LOS ANGELES : Chick Proposes Lifting LAPD Hiring Freeze

In a bid to put 50 more police officers on the job as soon as possible, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick has proposed that a city hiring freeze be lifted to let the Police Department hire reserve officers full time and put retired officers back to work.

Her plan would quickly and inexpensively put 50 new officers on the streets by tapping into that “reservoir of individuals right at the city’s fingertips.”

A City Council vote on the Chick plan, which also would consider hiring officers who have left other police jurisdictions, is scheduled for next Wednesday.

Money to hire the officers is already in the budget, Chick said. The city budget includes funding for 7,900 officers, but only about 7,500 are on the force. A hiring freeze, however, allows only the hiring of new Police Department recruits, Chick said.

Chick, who took office July 1, said the idea for her plan came from talking to a reserve officer who wanted to work full time and to a 10-year department veteran who retired and now wants to return to work.