A Recruitment Solution Does Exist

There are solutions to the recruitment problems of LAPD.

One is the Los Angeles Police Academy Magnet High Schools program, located on five high school sites within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

This four-year career program for students interested in law enforcement is a college-bound curriculum that teaches self-discipline and self-sufficiency and emphasizes topics in law and criminal justice, report writing, morality, ethics, physical fitness, forensic science and community service. Students wear uniforms, stand when an adult enters the room, work at police facilities, participate in a range of activities sponsored by LAPD and volunteer at the school and in the community. Under this program, the LAPD places a full-time officer at each academy as a resource and role model.

This year, the five academies have become the sponsors and focal points of major after-school programs for the communities around each high school. Our newly awarded $7.5-million federal grant will support the transition of the five high school campuses into community learning centers that will double as safe havens for children, seniors and families in the after-school hours, on weekends and during summer breaks.

Started in 1996, we now have 500 students in the city, and our very first graduating class of 90 cadets will celebrate their accomplishments June 1. In just a few years, these well-educated, home-grown, success-bound students can take their places as highly qualified LAPD recruits. Our cadets, who represent the ethnic and socio-economic diversity of our city, understand the importance of policing in our society and they understand the importance of community policing and a civil society within the rich diversity of Los Angeles. They know their communities and the local issues.

The Police Academy program will be a significant future resource for the LAPD and for the nation.