in 2014 compared to 2008. since 2013, new york, the country's biggest police force, applications are down 18%. in los angeles, 16%. lieutenant aaron mccrany joined the lapd at another tough time for cops, the rodney king era. he's now in charge of trying to convince future cops to join. when you go out and talk to recruits, potential recruits, are you hearing them mention news events? >> sure. it's one of the first questions. they want to know, okay, why should i be a police officer when all of these bad things are going on? why should i put myself at risk? >> reporter: coupled with relatively low pay and tough entrance exams and the chance they could be hurt or killed. this is a hard sell, especially for women and minorities. but not for asia hardy. she wants to improve not just her community, but how others view her and her brothers in