LAPD describes cadet, magnet and ACOP programs as council seeks options to expand hiring pipeline

The Los Angeles Police Department told the City Public Safety Committee on March 5 that its youth pipeline includes about 2,000 participants across cadet posts, Police Academy magnet schools and college pathway programs, and that the department would return with options to expand the Associate Community Officer (ACOP) program amid a city hiring freeze.

Commander Gisela Espinosa, who oversees LAPD youth programs, told the committee the cadet program “consists of 26 cadet posts citywide” and reported 1,069 cadets currently enrolled across those posts. She said the Cadet Leadership Academy runs twice annually and that the department provides facilities, assigned officer salaries and equipment, with additional donor funding for some activities. “We recruit at a variety [of] events and locations within the community,” Espinosa said.

The department presented program-by-program detail: the Police Orientation Preparation (POP) program is administered in partnership with Los Angeles Valley College and West Los Angeles College and yields transferable college units; the Police Academy Magnet schools (PAMs) operate in 10 LAUSD schools and serve about 1,168 students; and the ACOP program is intended to bridge cadets aging out of youth programs and employment before age 21.

An LAPD civilian speaker briefing the committee on ACOP said the program began in 2017 and currently shows 19 active associate community officers; the speaker said the department had hired a portion of past ACOP participants but that the program has been effectively frozen by a citywide hiring freeze. The ACOP representative said personnel-office changes to background checks halted ACOP hires in May 2024 and that an outsourced background investigator cost had been about $1,500 per check in a prior period. “Shortly thereafter, determined that they could do a limited background, which would suffice. However, in May of 2024, personnel department halted the hiring of any individuals that were in the ACOP program in that process,” the representative said.

Committee members pressed the LAPD for options to expand the pipeline. Council member McOsker asked the department to return with a report showing how ACOP could be scaled and what positions—civilian or sworn—could be filled to free patrol officers for field work. “If you can provide a report to our offices that show sort of, like, the expansion of this program, what are jobs that we currently need done, whether they're by civilians or sworn police officers, so we can allow this ACOP?” McOsker said.

LAPD witnesses said any expansion would require budget authority to increase maximum ACOP headcounts (currently limited by funding) and additional civilian background-investigator capacity or a change in background procedures. The department suggested moving ACOP administration from the Recruitment and Employment Division to a unit with stronger community outreach to improve targeted recruiting.

Committee members also asked about outcomes: the ACOP speaker said roughly one-third of ACOP participants historically have gone on to sworn positions, and commanders described high college enrollment among cadets, noting many cadets pursue trade or college pathways. Commander Espinosa described supplemental opportunities such as a financial-literacy program hosted at the University of Southern California for cadets.

The committee voted to note and file the LAPD report. The roll call recorded unanimous approval by members present.