The greater Los Angeles area has plenty of problems at the moment (to put it mildly), with two of the more serious issues being a rapidly rising crime rate and one of the highest costs of living in the country. These two factors have combined to create a significant challenge for the city. The LAPD is perpetually short of officers, with many fleeing the city’s soft-on-crime policies. But they’re having a very hard time finding qualified people to replenish the ranks of the police, in part because even for those who might be willing to enlist, they simply can’t afford to live in L.A. Now a partial solution to the problem has been offered. They are desperate enough to lure new cops to the area that they are offering a generous housing subsidy to anyone who lands a position with the force. But before we praise the city too much for this generosity, it’s worth pointing out that the money isn’t coming from the municipal budget. It’s all being donated by citizens. (CBS Los Angeles)

The “Housing for Hires” program is offering subsidies of up to $24,000 for housing in the City of Los Angeles for up to two years for new LAPD hires.

While rent is expensive across Southern California, full-time LAPD officers make about $80,000 to start. The $24,000 subsidy pushes that salary to beyond $100,000 — well over the median household income of $65,290 in the City of Los Angeles, according to latest Census data.

The money for the housing subsidy does not come from the LAPD budget, but instead comes from private donations to the LAPD foundation.

As noted above, it’s not as if the cops in Los Angeles are working for slave wages. Rookies make $80K to start, which is well above the median American income and would set you up fairly well in most parts of the country. They also typically receive a fairly nice raise in the first couple of years. But Los Angeles most certainly is not “most parts of the country.” The cost of housing there is ridiculous even in some of the more dangerous neighborhoods well away from Beverly Hills.

This subsidy works out to $2,000 dollars per month which should cover a fair amount of the rent for a modest apartment. But the subsidy only lasts for two years. After that the officers are on their own in terms of paying the rent and their costs obviously won’t be going down.

Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying this is a bad idea. It’s good to see anyone trying to come up with an innovative way to beef up the police ranks, particularly in a city like Los Angeles. But is that really going to be enough? Police all across that region frequently describe their departments as being overworked and underpaid. Both state and municipal laws in Los Angeles have led to spiraling numbers of looting sprees and gang violence. The cops are frequently villainized by Democratic officials and social activists as being part of the problem rather than the solution. Word gets around in the law enforcement community. I’m not sure if making it easier to be able to afford an apartment is going to overcome all of the associated negatives.

The problem should still be fixable, however. If it’s not, then you might as well throw in the towel and tell everyone to move somewhere else because you really don’t have much of a city left. But that will require a change in overall social attitudes, not a couple of new funding tools. Make Los Angeles and all of California more of a friendly place to work as a police officer and a much, much less friendly place to commit crimes. Let the gangs and the other random criminal elements know that their future is going to be centered on long stretches of time behind bars or in a coffin. Ensure that the police know you will have their collective backs when the going gets tough and prove it with your actions rather than just a few stump speeches. Dump all of the Soros-backed, soft-on-crime prosecutors, DAs, and judges who make the job of the LAPD look pointless by shuffling the bad guys through a set of perpetually revolving doors.

People don’t go into law enforcement for fortune or fame. They do it because they want to give back to and protect the community. And many of them will still be standing on the front lines even if the pay isn’t all that great as long as they feel that the city is allowing them to do their jobs effectively and make a difference. But as long as elected officials in the City of Angels continue to kowtow to the most radical voices on the left out of fear of losing their jobs, none of that is going to happen.