Former Los Angeles sheriff Alex Villanueva claims the city is not in a good place to host the 2028 Olympics ©Getty Images

Former Los Angeles sheriff Alex Villanueva has warned that the city is in the "worst place possible to get ready" for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games due to law enforcement concerns.

Villanueva, who was Sheriff from 2018 to 2022, claimed that police numbers were falling while departments were struggling to attract others to enlist.

He stated that politicians who condemned authorities in 2020 for the slow uptake of jobs were to blame, with just 28 new police graduates this year.

"You have a horrendous political climate where every politician was jumping over themselves in the summer of 2020 to denounce law enforcement, create a very hostile work environment [and] no one wants a job anymore," Villanueva told Fox News.

"The political establishment in LA decided, from 2020 on, 'Let's destroy law enforcement.

"'Let's bash them and shrink them because of the defunding efforts.'"

The Los Angeles Police Department is suffering a decline in new recruits which is causing security concerns prior to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games ©Getty Images
The Los Angeles Police Department is suffering a decline in new recruits which is causing security concerns prior to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games ©Getty Images

Currently there are around 9,000 officers employed by the Los Angeles Police Department, down from a record high of 9,895 in 2009.

Then police chief William Bratton still stated that the number was not enough to properly manage the size of the city, which has a population of approximately 3.9 million.

At the moment, Michel Moore is chief of police and Robert Luna is sheriff who have indirectly been criticised by Villanueva.

"Then you have weak leadership in law enforcement that double down on that because they're the first to throw their own employees under the bus," Villanueva said.

"Then they wonder why they can attract people to the job.

"Well, now those chickens have come home to roost, and now we're in the worst place possible to get ready. 

Los Angeles 2028 venue, the SoFi Stadium, is also due to host matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup ©Getty Images
Los Angeles 2028 venue, the SoFi Stadium, is also due to host matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup ©Getty Images

"We're not going to have the workforce to make a safe environment for these events to take place.

"It takes a big manpower, takes a long time to build up the workforce and train them properly, and both the LAPD and the LA sheriffs are ill-prepared because of this political climate and this insistence on blaming law enforcement for everything and not supporting them.

"Homeless from all over the nation come to LA and they claim that public space is their own, and we're seeing it play out in Venice." 

In addition to its third Olympic Games in 2028, after the 1932 and 1984 editions, Los Angeles is due to be a host city at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Mayor Karen Bass wants 9,500 police officers to be employed in the city while Moore, who is due to step down before Los Angeles 2028, is aiming to hire 60 new members every month.