$5,000 TO $10,000 BONUSES BRINGING RECRUITS TO LAPD.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

The 83 recruits who began training Monday to become LAPD officers received an unexpected boost: They may be eligible for a $5,000 or $10,000 bonus.

Under the program announced by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, recruits would get $5,000 once they graduate from the Police Academy and pass probation. Transfers from other California law-enforcement agencies would get $10,000.

By replicating the incentives being offered by law enforcement agencies nationwide, the city hopes to boost its effort to add 1,000 officers to the Los Angeles Police Department.

``It came to me in December when I was thinking what we could do to increase recruitment,'' Villaraigosa said during a swearing-in ceremony at the Police Academy in Elysian Park. ``Other cities are doing this and I thought we ought to try it.''

The program is estimated to cost $1 million through June 30, the end of the fiscal year, and could run as high as $3 million for a full year's funding. Villaraigosa said other programs will have to be trimmed to fund the signing bonuses, which still must be approved by the City Council.

Council members Jack Weiss and Wendy Gruel appeared with Villaraigosa on Monday. Several other council members and the Los Angeles Police Protective League have voiced support for the proposal.

Villaraigosa and Police Chief Bill Bratton said the build-up of the LAPD is needed, even with crime at 40-year lows.

``It is not going to last forever and we need to be prepared to have more officers on the streets. Even though overall crime is down, we still have a problem with gangs,'' the mayor said.

``We only have one officer for every five gang members, and that is just not enough.''

The LAPD is about 100 below its authorized strength of 9,500 officers. Villaraigosa has set a goal of having a force of 10,300 officers by 2011, with residents paying a trash-collection fee to fund the expansion.

To reach that goal, the department needs to hire 270 new officers each year, in addition to replacing the 400 or so estimated to retire or leave for other reasons.

In addition, the LAPD this year will lose 126 officers who'd agreed to stay on the department after their retirement.

Bratton said the new cadet class reflects the efforts of city officials casting a wide net in recruiting candidates.

The cadets include military veterans of the Iraq war, former residents of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as college students, an X-ray technician, a teen counselor, teachers, computer technicians and an actor.

Villaraigosa said the LAPD has another difficulty in competing with other agencies, because of its high standards.

``A lot of these people apply to different law enforcement agencies and they get to them first,'' Villaraigosa said. ``It's something we have to compete with.''

The LAPD is one of the highest-paying law enforcement agencies in the country, with a starting salary of $52,638 a year.

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Photo:

(color) New Los Angeles Police Department recruits take an oath on the first day of training at the Los Angeles Police Academy.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer