The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Mayor James Hahn said new figures show that the Police Department is attracting more recruits but still is losing more officers than it is hiring.
Hahn said Wednesday that the number of recruits joining the academy has averaged 50 per class in recent months. Last year, half of the classes were canceled because not enough people were accepted to fill them.
The attraction for recruits, Hahn said, is a more flexible work schedule and a faster hiring process.
However, over the last fiscal year 449 officers left the Los Angeles Police Department while only 356 were hired. The department has 8,910 officers, but officials said the force is still short of the budgeted amount by 1,100.
With recruits increasing and the number of departing officers down slightly, the LAPD has seen a 26 percent reduction in attrition over the last year.
The city has also made an effort to attract former officers who left the LAPD for other agencies. Of 600 letters sent to those officers, 62 have applied to return, Hahn said.
Some critics of the department said hiring new officers has been difficult because of low officer morale and the Rampart corruption scandal that revealed some officers beat potential suspects and planted evidence.
But industry observers said most police departments in California are having problems retaining officers.
“Agencies are, across the board with very few exceptions, having difficulty filling their vacancies,” said Hal Snow assistant executive director of the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
Los Angeles receives about 11,000 applications a year, but only about 3 percent are selected, city officials said.