The city of Los Angeles is considering a plan to expand the LAPD by absorbing employees from the General Services Department, possibly helping fulfill Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s campaign promise of expanding the force to 10,000 officers.
Under the plan being considered Monday at a city budget committee meeting, the Los Angeles Police Department could absorb up to 250 general services employees who protect city facilities, parks and libraries. About 100 of them are sworn officers.
If approved by the City Council, the plan could help fulfill Villaraigosa’s long-stated goal of having a police force of 10,000 officers, up from the current 9,963.
LAPD media relations had no comment about the plan on Monday.
A message left with Tony Royster, the general manager of General Services, was not immediately returned.
Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander, a reserve LAPD officer, supports the idea.
"It doesn't make sense to have both an office of Public Safety and the LAPD," said Englander, who's also the chairman of the city's public safety committee. "It's a common-sense, practical solution to bring two law enforcement agencies in the city together."
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Eric Rose, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents the rank-and-file LAPD officers, said the union has not been briefed on the details of the plan, but is open to exploring the idea.
“They are open to anything that will help the city run better,” Rose said in an email.
The city’s Chief Administrative Officer Miguel Santana told the Los Angeles Times he believes the change would make the city operate more efficiently and could save money during a budget crunch.
"It's not going to cost us anything more and there are some modest savings," Santana told The Times. "Mostly it's about strengthening law enforcement activities throughout the city."
Santana is expected to release his report to the city’s budget and finance committee on Monday.
The General Services Department, which is also responsible for city communications systems, was in the news recently as a test shut down power to LAPD’s dispatch system.
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