Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/los-angeles-police-department-finds-new-ways-to-recruit Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Aging baby boomers and the heavy military recruitment have put strains on police personnel. The NewsHour looks at how Los Angeles police are handling the challenge. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JEFFREY KAYE, NewsHour Correspondent: To attract and hire a thousand new police officers, the city of Los Angeles is spending a million dollars this year on a recruitment blitz. COMMERCIAL NARRATOR: The city of Los Angeles. When duty calls, the LAPD responds. JEFFREY KAYE: With baby boomers retiring from police departments in large numbers and with starting salaries often not keeping up with the cost of living, law enforcement agencies across the country are having trouble filling their ranks. And the war hasn't helped.The military — usually a good source of law enforcement candidates — is retaining personnel. In addition, since 9/11, federal agencies from the border patrol to the FBI also have ramped up their own hiring, increasing the competition for available and qualified personnel. KENNETH GARNER, Los Angeles Police Department: It's a challenge nationwide. Everybody's talking about recruitment and the recruitment of qualified police officers. JEFFREY KAYE: Kenneth Garner is a deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. KENNETH GARNER: Every police department is hiring right now. Never seen that before in my 30 years in law enforcement, where every police department — usually it's one or the other is hiring, but now everybody is hiring. JEFFREY KAYE: Although no hard numbers exist, organizations representing law enforcement agencies say most large police departments in the U.S. complain they have shortages of sworn officers. So many are making the hard sell at job fairs and hiring expos. RECRUITER: Both of you interested in law enforcement? POTENTIAL POLICE RECRUIT: Oh, yes. RECRUITER: Excellent. JEFFREY KAYE: At this one held recently by the San Diego Police Department, potential recruits were shown law enforcement hardware. RECRUITER: We can certify within five miles an hour high or low to be exact for the court purposes. JEFFREY KAYE: They got an opportunity to test their reflexes on training simulators. POTENTIAL POLICE RECRUIT: Get out of here. POTENTIAL POLICE RECRUIT: Put that knife down, sir.