Mayor vows to continue LAPD expansion
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa insisted Tuesday that he would stick to his plan to add hundreds of officers to the Los Angeles Police Department "no matter what the cost," at a time when the city faces deep cuts in other services and potential layoffs of municipal workers.
Villaraigosa said his administration was halfway to its goal of expanding the department by 1,000 officers. By November, the LAPD will surpass its largest size, 9,852 sworn personnel, if the current rate of increase continues. The department is on pace to reach 10,000 officers by June 2009.
At the same time, however, the city faces a budget deficit of at least $400 million in the coming fiscal year.
Those two facts -- the increasing size of the force and the rising deficit -- mean that the mayor, City Council and city employee unions face painful choices in the months ahead. But Villaraigosa said he would not change course.
"I will do everything in my power to protect the buildup of the Los Angeles Police Department," the mayor said during a news conference at the Police Academy, where he was flanked by dozens of cadets. "It is a promise . . . I intend to keep, no matter what the cost."
Villaraigosa, noting that crime rates have dropped to their lowest levels in more than half a century, insisted that prosperity in Los Angeles was tied directly to a safe city.
He acknowledged, however, that the police expansion was likely to mean "significant cuts to other very worthy programs" and that "layoffs will be on the table as one of the options" to balance the budget.
The LAPD's training academies are full, with recruits working their way through the department's rigorous six-month training program. A string of unusually large classes will begin graduating this spring, adding about 70 officers to the department monthly. After accounting for attrition, the LAPD is expected to grow by about 30 officers each month.
Most members of the City Council have so far gone along with Villaraigosa, refusing to slow the pace of hiring. The council is expected to review the issue this month, deciding whether the department should halt the academy class set to begin in April.
But pressure is building as city leaders look to slash $12 million by June 30 and $400 million to $500 million more in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Some fiscal conservatives fear that Villaraigosa's police buildup will undercut other important programs the city delivers to the public.
