EDITORIAL A GROWING FORCE CITY REALLY IS USING TRASH FEE FOR COPS.

IT was bad policy for the city of Los Angeles to raise the trash-collection fee for residents to pay for more cops. But at least the city appears to be making good on its promise to use that money to pay for more police officers.

Not only has the Los Angeles Police Department reached its hiring goal for this year, but officials say that it's on target to hire enough cops so that the force will hit the milestone of 10,000 by 2009.

That's good news, and it means city leaders won't have to raise taxes for at least a few years -- because the trash fees keep escalating ever higher.

Boosting the LAPD force has been a long time coming. And while the trash-fee-for-cops funding was terrible public policy, the goal has always been worthy.