Los Angeles Police Department graduates 35 officers at the LAPD Police Academy in Elysian Park on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The class included 26 LAPD recruits, along with recruits from Los Angeles World Airport Police, Los Angeles Port Police and Los Angeles School Police. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Judy Reiter plays the piccolo with the LAPD Concert Band during the Los Angeles Police Department graduation for 35 officers at the LAPD Police Academy in Elysian Park on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The class included 26 LAPD recruits, along with recruits from Los Angeles World Airport Police, Los Angeles Port Police and Los Angeles School Police. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Los Angeles Police Department graduates 35 officers at the LAPD Police Academy in Elysian Park on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The class included 26 LAPD recruits, along with recruits from Los Angeles World Airport Police, Los Angeles Port Police and Los Angeles School Police. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Chief of Police Dominic Choi graduates 35 officers during the Los Angeles Police Department graduation at the LAPD Police Academy in Elysian Park on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The class included 26 LAPD recruits, along with recruits from Los Angeles World Airport Police, Los Angeles Port Police and Los Angeles School Police. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Families attend the Los Angeles Police Department graduation for 35 officers at the LAPD Police Academy in Elysian Park on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The class included 26 LAPD recruits, along with recruits from Los Angeles World Airport Police, Los Angeles Port Police and Los Angeles School Police. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Los Angeles Police Department graduates 35 officers at the LAPD Police Academy in Elysian Park on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The class included 26 LAPD recruits, along with recruits from Los Angeles World Airport Police, Los Angeles Port Police and Los Angeles School Police. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Chief of Police Dominic Choi graduates 35 officers during the Los Angeles Police Department graduation at the LAPD Police Academy in Elysian Park on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The class included 26 LAPD recruits, along with recruits from Los Angeles World Airport Police, Los Angeles Port Police and Los Angeles School Police. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Los Angeles Police Department graduates 35 officers at the LAPD Police Academy in Elysian Park on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The class included 26 LAPD recruits, along with recruits from Los Angeles World Airport Police, Los Angeles Port Police and Los Angeles School Police. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Los Angeles Police Department graduates 35 officers at the LAPD Police Academy in Elysian Park on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The class included 26 LAPD recruits, along with recruits from Los Angeles World Airport Police, Los Angeles Port Police and Los Angeles School Police. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Los Angeles Police Department graduates 35 officers at the LAPD Police Academy in Elysian Park on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The class included 26 LAPD recruits, along with recruits from Los Angeles World Airport Police, Los Angeles Port Police and Los Angeles School Police. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The Los Angeles Police Academy in Elysian Park sent off 35 recruit officers into their new law enforcement careers on Friday, Aug. 23, as friends and family gathered for their graduation ceremony.
Twenty-six of the graduates are joining the LAPD as new police officers, while others will work as Los Angeles Park Rangers, Los Angeles World Airport police officers, Los Angeles Port police officers or Los Angeles School police officers.
The new LAPD officers have completed 880 hours of training over the course of 24 weeks. The 26 LAPD graduates include 21 men and five women.
Of the graduating LAPD officer class, 20 are Hispanic, three are white, two are Asian and one is Black.
As the new LAPD officers celebrated the completion of their training, they joined the ranks of the nation’s third largest police force.
The LAPD employs more than 8,800 officers, but that number has fallen since 2019, when the department had about 10,000 officers.
The LAPD has recently struggled to recruit and retain officers, like many police departments across the country.
Last year, the L.A. City Council approved a contract with rank-and-file police officers for significant pay raises and bonuses, which is aimed at improving recruitment and retention — and is expected to cost the city nearly $1 billion extra over the course of four years.
Mayor Karen Bass has also called for increasing the number of LAPD officers, and in 2023 set a goal to increase their number to 9,500.
