Joel Lopez is the Assistant Commanding Officer of the Community Safety Partnership Bureau (CSPB), where he is responsible for strategizing, crafting, and implementing policies and best practices related to the CSP model. He brings together community stakeholders to partner with City leadership and the LAPD to implement and expand the CSP core components department-wide.

Mr. Lopez also collaborates and coordinates with various institutional partners such as the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), the Los Angeles City Council Districts, the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, the Mayor's Gang Reduction and Youth Development Office (GRYD), the Urban Peace Institute (UPI), faith-based organizations, and other stakeholders.

In 2011, Mr. Lopez was hired as the Manager of the Los Angeles Housing Authority’s Resident Services division, overseeing resident and community engagement programs, activities, and events across all 14 public housing developments in the City of Los Angeles. During his tenure with the Housing Authority, he worked in partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department, the Mayor's Gang Reduction and Youth Development Department, and Connie Rice’s Urban Peace Institute to develop and implement the innovative Community Safety Partnership Program (CSP).

In 2020, the program expanded to become a city-wide LAPD Bureau, and Mr. Lopez joined the Los Angeles Police Department as a Police Administrator, serving as the Civilian Assistant Commanding Officer of the Bureau alongside Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides to continue the work they started in 2011. Today, Mr. Lopez is the highest-ranking Latino civilian in the Los Angeles Police Department and the second Latino and first male to reach the rank of Police Administrator II.

Mr. Lopez attended UCLA and graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

After college, Mr. Lopez taught bilingual education in the primary grades with the Los Angeles Unified School District for five years. He then transitioned to the City of Los Angeles where he spent two decades working in various positions, including Senior Case Manager, Budget Manager, and Administrative Services Manager for the Department of Labor-funded Youth Opportunities Movement Program and Resident Services Manager for the City Housing Authority.

Outside of his work with the LAPD, Mr. Lopez enjoys spending quality family time with his two young daughters. When he’s not attending their soccer or tennis games, he often spends his time working on his jeep or exploring off-road trails with his family and friends.