LAPD's hiring process under fire, department accused of lowering standards 

Its not a excuse but I can see why there is lowing of standards. No one wants to be a Cop anymore and I don't blame them.

When the police lose the support of the politicians and half of the citizenry, this is the way it goes.

Honestly, EVERY department in the United States is lowering their standards for police officers. When I was hired in 1995 at Fort Worth Police Department, NO ONE who had ever smoked marijuana was hired. NO ONE, no matter how long ago they had smoked marijuana. Every cadet was held to the highest standard. That’s no longer the case, any where.

The most surprising thing about this to me is finding out LAPD had standards

It's happening in every field nationwide: teachers, cops, doctors, nurses, pilots, etc😳

My friend's a teacher. He said he had to pass so many exams to get a teaching credential. Now he says they are lowering the standards simply because of teacher shortage.

Ah, Police Academy has finally become reality. When was the last time an officer ran a mile? Its a health issue.

I have a friend at the gym who’s worked for a PD for years. I told her I was thinking about becoming a police officer and she said “No, never! You’re too smart!”

Thats what happens when all the cops quit

You CANNOT lower the stander for this profession. Not everyone can or should do this job.

Being a police officer is my dream job, just got my GED. Down 110lbs, starting college soon.

In 2004, I have been disqualified for admitting to stealing candies when I was 14. Never been in trouble. Obtained a 100% on interview and passed all their exams.

I applied for the LAPD about 9 years ago and I got disqualified for having no credit now some random dude with bad credit can get hired, this is a load of bs 😡

The standards are lowered . It's sickening. Not just LAPD, but all over

7-8 years ago I applied to a few departments in California, and was denied by all. That was a different time though, when many wanted to be officers. Nowadays it’s the opposite… many people don’t even consider law enforcement as a career. Why would they? It’s a crap show. From what I’ve been hearing many departments are struggling to find anyone.

I got denied for drug related issues yet when you tell them the truth about your past they deny you 🙄

At 34 years old, I applied for LAPD. I finished all of the testing with a 98% overall testing score. A form letter advised me that the city hired based on federal mandates and I would be notified... I called the background investigations office and was advised, off the record that they were going to hire women and minorities long before they would hire a 34 year old white male.

Most young people aren't interested in being crapped on all day by the community. It's adjusting to society.

It took me longer to become a Financial Banker than it did for 2 of my friends to become Police Officers here in Los Angeles

As long as they are protecting my community and livelihood, I support them!

The Chief another on that deserves a seat with the corrupt city council

I retired two years earlier than I wanted to (bay area dept), do to the lowering of hiring standards. No-one fails the academy anymore, ridiculous!

I failed the written exam back in 2021 for OC sheriff's and passed the physical exam. They invited me to do the oral interview anyways. Right there I felt like something wasn't right, I dropped out and never applied ever again.

This is what happens when you demonize the social groups who historically are drawn to this line of work.

This "Police Chief" is a joke! "When was the last time an Officer had to run a mile and a half?" Probably not very often BUT when is the last time an Officer had to run after a suspect at full sprint and then end up in a physical altercation to take the suspect into custody? Do you think and Officer who can't run a mile and a half in 12 minutes can accomplish that? Ny guess, having had to do it myself, is NO! Of course, the "Chief" can remedy that by forbidding foot pursuits. What a joke!

Standards are loosening because it's too difficult to be anything these days...you get reprimanded for the slightest infraction, this is across the board.

I saw this happen in Miami in the late 70’s into the 80’s compounded by affirmative action. The results can still felt to this day.

It's definitely unfair to say that you can't trust somebody who has money problems especially someone who's trying to work for a law enforcement that already shows a form of integrity that individual is not going out into the streets to rob people to make ends meet joining the police force shows integrity

They need to talk next about on why the city lower their standards on having Gascon as the DA of LA. And why do criminals have more rights than law-abiding citizens.

I’m ready for LAPD AND LASD to step aside and let us normal law abiding citizens deal with these clown criminals ourselves Wild West style

They have been lowering standards since 1992. Used to be a great department.

I tried applying one time and I told them the truth about weed smoking and they didn’t want me anymore. Their physical training was so easy it was pathetic. They ended up hiring a guy that eventually got caught smuggling drugs into the jail. That’s what they wanted instead of me who was honest it’s them. That’s what they deserve.

if you want higher quality people interested in being police officers maybe they should be allowed to do the job of taking bad guys off the streets instead of prosecuting them every time they do and letting violent career criminals back on the streets over and over again. nobody wants their hard work to be for nothing.

Police used to be out heros, media portraying them as criminals will never help the society. One bad person does not make the entire world hell, the duty of police is to protect, that is a huge weight on anyone’s shoulder. I’m glad I live in a town where we respect police and hold criminals responsible.

It’s not just the LAPD doing this though. This is happening everywhere.

LAPD has been doing this for years. A former neighbor of mine was an LAPD patrol officer in both Hollywood and Van Nuys Divisions. After he resigned, he still had some friendships with some of his former LAPD coworkers and an LA County Sheriff Deputy he also knew. Throughout the 80's, 90's, and 2000's he told me that his friends said over and over again the Affirmative Action thing became worse by the minute and for years.... AND all the while city and county leaders continually created incremental ways to restrict officers in doing their job... AND all of this while the general public becomes more and more woke... AND hating the police right out of the gate. They are hiring people just to show *"WE ARE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE."* The vast majority of male officers find every way possible to stay away from feemail officers and civilian staff because even the slightest of incorrect language and or behavior can result in an HR case, lawsuit, and or termination of job regardless of the situation as long as the whamen comes out the victor. They are hiring whamen who are being given multiple chances to pass physical and academic tests only to continue failing over and over again. So they lower the standards. Society is crumbling because we continue to go in directions of no return. For example on our MTA Los Angeles bus and especially subway and light rail lines... The rumor has gone around for years that officers need to make every possible effort to let certain suspects of a specific racial background... we can't say who because that would be "racial profiling," either go with a warning or to ignore all together out of fear of the situation escalating into a lawsuit, riot, or death. Absolutely nobody is allowed to say or do anything because our city, county, and state leaders continue to push whoake agendas that boggle the mind.

Cheif Moore used bad logic. "Because the prior standards weren't perfect and there were still some bad cops, lowering the standards wont make a difference."

This is not the only department that has lower their standards. I hope they look into all law enforcement departments

i got hire by LAPD at 40..i been in the police for like about 8 months already

standards were already low

They should never reduce standards because this brings the worst of the worst officers during a time that we need better officers. 🙏🇺🇸

Damn, it only took them 80 years to realize!

They absolutely skimp on the psychological part of the interview process. They have for years.

This should surprise absolutely no one.

Been that way with the LAPD for years. Officers hired before 1980 were considered "true" police, and those hired after 1980 were the beginnings of the lowered standards.

No shit they lowered the standards. Bring a police officer is an absolute joke let alone in LA.

They lowered the standards for women and minorities. All first responder jobs have done that for years. A less qualified female or minority will be hired before other more qualified candidates.

Before I was hired by Glendale PD in 1990, I applied at LAPD and their recruiters put the following list on a white board showing what each gender and race needed to score on oral interview: White male: 95%, Hispanic male: 85%, Black male: 75%, Any female: 70% This was 33 years ago, so it usually gets worse.

What do you expect when politicians want to defund and diversify.

How can you lower standards when the standards are so low already?? They already have a cap on your IQ, if you're smart you're not hired. This is just bizarre.

*Affirmative Action and Direct Hires... probably not the best policy for hiring new recruits.*

What a slap in the face to the senior officers by the chief at the end there. What he means is the new hires are easily manipulated and controlled because they don’t think for themselves and see the corruption at the top. They now believe it’s those “old school dinosaurs” that shouldn’t be on the job anymore that are the problem.

Cities in the north did the same thing with firefighters. They lowered testing requirements so that blacks could "compete" for jobs and promotions. Public schools and colleges do it, too.

Them: “let’s defund the police.” Also them: “the police are lowering their standards, shame on them.”

Long story but absolutely true. This problem began decades ago and has spread like a cancer. In the early 70's I worked for a medium sized agency and decided to apply to the largest department in north - central Texas. I won't name it, but you can figure it out. I had two years experience and some college. This was well above average for an applicant at that time. I passed all the entrance requirements but was turned down. Several days later I received a call at home from a high ranking officer who worked in personnel. He told me confidentially that the reason I was not hired was because the department had accepted Federal money and they were obligated under Federal mandate to hire minorities. In the following 5 years I kept tabs on the hiring process out of curiosity. The department began sending patrol cars to a minorities' house to bring them to personnel if they needed a ride. Next they lowered the requirements concerning past lifestyle history, next they allowed minorities to be hired and trained for six months and only then were they given the entrance exam. If you want to know what's wrong with today's police agencies, this is where it began. This has absolutely NOTHING to do with disparaging a minority applicant, but has everything to do with the level of competence of recruits.

For anyone that doesn't believe the LAPD has lowered the hiring standards. Current LAPD sworn staff levels are at 9056 officers down from almost 10,000. This last academy class graduated a total of 44 recruits, many of which will not, or should not, pass field training. Next February, approximately 1400 senior officers and supervisors will leave the department due to forced retirements...Do you see a massive problem on the horizon?

Didn’t take a scientist too know this .

I don't agree with the financial part. Every person is different you cannot be good with money but have more integrity than someone with an 850-credit score.

So, I'm still curious exactly what standards were lowered other than the physical ability test and credit/financial background.

There's reasons standards get lowered. A lot of people don't realize how difficult the process is to become a police officer. Factor in you have very few people who want to become police in this day and age. If you have 100 people who want to join an academy and only 50 spots available, you don't have much to choose from. If you have 1000 people trying to join their are better options to choose from. It's become a take what you can get and hope they work out. BE SAFE!

If he's the Chief, I'm not surprised nobody wants to sign up

Problem is not cops it is a DA Gascon

I don’t think they need “high standards” Is not like they’re going to arrest a nice person with common sense 😂 those criminals don’t need the best treatment like it was customer service

It’s sad…my department has also lowered the standards as well here in Texas.

Honestly its a reason they lowered their standard, anybody in they right mind wont do that job for 40k lmafo.

I knew this guy who applied to several different law enforcement agencies in LA County and would never get selected. After the summer riots during the pandemic he got a call from the LAPD and was basically handed the job.

1) I still think being able to run a 1.5 miles in 12 minutes is relevant. I think in general police should be able to match a firefighter’s physical fitness requirements and maintain a certain level of physical fitness. 2) Bad credit shouldn’t keep you from getting a job. I agree with the chief on this one. They had these requirements before and cops were and still are stealing left and right. 3) Written exams I think are important. As a civil servant you need to be able to properly communicate to the public. Writing is a good indictator of that.

Just recruit from other cities.Get them fresh from the military or colleges.

This is happening across the nation not just LAPD

It’s not just the police department. A bunch of government jobs are doing the same. There was a time once when you tried your hardest to pass the tests. Now, even if you don’t pass they’ll grab your hand and walk you through and allow you to work without benefits until you do pass. All this just to fill the positions. Many of the new people don’t qualify but become qualified.

Lowering standards and are overfunded aswell smh

This has been going on since I was in high school in LA in mid 70s.

I hate to tell you this, but they have been doing this for years. I was hired in 1990. The standards are much different now. Take it for what it’s worth.

Chief said if the stringent standard didn’t work than why not disregard it totally. California is something else.

Funny I’m a Veteran and I applied for LAPD getting to the literally towards the last step in October of 2022 of the stupid process which was a psychological interview and I didn’t make it. Honestly I think it’s the opposite and that they are not hiring for for shit. Cause if what this video says is the case then I should’ve been hired right?

To serve and to protect the LAPD

I read into this over 35 years ago. Earned an associates in CJ, elite level athlete, 3.5 GPA, but upon my job searches, I could no longer ignore the big white elephant in the room: a dislike of my skin color. Spending half a decade while working full time with a family to support was such a travesty to myself. I’ll never let that one go, and it forges my outlook today.

In the 90's, I went through the process with several agencies, two of them flat-out told me my packet was signed and ready to go, but because I was white, I was denied (affirmative action). Now, nearing retirement with an outstanding agency that I am blessed to have worked for, I look back and think how unfair it was to be declined because I was white.

Lapd is a joke and our mayor is even a bigger joke

All US military services do the same thing when they can't meet recruitment numbers they lower the standards.

Explains why we have a fail system.. I'm not surprised

Lol this is not even true. I have a clean very clean background including my credit and I passed all phases to get in LAPD and they STILL disqualified me at the very very end which makes me question of what it can mean

Besides being one of the worst agencies it’s still the hardest to get into.

The chief is a politician. Not a police officer.

I got a job offer. I will show up for orientation in 3 months, as soon as I get out of jail.

Lowering standards? What could go wrong? What's up Memphis?

"Defund the police" Also "Why is the quality dropping"

The LAPD has to lower its standards so that certain kind can pass the entry exam!!! Obviously, as it is, certain kind can't pass it! Also, the Department must lower its background requirements. Again, because certain kind, almost all of them, have some kind of an arrest in their record. That would prevent other people from entering the Department. Worth the standards left high, certain kind can never become cops for the LAPD!!! NEVER! No one with a criminal record means the majority of a certain kind will see disqualified! THAT'S why!

600 hours to be a cop 1600 hours to be a hairdresser do the math 🙄

I told the truth the entire hiring process, I was a top tier candidate with a stable background career for about 10 years. Never had any life issues which were negative. This one candidate said to my face “I lied the whole process, I got my academy date” that pisssed me the F off!!

The chief says they hire qualified minority candidates. He did not say the police department hires the best qualified candidates regardless of race.

Its happening in the medical industry also. Very scarry.

Follow the money, that’s all the explanation you need. All for one none for all the money is how things are.

I remember a couple a weeks ago I saw that they no longer require San Francisco officers to be citizens

Bass is delusional, it’s going be Rampart times 100.

Every police department needs to look onto there hiring process and training. Way too many cops out there violating peoples rights and cops act like they have never heard of the Constitution

Finally, there's been awareness about this. I believe the standards have been low for many years in most of The US.

Imagine shrinking HR, admin, and legal department. That would fix a lot of bureaucracy and put more money in the pockets of actual people on the ground floor working in the community.

Who remembers couple of years back a recruit died during a workout seeing if he can survive beating by batons

I could care less about an officer's physical attributes, I rather know they are hiring people with high moral character.