A Temporary--but Needed--Fix : L.A. Charter Amendment 3 would allow rehiring of retired police officers

Los Angeles needs every police officer now authorized, and then some. The LAPD is budgeted at 7,900 officers--too small by half to really protect and serve this huge, sprawling, diverse city. But because of early retirement the force has dwindled to a mere 7,690 officers.

Lack of money, as usual, is the culprit. Los Angeles says it can’t afford the 10,000 officers that Chief Willie L. Williams needs, at a minimum, to fight crime effectively and really put community policing into effect. However, there is a cheaper way to put a few more cops on the payroll.

Many experienced and well-qualified officers who took early retirement would be willing to return temporarily to public service. However, under the City Charter, as now written, officers would lose their pensions once they returned to active duty.

A retired police officer should not be penalized for going back into public service. Charter Amendment 3, on the April 20 ballot, would allow retired officers to help out the shorthanded department--and ease the concern of a crime-weary public--without losing any of their benefits. We recommend a “yes” vote.

Rehiring retirees would save money. The city would save as much as 48% of an officer’s original salary, according to the chief legislative analyst’s office, because the city would not have to pay for medical or pension benefits. That’s a bargain, given the severe need for more cops and the growing municipal budget deficit.

Some would begrudge the salaries of cops also drawing pensions from city coffers. Double-dipping is indeed a legitimate concern. However, cops have never been paid enough to put their lives on the line. They are hardly millionaires getting richer at public expense.

Rehiring recently retired officers, who must be under 55 and physically fit, is a short-term solution to the current public safety crisis. Charter Amendment 3 offers only a temporary fix, but it is the best this city can do, absent a greater fiscal commitment to public safety.