Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Thursday issued a new executive directive intended to accelerate police hiring amid ongoing challenges to increase sworn officers above 9,000.

The directive will establish new protocols between the Los Angeles Police Department and the Personnel Department with the goal of clearing bureaucratic barriers and establishing new criteria to ensure the hiring of highly qualified candidates. It will also establish new benchmarks for each stage of the hiring process, and the creation of a dedicated LAPD hiring division within the Personnel Department.

“My number-one job as mayor is to keep Los Angeles safe,” Bass said in a statement. “I am issuing this executive directive to break through outdated bureaucratic barriers to hire more officers to serve the people of Los Angeles.”

Bass noted the city increased pay for officers since she took office, and the LAPD has seen a record-high of applications.

“Now, my direction to the department is clear: work together to speed up hiring and recruit full classes of candidates,” Bass said in her statement.

According to the Mayor’s Office, for years LAPD has been losing officers due to retirement or to neighboring police departments with higher pay. In 2024, the department’s staffing level was reduced by 660 officers.

LAPD’s rank-and-file currently stands at roughly 8,700, the Mayor’s Office stated.

Bass and other city officials are attempting to increase and expedite police hiring in a bid to bolster public safety as the L.A. region prepares for international events such as the 2026 World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“I applaud the strong steps Mayor Bass is taking to strengthen and bring efficiencies to the police hiring process,” City Councilman John Lee, chair of the Public Safety Committee, said in a statement.

“As we prepare to welcome the world to Los Angeles in the coming years, it is imperative that we prioritize the safety of our residents and visitors,” Lee said. “Today’s action ensures that we can more efficiently recruit the most talented and qualified officers into the department, and aligns the hiring process with our commitment to a safe city.”

In 2023, the City Council and Mayor Bass approved new, four-year labor contracts with city workers and sworn officers, which resulted in a $1 billion general fund impact over the life of the contracts. The city is facing a structural budget deficit for several years as a result of the labor contracts, lower-than-expected revenues, economic uncertainties and rising liability costs, among other challenges.

The city’s financial problems have been further exacerbated by January’s devastating wildfires, federal trade policies and the Trump Administration’s ongoing crackdown on immigrants.

Earlier this year, the elected officials were faced with a $1 billion shortfall. City officials proposed 1,600 layoffs, which included 222 civilian LAPD workers, as part of the plan to reduce the deficit.

In June, city officials approved a balanced budget that bridged gaps by implementing cost-cutting measures and increasing fees for certain services and programs.

These measures reduced layoffs by half, and later through efforts to transition employees to other departments and labor negotiations, the city was able to further reduce layoffs down to about 360.

During this year’s budget process, the City Council called for a slow down in police hiring to address budget concerns. Bass later announced she had secured an agreement with the City Council to restore LAPD hiring levels.

Council members agreed to identify funds for an additional 240 recruits within 90 days to be used after LAPD fulfills hiring for 240 officers.

Bass and the City Council are expected to allocate funds for additional officers once hiring processes improve and LAPD Training Academy class sizes are consistently maximized, according to the Mayor’s Office.