Mayor Bass Issues Executive Directive To Accelerate The Hiring Of More LAPD Officers

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LOS ANGELES - Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive directive to accelerate the hiring of more LAPD officers to make Los Angeles safer for all. Mayor Bass' executive directive will establish new protocols between LAPD and Personnel Department to clear bureaucratic barriers, create new criteria to ensure highly qualified candidates are selected, establish benchmarks for each stage in the officer selection process with the aim to complete it within 180 days and stand up a new LAPD Hiring Division within the Personnel Department.

"My number one job as Mayor is to keep Los Angeles safe," said Mayor Bass. "I am issuing this executive directive to break through outdated bureaucratic barriers to hire more officers to serve the people of Los Angeles. We have secured competitive pay for officers and seen a record high number of applications - now, my direction to the departments is clear: work together to speed up hiring and recruit full classes of candidates."

"I applaud the strong steps Mayor Bass is taking to strengthen and bring efficiencies to the police hiring process," said Councilmember John Lee, Chair of the Public Safety Committee. "As we prepare to welcome the world to Los Angeles in the coming years, it is imperative that we prioritize the safety of our residents and visitors. Today's action ensures that we can more efficiently recruit the most talented and qualified officers into the department, and aligns the hiring process with our commitment to a safe city."

For years, LAPD has been losing officers to retirement or neighboring police departments with higher pay, faster than new recruits are joining the force. Last year, 660 officers attrited from the department. The size of the LAPD is roughly 8,700 officers. The number of people applying to the LAPD reached a four-year-high after Mayor Bass and City Council secured competitive and fair pay for LAPD officers and personnel. By breaking bureaucratic barriers to hiring, this executive directive is the next step in Mayor Bass' focused effort to grow the department's numbers in order to keep Angelenos safe and prepare for major upcoming events.

In June, Mayor Bass signed a balanced budget and announced that she has secured an agreement with City Council leadership to restore LAPD hiring levels. Council leadership agreed to identify funds for an additional 240 recruits within 90 days to be used after LAPD fulfills hiring for 240 officers. Mayor Bass and Council leadership will return to allocating funds for additional officers once hiring processes improve and LAPD Training Academy class sizes are consistently maximized.

Read the full executive directive here.