Struggling to lure more officers, the Los Angeles Police Department is joining a growing number of law enforcement agencies across the nation in considering less stringent recruitment rules.
Police Chief William J. Bratton said he was drawing up the proposed changes, which would end the LAPD's zero-tolerance rule toward past marijuana use and make it easier for the department to hire people with bad credit histories.
Bratton's idea has ignited a debate within the department, with some fearing that lower standards would bring problem officers to the force and create the potential for more misconduct and corruption. Others question whether people who admit to breaking the law in the past can be trusted not to commit crimes in the future.
But outside law enforcement experts said it would not be a radical departure from what many other agencies already are doing. Some said the rules would end up making the LAPD look more like the population it serves.
"It's definitely not your father's Los Angeles of 1955," said Eugene O'Donnell, professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "It's one of those ironies that LAPD, in a city that's pretty hip and sophisticated, is still somewhat trapped in a time capsule."
O'Donnell said that a police department should have police officers with "real-life experience," which can involve marijuana use and even some minor criminal problems, so that the department can better deal with "real-world problems."
Bratton said some of the LAPD's standards regarding drug use and a candidate's financial history may be "artificially high." He is considering reducing the department's zero-tolerance drug requirement so it is in line with federal law enforcement standards. The FBI requires its candidates to have no more than 15 uses of marijuana and not within the three years before the application date. The FBI also requires that other drugs, including steroids, not be used more than five times and not within 10 years of the application date.
"The reality is, kids today ... may in fact have sampled drugs some time in their life," Bratton said this month. "Does that mean we should automatically disqualify them? I don't believe so."
The move comes as the department is pushing to meet its goal of a 10,000-officer force by next summer. To enter the LAPD, candidates must undergo a series of tests and evaluations, including a background check, a psychological evaluation, a physical abilities test and a polygraph. Only one in 12 candidates makes it through the process, said Scott DeYoung, the department's chief personnel analyst.
