By Jose Herrera
City News Service
LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A Los Angeles City Council committee unanimously approved a motion on Tuesday, Aug. 6, seeking to streamline the hiring process of sworn officers and bolster the LA Police Department’s (LAPD) ranks as recruitment efforts remain a challenge.
The three-member Personnel, Audits and Hiring Committee moved forward the motion introduced by Councilmembers Tim McOsker and John Lee, and seconded by Bob Blumenfield. The councilmen are calling 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.
“What I’m looking for is an analysis of whether we can streamline or quicken the hiring of public safety officers in the police department by moving all of that function from personnel into the LAPD – it is something that has occurred in the past, and I just want to get an analysis,” McOsker, chair of the personnel committee, said.
Dana Brown, general manager of the Personnel Department, confirmed that, many years ago, the LAPD conducted its hiring process, including background checks. LAPD has “never been responsible for its examination process, nor does the City Charter allow that for any other city department,” she added.
According to Brown, the LAPD stopped conducting background checks following the Rampart scandal during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The scandal concerned widespread criminal activity within Rampart Division’s Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums anti-gang unit – with more than 70 sworn officers implicated in misconduct and various crimes.
While the process does take a significant amount of time because that is the industry standard, many candidates actually slow themselves down, she added.
“We allow a lot of autonomous scheduling, which kind of goes along with today’s technology advancements and things like that,” Brown said.
Another challenge is that some candidates are not meeting some of the health-related requirements. About 90 candidates this year have been stopped in their process due to not meeting certain physical criteria or tests.
Brown said department staff are discussing and identifying roadblocks that candidates may face and ways to address them in partnership with Mayor Karen Bass’ office and LAPD.
The general manager emphasized that any changes will require the city to bring in their labor partners in case employees are moved from one department to another.
“The Personnel Department is certainly open to whatever it is that the city believes would be in its best interest,” Brown said.
McOsker thanked Brown for her attendance and remarks. The councilman reiterated he wants the report back to analyze all of the issues on this matter. The councilman hopes the report will identify opportunities to hire the “best qualified people.”
Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, also a member of the committee, supported the motion but expressed some concern.
“What is happening, in my opinion, with the difficulty of hiring [officers] has nothing to do with our process,” Soto-Martinez said.
“It is a cultural phenomenon that is happening across the country. It is just folks that are coming, entering the workforce, graduating from high school [and] have been seeing video of some police officers doing egregious things to the community – it is not viewed as a job they want to have, and that’s what’s happening.”
In a statement to City News Service, the LA Police Protective League (LAPPL) Board of Directors – the union that represents the LAPD’s rank-and-file – agreed that the speeding up and reforming the hiring process is an “important goal that will increase the number of officers in our understaffed police department.”
“Unfortunately, the current archaic and cumbersome process takes too long and does not seriously consider honorably discharged veterans, it rejects current LAPD reserve officers, and certain tests are being incorrectly administered, leading to the disqualification of qualified candidates,” LAPPL Board of Directors said.
“There needs to be a shake up of the hiring status quo and when the shaking stops, the hiring process should land within the LAPD.”
According to the motion, the hiring process of sworn officers consists of an initial application, multiple choice test, personal history statement, department interview, polygraph examination, physical fitness qualification, medical evaluation, field investigation and a psychological evaluation.
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 councilmen. LAPD reported in January it received more than 1,200 applications for sworn police officer positions, representing a two-year high, according to the motion.
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.
Last year, the City Council approved new labor contracts with the LAPPL, providing an increase in starting salaries and adding retention incentives.