LA Council calls for report on LAPD hiring amid recruitment challenges

Facing ongoing challenges in recruiting sworn officers, the Los Angeles City Council called Wednesday for a report on police department hiring statistics to evaluate the effectiveness of current incentives aimed at attracting candidates.

In a 11-0 vote, council members directed its personnel and police departments to report biweekly to its Personnel, Audits and Hiring Committee. These updates will cover police hiring statistics from June 2023 to August 2024, including the number of applicants, academy entrants and attrition rates, among other data.

Additionally, the city administrative officer will report monthly with hiring statistics on the three largest law enforcement agencies in the state, as well as the ten largest agencies in L.A. County.

Council members Eunisses Hernandez, Imelda Padilla, Traci Park, and Monica Rodriguez were absent during the vote.

“Hiring and retaining the necessary number of police officers is critical for the city to address key public safety issues,” Councilman Tim McOsker wrote in his motion introduced on Aug. 27. “It is important to engage in an ongoing examination of the effectiveness of the city’s efforts to meet the annual sworn hiring goals.”

In August, the City Council had also called for an analysis for potentially having the LAPD handle the hiring process of sworn officers instead of what is currently the Personnel Department’s task. Mayor Karen Bass and City Council approved new labor contracts with the Los Angeles Police Protective League in 2023, providing an increase in starting salaries and adding retention incentives.

With the city of Los Angeles hosting world events in the coming years, such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there are efforts underway to ensure LAPD has more than enough manpower for security.

As of July 23, the department has 8,808 sworn personnel, according to LAPD’s Media Relations Division.

The city has experienced an increase in applications for police officer positions, according to the council. LAPD reported in January it received more than 1,200 applications for sworn police officer positions, representing a two-year high.

LAPD also reported significant increases in the number of qualification exams administered and the number of candidates participating in the candidate assistance program, which provides support to eligible applicants navigating the hiring process.