LAPD’s authoritarian presence is expected to grow in the upcoming year. A new social expenditure plan proposed and approved City Council and Mayor Bass, approximating about $118 million increase to fund 780 new cops, two new helicopters, along with additional expenses.

“Another year and another LAPD budget increase — a 6.3% increase to be exact. As Mayor Karen Bass finalizes the city’s budget for 2023-24, LAPD is asking for an additional $118,834,040, bringing its total direct costs to $1,995,664,930.”

To be specific, “$105,487,881 of next year’s budget growth to be exact — are contractual obligations for salaries, COLAs (cost of living adjustments), and lucrative overtime costs for the department’s 9,000+ personnel. These costs are non-negotiable and are coming in the next fiscal year no matter what.”

Despite the increased police violence in the city for the last 3 years, the LA government continues to maximize support for their standing police force to remain an intimidating, deadly presence among the LA neighborhoods.

“Since the mass movement to defund the police swept the nation in 2020, LAPD has, among many things: killed three people in mental health crisis, shot at two unarmed people in a drive-by-style shooting, settled a $4 million sexual harassment lawsuit for a female captain, blew up a neighborhood by miscalculating the weight of fireworks, forcibly evicted the encampment at Echo Park Lake and arrested 200 people, and reappointed Chief Michel Moore, who’s had a tenure full of scandals.”

Along with increased funding to cover “Overtime, Cost-of-Living Adjustments, and Other Contractual Obligations Dominate the Budget; After-Action Report Reforms and Training; 780 New Cops to Cover Turnover; Surveillance Technology for Future Protests and the Olympics; Fleet Replacements to Help “Reduce Greenhouse Gasses”; More Encampment Sweeps; Boot Sanitizers, Veterinary Expenses, and More”.

This apparent lack of regard for the popular demands of the community to defund massive portions of the police to relocate social expenditure into material actions to facilitate a decrease in crime, homelessness, and poverty. Instead, the state seeks to maintain chronic police violence and oppression, corruption, and negligent social expenditures.