Law Enforcement

US police fatalities up 13 percent in 2011 to 173
The number of fatalities from departments across the country caused by firearms made 2011 one of the deadliest years in recent history for U.S. law enforcement. Across the nation, 173 officers died in the line of duty, up 13 percent from 153 the year before, according to numbers as of Wednesday compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Associated Press

Gun sales at record levels, according to FBI background checks
December holiday shoppers were not just interested in buying the hottest electronics and toys -- they also were purchasing record numbers of guns, according to the latest FBI figures on background checks required to buy firearms. With a few days left in December, the FBI reports the number of background checks has already topped the previous one-month record -- set only in November -- of 1,534,414 inquiries by gun dealers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System also known as NICS.
CNN

The party continues, but those who know are already there
Unlike New York, the city of Los Angeles does sleep. When the clock strikes 2 a.m. here, bars close down and clubs stop serving alcohol. But a lively underground after-hours scene is moving to fill the void with an ever-changing menu of unlicensed dance clubs and pop-up speak-easies. Like the password speak-easies of Chicago in the 1920s and the wild after-sunrise dance parties in New York of the 1980s and '90s, their illicitness is the key to their allure.
New York Times

Sheriff vows to fix ID errors that put hundreds in jail by mistake
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said Tuesday that he will create a task force to minimize the wrongful jailings of people mistaken for wanted criminals. Baca's move came in response to a Times investigation that found hundreds of people have been wrongly imprisoned inside Baca's jails in recent years, with some spending weeks behind bars before authorities realized their true identities.
Los Angeles Times

General Services cops shine light on the dark side of L.A. parks
After dark, the grounds of San Fernando Valley's public parks hide the petty, yet potentially harmful crimes. Smokers who flick live cigarettes into dry chaparral. Alcoholics who park in the shadows of a lot for a few last swigs from a hip flask before driving home. Drug addicts who buy and dealers who sell. Police officers with the city's Office of Public Safety, Department of General Services, patrol the Valley's 125 parks, 21 libraries, and 25 city lots nightly.
Los Angeles Daily News

D.A. Cooley warns residents about robocall scams
An elaborate phone scam aimed at stealing credit card and ATM information is targeting Los Angeles County residents, District Attorney Steve Cooley warned Tuesday. The scam was uncovered after Cooley's own staffers received some of the calls over the last few weeks. Cooley said the scam involves robocalls that instruct recipients to call a number to review their bank information with a live operator.
Torrance Daily Breeze

Calif. bars towing of cars just because driver unlicensed
A new law takes effect Sunday in California to prohibit police from impounding cars at sobriety checkpoints if a motorist's only offense is being an unlicensed driver, the Associated Press reports. Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, a Los Angeles Democrat who tried unsuccessfully to restore drivers licenses to illegal immigrants after California revoked the privilege in 1993, said he introduced the bill to ban towing after learning one Los Angeles incorporated suburb, Bell, raked in big fees from unlicensed drivers at checkpoints.
USA Today

Prisons

CA reduces prison population by thousands, almost meets Supreme Court target
California's prison system has been shedding an average of 933 inmates a week since the governor's realignment plan took effect this fall, and the state almost hit a court-mandated goal to reduce the population to 133,000 inmates by Dec. 27. As of today, the state's prisons held 134,804 inmates - just 1,800 short of the target and far closer to that goal than many expected.
San Francisco Chronicle

City Government

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2011: 'I am dogged ... I don't give up'
Heading in to his final full year in office, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he refuses to let the soft economy stop him from pushing for bold initiatives as the city continues to fight its way out of the recession next year. Villaraigosa said he is now focusing only on what can be accomplished in his final 18 months in office, and is not motivated by anything that would position himself for a future political office. He will continue to push for development and tax reform, seek to finalize funds for the 30/10 plan, and continue work on green reforms for the city.
Los Angeles Daily News