Faced with shrinking ranks, LAPD looks to rehire retired officers

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department is making a simple but unusual pitch to its retired cops: Come back. Please.

Faced with a flood of departures and a trickle of recruits entering its training academy that have led to dwindling staffing levels, LAPD officials have drawn up plans that call for as many as 200 retired police officers to be rehired. On the campaign trail in her recent race for mayor, Karen Bass pledged to rebuild the department's ranks to 9,700 officers as the city confronts violent crime rates that remain above pre-pandemic levels.

Bass didn't say how quickly she wanted to reach her goal, but, with about 9,200 officers currently on the force and the department failing to attract enough new recruits to keep up with the pace of attrition, making good on her promise anytime soon will be very difficult. About 600 cops are expected to retire or leave for other reasons in the next year — about 20% higher than the typical departure rate, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore.