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Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch
LA Police Protective League

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Los Angeles
Police Protective League

the union that represents the
rank and file LAPD officers

 

Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch

Daily News Digest

from LA Police Protective League

April 20, 2011

Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Hollywood Hills West, Pico-Union and nine other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 11 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Five neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Hollywood Hills West was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.8 over the last three months. Pico-Union topped the list of six neighborhoods with property-crime alerts. It recorded 21 property crimes compared with its weekly average of 12.8 over the last three months.
Los Angeles Times


LAPD arrests robbery suspect

Los Angeles Police Department investigators shut down a city block Tuesday in the search for an armed robbery suspect. The officers, assigned to the LAPD South Bureau's Specialized Investigative Unit, served the warrant a little after noon at a home on Pacific Avenue, between 21st and Hill streets. Believing the suspect had evidence in his home, including weapons, the LAPD officers went in with full raid gear and rifles, said Lt. Andy Neiman, an LAPD spokesman.
Long Beach Press-Telegram


Sephora offering reward leading to arrest in connection with $2M of stolen cosmetics
Sephora is offering a reward for the arrest and conviction of whoever stole about $2 million worth of the company's products, which were taken from a cargo container in Utah and turned up at various cosmetics stores in the Los Angeles area. During the middle of last month, detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Commercial Crimes Division watched the cosmetics being loaded into a delivery truck from a large warehouse in South Gate. They searched the warehouse and found more cosmetics.
Los Angeles Daily News

Dodgers hire vice chairman to 'improve fan experience'
The Dodgers have hired a new vice chairman who will lead an effort by the team to "improve the fan experience" at Dodger Stadium. The move is latest of several measures the team has taken since San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow was savagely beaten in the Dodger Stadium parking lot following an opening day game. He remains in a medically induced coma. Among his duties, Steve Soboroff will work with former Los Angeles Police Department chief Bill Bratton, whom the Dodgers hired to help overhaul Dodger Stadium security after the opening day incident.
USA Today

Tagger vandalizes Little Tokyo Gold Line station; ties to graffiti art exhibit suspected
A tagger has vandalized the Little Tokyo Gold Line station across from the "Art in the Streets" exhibit at the Geffen Contemporary museum, transit deputies said Tuesday. Workers from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority quickly painted over the graffiti, which appeared over the last several days and which investigators suspect was related to the Geffen's graffiti exhibit, said Sgt. Augie Pando of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Los Angeles Times


Future of red-light camera rests with City Council
The Los Angeles Police Department on Tuesday continued to defend its use of the controversial and costly red-light traffic camera program, but with time running out on the contract, the Police Commission punted the issue to the City Council. In an unusual split vote, the civilian oversight panel moved 3-2 to approve an LAPD response defending the red-light program against criticisms raised in a recent report by a motorist advocacy group.
Los Angeles Daily News


Confusion over California's hands-free cellphone law

When the state's hands-free cellphone law was enacted three years ago, the rules seemed so simple. Holding a phone in your hand to make a call would be illegal. Few ifs, buts or maybes. Then came a law against texting. Then came an explosion of phones that double as GPS devices, cameras, music players, voice recorders and email dispensers. And today, amid an unprecedented crackdown this month on cellphone scofflaws, what's legal and what's not has motorists and even some cops scratching their heads.
San Jose Mercury News


City & State Budget Crisis

Villaraigosa's $6.2B budget would keep LAPD manpower, library hours
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is poised today to unveil a $6.2 billion city budget that would restore library hours and retain LAPD's manpower while cutting spending in most other municipal departments. The financial plan proposes closing a gap of $400 million to $500 million by asking employee unions to contribute more to their pension funds. If they refuse, city workers will likely be ordered to take up to 36 unpaid furlough days.
Los Angeles Daily News


Balancing budgets on drivers' backs

Cities and states across the country are broke. But instead of raising taxes, lawmakers are raising traffic fines. "This business of using fines and traffic fees as revenue sources is just flat wrong," said Lew Uhler with the National Tax Limitation Committee. "This is simply a tax by another name." Nowhere is that more obvious than Los Angeles, where the city collects more than $1.8 million a year at a single intersection in the San Fernando Valley from drivers running a red light. Cost per ticket is $476.
Fox News


Prisons

Counties differ radically on handling of juvenile offenders
Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed realignment of the state's juvenile prison system, which aims to save money by placing more youth in county programs, has revealed great disparities between counties' ability handle their most violent young offenders, according to a new report by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, a San Francisco nonprofit. While some of the state's 58 counties treat most of their high-level offenders in local programs, others ship large numbers of troubled youth to the state's Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), usually at more than twice the cost of keeping them locally.
The Bay Citizen

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About the LAPPL Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents the more than 9,900 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education. The LAPPL can be found on the Web at:

www.LAPD.com


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