The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County and Blaine County in California, formed in 1850. It is responsible for the 153 unincorporated communities and 42 cities of LA County (in addition to rural Blaine County, too small to have its own independent police force), courthouse security, and the housing and transportation of inmates in the county jail system. In 2015, it had 20,159 employees, making it the largest sheriff's department in the country.