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Committee hears LAPD communications staffing report; hiring timeline shortened to about six months
Summary
Personnel Department and LAPD officials told the Los Angeles City Council Personnel and Hiring Committee that changes to the police service representative (PSR) selection process cut the hiring timeline from about 40 weeks to 26 weeks, improved class sizes and produced 44 hires in 2024; the committee voted to re-note and file the report.
At a special meeting of the Los Angeles City Council Personnel and Hiring Committee at Van Nuys City Hall, personnel and Los Angeles Police Department officials reported reductions in selection and hiring time for police service representatives and described steps to increase recruitment and retention.
The Personnel Department said the PSR selection and hiring timeline has been reduced from about 40 weeks to roughly 26 weeks after process changes introduced in 2023 and updated in April 2024. Personnel and LAPD officials said the department hired 44 PSRs in 2024, the most recent class included 58 recruits, and the department currently shows about 59 PSR vacancies.
"We really are going after, filling these vacancies within the department," said Brian Taft, commanding officer of the LAPD personnel division. He and Captain Ray Veil, commanding officer of the LAPD communications division, described operational and hiring changes intended to accelerate placements.
Personnel Department Chief Personnel Analyst Melissa Hamamoto described procedural changes meant to speed selection, including allowing qualified dispatchers from other agencies to waive portions of the exam and moving from paper-based exams to digital processing. Hamamoto explained the department handles recruitment and building the eligible list; LAPD determines which candidates receive conditional job offers and then conducts background and medical checks.
"Background investigation and medical can only happen after a conditional job offer," Hamamoto said. Captain Veil added that LAPD now runs background and medical checks concurrently after a conditional offer, which "has significantly reduced our wait time."
Committee members asked about training and attrition. Veil said a PSR typically takes about 12 months to complete classroom and hands-on training, and the day-to-day hands-on training is overseen by PSR 3s, who act as training officers. The officials said roughly 20 to 25 percent of PSRs leave within the first two years for various reasons — a rate they characterized as an improvement from about 30 percent five years ago.
Councilmember Tim McOsker praised the progress and recommended that the committee re-note and file the Personnel Department report. The committee called the roll and approved that action.
The report noted the shorter selection-to-hire timeframe, larger recent class sizes and continued emphasis on digital processing and concurrent background checks as primary drivers of improved throughput. Officials said they will continue monitoring recruitment, training outcomes and attrition.
The committee’s action was procedural: the Personnel Department report was re-noted and filed for the record. No new policy changes were adopted at the meeting.
