LAPD offering new hires a $24,000 rent subsidy to boost recruitment

The LAPD has a new perk to help them recruit officers — help with paying the rent.

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.

The high cost of housing in California is an ongoing problem, particularly for lower-paid professionals like teachers, so its not unusual for municipalities to try to offer affordable housing in an effort to attract new hires. Jefferson Union High School District, south of San Francisco, is also using affordable housing as a perk to attract teachers by offering apartments to teachers built on school property for nearly half the going rate in the area.