Frequently Asked Questions

1.Does your department provide housing for out of state applicants? 

At this time, we do not, however you will receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) while enrolled in the LASD Skill Bridge Program. 

2. Can I be hired with a Veterans Affairs (VA) rating? 

Yes! This will be handled on a case-by-case basis, but having a VA rating is not a cause for disqualification. 

3. Is the academy a “paid academy”? 

Yes, you will begin getting paid starting on the first day of the academy or the start of the Guiding Recruits Into Training (G.R.I.T.) program beginning day 1 you begin receiving full pay along with full medical, dental and vision insurance for you as well as your immediate family. 

Our academy is also accredited through East LA Community College so if you wanted to utilize your GI bill for extra money, you could do so. 

4. Can I apply if I want to join the Reserves or National Guard? 

Absolutely, in fact at any given time we have approximately 1200-1500 Reservists and National Guard personal on our department. 

5. Do you offer military preference points? 

We do not give extra points during the hiring process for military experience. However, we do give military preference at the end of the hiring process. For example, if there is only one spot left in an academy class, and we have 3 applicants to choose from, if one of them has a military background, that person will get the class spot before the other two applicants. 

6. Can I roll over my Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) into the 401k your department offers? 

Yes, you can roll your TSP account into your Horizons account with LASD (this is our 401k, it’s actually a 457b account) for 0 fees. 

7.What happens if I come down on military orders after I’m hired? 

LASD offers 30 days of military time while on military orders only, per fiscal calendar year.   

Flex time Example: If you are scheduled to work Saturdays and Sundays for a particular month but have a weekend drill, you would be allowed to move those weekend shifts to different days of the week to accommodate your military schedule. 

If you get activated and deployed, the first 30 days you would receive full pay from LASD, after 30 days, we’ll make up the pay difference while you’re serving your country. This will allow all the bills at home to continue being paid so you don’t have to worry about it. 

Lastly, we do not freeze your service time with our department. Even if you come down on extremely long orders (12 + months). In other words, your retirement clock with LASD keeps ticking while you’re away serving our country! 

8. I’m in the reserves, what happens if I come down on orders while I’m in the academy? 

We have a great working relationship with the Reserves and National Guard, we can usually help iron out that issue if it comes up. In fact, we’ve never had a recruit leave the academy for military orders. 

9. What does the Military Buy Back Program mean? 

The Military Buy Back Program is offered through the Los Angeles County Employee Retirement Association (LACERA). You can buy back your military service time. This buy back does not affect your Military retirement if you are collecting one. LACERA understand that you cannot be a Deputy Sheriff while being “Active-Duty Military”. As such, LACERA offers veterans the opportunity to purchase service time on our department since they are starting their careers later than their nonmilitary counterparts. The actual purchase price will be determined by LACERA based on your age, time on the department, expected retirement date, and how many years you purchase.