The city's $2 million budget for police recruiting will include a campaign with an Internet presence, billboard ads, and advertisements in media as varied as church publications and gay and lesbian newspapers.

Officials hope the effort will turn up the type of qualified and diverse candidates who have been difficult to find as the LAPD seeks to expand, said William Scott DeYoung of the Personnel Department.

"We're right on the edge," DeYoung told the Personnel Committee. "Recruiting is really tough right now."

The move comes as police agencies across the country have been pitted in an intense battle for recruits. The Phoenix Police Department recently launched a campaign specifically designed to lure potential Southern California candidates to its ranks.

Locally, the LAPD and Sheriff's Department each plan to add at least 1,000 officers in the coming years. The Glendale Police Department is looking to hire 100 officers, and the Burbank Police Department has struggled just to fill jobs for departing officers.

DeYoung said there is a 12-to-1 ratio of total recruits to those that qualify to be LAPD officers.

While DeYoung blamed recruiting troubles primarily on the low unemployment rate, he also cited recent police incidents that have left a negative impression in some communities.

Councilman Dennis Zine, a retired LAPD sergeant and chairman of the Personnel Committee, added that Southern California's steep cost of living is a factor.

"One of the big issues is the cost of housing," he said.

The $2 million recruiting budget will be divided this year between television, radio, billboard, banners and print advertisements as well as outreach at events.

A growing portion of the advertising budget will go to niche media and special events that target African-American, Latino, Asian and gay and lesbian markets.

The LAPD is currently 12.9 percent African-American, 36.4 percent Hispanic, 7.5 percent Asian, 43.2 percent Caucasian, and 18.9 percent female.

Of the 381 new officers hired in fiscal 2004-05, 7.9 percent were African-American, 48 percent Hispanic, 10 percent Asian, 34.1 percent Caucasian and 23.4 percent female.

Statistics are not kept on the percentage of gay and lesbian officers, DeYoung said, because of legal concerns about questioning personnel about their sexual orientation.

Councilman Eric Garcetti asked the City Attorney's Office to study the legal implications of arranging for the voluntary reporting of such information.

San Fernando Valley civic leader David Iwata suggested that the city reach out to ethnic community groups to spread the word about the recruiting effort.

Iwata added that in Asian communities many parents want their children to enter professions like law and medicine, and he suggested that officials reach out to ethnic media to improve the perception of police work.

All of the advertisements and in-person outreach efforts share the common thread of directing potential recruits to the department's hiring Web site, joinlapd.com, DeYoung said.

"The candidates in the age group we are seeking, that is how they get their information," he said.