New Police Academy Class Starts With 29 LBPD Recruits; Subject To Attrition, They'll Be Sworn in December 2014; Mgm't Says Another Academy Class Is Scheduled To Begin Later This Year <p><small>New recruits may offset retirements/exits but won't replace roughly 200 officers erased after Council failed for four years to fund replenishment academies as budget choice</small>

(June 17, 2014) -- A City Hall release says LBPD has begun a new replenishment Police Academy class containing 29 recruits aiming to become LBPD officers. If they survive the six month Academy process (which usually results in some attrition), they'll become sworn officers in December 2014 and then begin a lengthy probationary/training period.

The latest replenishment class may offset annual retirements/exits but won't restore (or begin to restore) the roughly 200 officers LB taxpayers previously had but no longer receive. Under budgets recommended by Mayor Bob Foster and enacted by Council majorities, Long Beach didn't conduct replenishment Police Academy classes starting in 2009. As a result, Long Beach now has a budgeted sworn officer level roughly equivalent per capita to cutting about 30% of LAPD's current officers. [That level doesn't include officers contracted to, and paid by, the Port, LB Airport, LBTransit, LBUSD and LBCC who aren't available for routine citywide deployment and weren't cut.]

Replenishment Police Academy classes resumed in May 2013 with 40 officers graduating in December 2013. A June 17, 2014 City Hall release says another replenishment Academy class is expected to start later in 2014 with no date given.

Just days before the June 3 Mayoral runoff, then candidate/now-Mayor elect Robert Garcia told the East Anaheim Street Business Association that he envisions upcoming budgets will [paraphrase] basically keep pace with attrition [presumably with roughly annual replenishment Academy classes] and perhaps add a few additional officers if fiscal conditions allow. A Council majority ultimately decides budgeted spending and priorities subject to a Mayoral veto that six Councilmembers can override.