LOS ANGELES — The number of officers employed by the Los Angeles Police Department has dropped below 9,000, a staffing level unseen since the administration of former Mayor Richard Riordan in the 1990s.
Several city officials told NBC Los Angeles’ I-Team that 8,967 officers were employed as of July 30, far below Mayor Karen Bass’ goal of 9,500 and about 300 below what the current budget allows, roughly 9,300 officers.
Since then, another class has graduated from the police academy — bringing the total number of officers to 8,995 — though it will be several months before the newest officers complete field training.
A new academy class began last week at less than half of capacity.
“Unfortunately that academy class will only have 29 recruits,” Chief Michel Moore told the Board of Police Commissioners on July 25. “Our effort is to hire 60 every four weeks.”
The police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the current staffing numbers or how the reduction in available officers was affecting operations.
Officers are voting this week on whether to accept a four-year employment contract that promises raises of nearly 20% for most officers and a higher starting salary for recruits.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents most officers, said last week that it hoped that the pay increases would help draw in more candidates.
The police department grew to more than 9,000 officers under Riordan when he and the City Council were united in efforts to try to grow it to at least 10,000 officers.
By 2009, the police workforce had expanded to 9,895, when then-Chief Bill Bratton said there were still too few officers for the size and population of the country’s second-largest city.