LAPD’s recruiting woes laid bare: Only 30 officers per class, analysis shows

The Los Angeles Police Department has graduated an average of 31 recruits in its past 10 academy classes, a Times review shows, about half the number needed to keep pace with Mayor Karen Bass’ ambitious plan to reach 9,500 officers. The smaller-than-hoped-for classes — coupled with the number of experienced officers who are retiring or leaving for other jobs — have fueled speculation around City Hall and LAPD headquarters about whether Bass will reevaluate the department’s staffing needs in her new budget proposal, due Monday. “I’m very proud of that, because that means our standards are still the same.” At the same time, Southers said, the reality of a “slimmed-down LAPD means we’ve got to lean into these alternatives to police response.” “There are a number of things that officers respond to that civilians could respond to, that clinicians or social workers could respond to, trained medical professionals could respond to,” he said. A recent report by the city’s top budget analyst said the LAPD would likely end the year with 8,908 officers — the lowest sworn deployment in more than two decades.