LOS ANGELES : City Council Acts to Speed Hiring of Police Recruits

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday created the new position of police specialist in order to speed the hiring of people with a background in police work.

The position will be open to applicants with previous experience in either the Los Angeles Police Department or another police agency and those with training as police reserves.

These applicants will be admitted more readily to the Police Academy than are novices and will be required to complete less than the standard 6 1/2 months of training to become sworn officers. The LAPD hopes to hire an initial class of 50 specialists by the end of the year.

The council unanimously approved the plan despite reservations from some lawmakers that the police specialist candidates will be mostly white and male--hampering the police department’s court-ordered minority recruitment goals. Police officials pledged to continue diversity hiring goals.