- Key figure
- Officer Rick Deckard
Lore & Background
By 2019, the LAPD had mutated into a grim bureaucracy where human rights stopped at the skin of the synthetic. The Voight-Kampff test served as their gavel, measuring empathy to determine life or death. Captain Harry Bryant heads its Rep-Detect department and calls the replicants "skinjobs". By 2049 the department's blade runners are themselves replicants: Officer K, a Nexus-9, serves under Lt. Joshi.
Reader's Guide
The Los Angeles Police Department is the central authority figure in the Blade Runner universe, tasked with maintaining order in a chaotic, futuristic metropolis. Its primary goal is to enforce laws that strictly prohibit replicants from existing on Earth, leading to the creation of the elite Blade Runner unit. These specialized officers are responsible for tracking down and eliminating rogue artificial humans who have escaped their off-world labor colonies. Blade runners use the Voight-Kampff test to identify replicants, who are then "retired". Key members include the blade runners Rick Deckard and Dave Holden, the officer Gaff and Captain Harry Bryant.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary function of the LAPD's Blade Runner unit?
The LAPD's Replicant Detection Unit, whose officers are called blade runners, tracks down and kills replicants that are on Earth illegally.
Who is Rick Deckard and what is his role within the department?
Rick Deckard is a former blade runner whom Captain Bryant pressures back into service to retire four Nexus-6 replicants. The assignment brings him to Rachael, a replicant he is told to retire and falls in love with.
How does the LAPD's status change in Blade Runner 2049?
By 2049 the department still runs blade runners, now self-aware replicants such as K, who hunt older models that went into hiding.
What does it mean to 'retire' a replicant?
'Retiring' is the euphemism for killing a replicant.
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Elsewhere in Blade Runner
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