From Chief, Page 6 McDonnell said “we’ve turned the corner” on retention with better pay and benefits, along with internal support systems from mental health counseling to training, and he believes that will help with recruitment. “Our people are our best recruiters and in the past several years they have not been telling their friends, relatives, neighbors, sons and daughters to come on this job because it has been very, very difficult,” said
The Board of Directors of the
but it’s going to take some structural changes on the intake portion of the process.” Another tool to help with retention and recruitment is technology, which McDonnell approaches with both knowledge and skepticism. He sees promise in using machine learning and possibly artificial intelligence (AI) to filter through a vast data sets, and thus free up detectives’ time. “AI is so new to our field in particular,” he
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McDonnell. “We’re in a position where we’re always planning for the worst, hoping for the best, and knowing that we’re going to be criticized either way.” He said he wants to change the public narrative and he’s working with Hollywood to develop police dramas that will shift perceptions and attract recruits. “Life does imitate art and there’s many people who are in the police department or the fire department or many other jobs because they were influenced growing up by what they saw in pop culture on TV and in the movies,” he said. Structurally, he’d like to see people moved through the academy and the hiring process more efficiently and is working with the city’s personnel department to streamline background checks and prevent delays that might result in recruits bypassing the LAPD for other departments. Currently, the LAPD has been graduating an average of 30 per month, but has the capacity for 60 a month. “I do believe that we can double the number of people in our classes and I think we can do that in the short term,
said. “If we take whatever the newest toy that comes out there from a technological standpoint and try to apply it, we may misapply it and end up losing a good tool. We also could end up in a position where the community doesn’t have that trust in us that we desperately need them to have.” Technology and tools help, he said, but ultimately “we’re in the people business.” “We’re blessed to have him as the LAPD Chief,” said Ed Roski Jr., Majestic Realty President and minority owner of the L.A. Lakers and L.A. Kings franchises, during a recent breakfast. “He has the qualifications and experience to handle the issues and to communicate his message to the public.” With a smile, McDonnell replied: “I feel blessed to have had the all experience and opportunities I’ve had throughout the years. But the opportunity then to come back to the LAPD, this is where I began. This is home.”
Director Ed Chavez Secretary Division 3
Director Jennifer Santana
Director Anthony R. Fellow Vice President Division 1
Director Charles M. Treviño Division 2
Director Katarina Garcia
President Division 5
Treasurer Division 4
From left: Chief Jim McDonnell, Ed Roski Jr. and Austin Roski Amendola. photo by Steven Georges
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