More Than 1,000 Apply for LAPD After Pay Increase

Starting pay for LAPD officers is now $86,192, and the department said 1,048 people applied last month, the largest number of applications in any month since September 2020.

"We have seen a recent increase in online applications in those interested in joining the department in our sworn positions, which I'm encouraged by," Chief Michel Moore told the Board of Police Commissioners.

Until August, the LAPD had received around 840 applications each month, and it had been struggling to fill classes at the police academy, NBC Los Angeles reports.

Moore said 52 more officers retired, resigned, or transferred to other agencies in recent weeks, bringing the current staffing level to 8,959, one of the lowest levels in at least a decade.