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July 10, 2011

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Panetta says U.S. is 'within reach' of defeating Al Qaeda

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says intelligence uncovered in the Bin Laden raid showed that U.S. operations have left the terrorist network with only 10 to 20 remaining key operatives.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta declared Saturday that the United States was "within reach" of defeating Al Qaeda as a terrorist threat, but that doing so would require killing or capturing what he called the group's 10 to 20 remaining leaders.

Heading to Afghanistan for the first time since taking office earlier this month, Panetta said that intelligence uncovered in the American raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden in May showed that 10 years of U.S. operations against Al Qaeda had left it with fewer than two dozen key operatives, most of whom are in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and North Africa.

"If we can be successful at going after them, I think we can really undermine their ability to do any kind of planning to be able to conduct any kinds of attack on this country," Panetta told reporters on his way to Afghanistan aboard a U.S. Air Force jet, adding that was why he believed the defeat of Al Qaeda to be "within reach."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-panetta-qaeda-20110710,0,2028357,print.story

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Kadafi again threatens to attack Europe with suicide bombers

Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi says 'hundreds of Libyans will martyr in Europe' in a defiant speech. He made a similar threat in a message on July 1.

For the second time in a week, Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi has threatened to dispatch hundreds of Libyan suicide bombers to attack targets in Europe in retaliation for NATO strikes against his regime.

"Hundreds of Libyans will martyr in Europe," Kadafi said late Friday in a defiant speech before thousands of Libyans in Tripoli's Green Square. "I told you it is eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth."

The latest threats came as pro-government forces launched a counterattack on rebels attempting to push toward Tripoli, the capital, from their enclave in the port city of Misurata, 125 miles to the east. A spokesman in the eastern rebel bastion of Benghazi said that at least seven rebel fighters were killed and 17 wounded in the fighting late Friday.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-fighting-20110710,0,3010177,print.story

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State prison protest continues

About 1,600 inmates continued to take part in a hunger strike protesting conditions in the state prison system's maximum-security isolation units, down significantly from the peak of roughly 6,600 strikers over the July 4 weekend, said Terry Thornton, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Meantime, about 60 people converged on a sidewalk outside the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, shouting and raising signs of support for the strikers, even though the jail is not part of the state-run system affected by the hunger strike.

"The conditions are deplorable, the worst a human being can live in,” said Victor Amaya, who said his son Alex Amaya, 24, incarcerated at Pelican Bay State Prison for attempted murder and currently in an isolation unit, is among the strikers. “These men have done bad things in their lives, but the way they are treating them is completely inhumane.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/

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July 9, 2011

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Editorial

Obama administration shows how to treat a terrorist suspect

Bringing Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame to the U.S. for a civilian trial demonstrates to the world that the United States is willing to afford due process even to its bitterest enemies.

Republicans are livid about the way the Obama administration handled the apprehension and arrest of an accused Somali terrorist. But — with one exception — the treatment of Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame was a creditable balancing of national security concerns and due process. President Obama should resist pressure in Congress to make such an approach impossible.

Warsame was arrested April 19 and interrogated on a U.S. Navy ship before being flown to New York. He is accused in a nine-count federal indictment of supplying material support to Al Qaeda in Yemen and the Somali group Shabab.

Republicans have two complaints. They argue that bringing Warsame to the United States violated congressional statements opposing the transfer of suspected terrorists to the United States. The other grievance is that Warsame will be tried in a civilian court. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) combined the two criticisms: "The administration has purposefully imported a terrorist into the U.S. and is providing him all the rights of U.S. citizens in court."

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-trial-20110709,0,2310040,print.story

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Community policing a simple — and effective — concept

In the mid ‘70s, an experiment was conducted by the Kansas City, Mo., police department to test the theory that the presence of police officers in marked squads reduced the likelihood of crime being committed. In other words, more cops driving around in squad cars resulted in less crime.

At the time, the concept seemed irrefutable. But that was not the case. The findings of the study revealed that routine patrol in marked squad cards had little value in preventing crime or making citizens feel safe.

This seemed counterintuitive to what we had always believed about policing. Policing has notoriously been very reactive in the sense that police management's answer to violent crime in a certain area was to flood the ground with police officers. While that might play a small part in deterrence to crime, it was actually community-oriented policing that altered the field of law enforcement.

The community policing model gained momentum in the early 1980s when a progressive group of police executives recognized that the traditional policing methods were failing. It was a ground-breaking, paradigm-shifting idea that citizens of the community and the police could actually form a partnership to combat crime.

http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/lifestyles/6392438-423/community-policing-a-simple--and-effective--concept.html?print=true

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Filling the gaps at Grass Valley Police

Grass Valley's police department — like other city agencies — is facing a serious budget crunch in the coming fiscal year.

To help fill the gap, Police Chief John Foster is relying on the tried and true — including volunteers and on-call reserve officers — as well as soliciting other cost-cutting measures such as donated landscaping maintenance.

“It's called policing in a new economy,” Foster said wryly. “With revenue curtailment and the economic reset, we're looking at providing community policing services in a different fashion.”

Foster is actively recruiting new volunteers, for example, and noted that number has increased 40 percent over the last 12 months.

“We're using them in a semi-enforcement role, with parking enforcement and the towing of abandoned vehicles, as well as animal control,” he said.

http://www.theunion.com/article/20110709/NEWS/110709867/1053&parentprofile=1053

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It's back to basics

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis yesterday served notice that he's getting back to basics — the same basics that have made this city a relatively safe one in which to live and to do business.

Make no mistake, the stakes are always high for a city like Boston — and not just in the usual human terms of innocent lives lost in the crossfire of gang violence. This is a city heavily dependent on tourism, on businesses being able to attract clients, customers and a skilled work force of people who feel safe on its streets. And if even the perception is that a neighborhood, any neighborhood, is a free-fire zone, well, the entire city suffers.

So the steps Davis announced yesterday to hone in on gang-related violence, bringing to bear all of the resources at his disposal comes not a moment too soon. And, yes, we've had quite enough mayoral dog and pony shows that don't begin to get to the heart of the issue.

But the arrest of 28 “known predators” on outstanding warrants announced by the commissioner is a good start. Now if only the courts will help out here and keep these thugs off the streets.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view.bg?articleid=1350530&format=text

Groups sue to block state immigration law

Matthew Webster said Friday that Alabama's immigration law strikes at his children. It's the reason the mechanical engineer from Alabaster is one of 38 plaintiffs suing to stop the legislation from taking effect.

"It turns out it's a nightmare for us," Webster said at a news conference at the Southern Poverty Law Center on Friday. "Having kids that are undocumented and that have fear of being picked up in a situation and possibly detained ... it's bad enough to know your kids are afraid of that."

Webster and his wife, Denise, are in the process of adopting a 16-year-old and an 11-year-old from Mexico. A Republican who said he voted for one of the sponsors of the immigration bill, Webster said his children could not receive their green cards until two years after the adoption process is complete.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/print/article/20110709/NEWS02/107090308/Groups-sue-block-state-immigration-law

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July 8, 2011

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Four men found guilty in 2010 killing of 15 at Mexico teen party

President Felipe Calderon set off outrage when he referred to the victims of the Ciudad Juarez massacre as gang members. He backpedaled after it turned out they were promising students and athletes.

Four men were convicted Thursday in last year's killing of 15 people at a teen party in the border city of Ciudad Juarez.

A three-judge panel delivered guilty verdicts on several counts after a two-week trial in Juarez, which in recent years has been the deadliest zone in Mexico amid spiraling drug violence.

President Felipe Calderon set off national outrage when he referred to the victims of the Jan. 30, 2010, massacre as gang members. He backpedaled after it turned out they were promising students and athletes.

The attack remains one of the most horrifying episodes since Calderon launched a government offensive against drug cartels in December 2006. About 40,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since then.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-massacre-20110708,0,1961610,print.story

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Texas executes Mexican over objections of Obama administration

Despite protests that he was denied international treaty rights, the killer is put to death after the Supreme Court votes 5 to 4 against a delay.

A Mexican national who became the focus of an international dispute was put to death Thursday by Texas authorities after the Supreme Court, on a 5-4 vote, refused an urgent appeal from the Obama administration to stop the execution.

Humberto Leal Garcia, 38, was given a lethal injection for the 1994 rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in San Antonio.

His case drew the attention of the Mexican and U.S. governments because Texas officials failed to notify the Mexican consulate at the time of his arrest and trial, a violation of the Vienna Convention.

Last week, in a rare move, newly confirmed U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. urged the high court to stop the execution, saying it would have "serious repercussions" for U.S. relations with Mexico and the European Union. He said the Senate has before it a bill that, if enacted into law, would give inmates like Leal a chance to have their convictions reviewed.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mexican-execution-20110708,0,3094115,print.story

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Managing L.A. County's Probation Department

Pulling the rug out from under chief Donald Blevins is hardly the way to fix problems at the department's youth camps.

The Board of Supervisors just can't seem to decide how to run its overburdened county. Several years ago the members reluctantly, but wisely, put a chief executive in charge so that county department directors could answer to a single person instead of being pulled in five different directions. Then, two months ago, they reasserted direct jurisdiction over the two departments most in need of unfettered, decisive and accountable leadership — the Probation Department and the Department of Children and Family Services.

And now, the ever-inventive supervisors have come up with a new twist in the art of undermining themselves, their appointees and the effective management of the county. Little more than a year after hiring Donald Blevins to finally get the Probation Department on track, they want the department's No. 2 man to bypass Blevins and report to them directly on efforts to fix problems at 19 juvenile camps under the scrutiny of the U.S. Department of Justice. Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich authored a motion to that effect, which is to be taken up by the full board on Tuesday.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-probation-20110708,0,4839554,print.story

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Casey Anthony's parents receive death threats

Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Angelo Nieves said George and Cindy Anthony have received at least a half-dozen phone calls where death threats were made. Authorities are investigating the threats and checking the credibility, he said.

"We are assessing," Nieves said. "We are also making an effort to identify the callers."

Nieves said he is not aware of any one else in the case receiving death threats.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/south/view.bg?articleid=1350408&format=text

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Jaycee Lee Dugard publishing memoirs

California-born kidnap victim Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was seized at age 11 and kept hostage by convicted rapist Phillip Garrido for 18 years, is publishing her memoirs, A Stolen Life.

People mag has published select excerpts, which in turn have been excerpted by the New York Post. "How do you get through things you don't want to do?" Dugard, 31, writes. "You just do. I would do it all again. The most precious thing in the world came out of it . . . my daughters." Both girls, Angel and Starlite , were conceived by Garrido. The book is due Tuesday.

She'll be the network's "Abduction Correspondent," as Gawker puts it. No joke. http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/125199429.html

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Rahm Emanuel, Garry McCarthy support earlier curfew for kids

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Supt. Garry McCarthy on Thursday embraced a controversial proposal to turn back the curfew clock for Chicago kids under the age of 12 — to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. on weekends.

Their formidable support — echoed by community policing chief Ron Holt — makes it likely the City Council will carve out an earlier curfew time for younger kids at the behest of three South Side aldermen who want to protect unsupervised kids and put the heat on indifferent parents.

Two years ago, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley turned back the curfew clock by 30 minutes — to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends for Chicago's 730,000 kids under the age of 17. The curfew is currently the same for younger kids.

“I advocated for curfew laws while serving President Clinton because I believe the safest place for a child is at home,” Emanuel said in a written response to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“I commend the aldermen for introducing this ordinance and I am fully supportive. But, while the government can do its part, we need parents to do theirs. We need parents to help make sure their children are home safe where they belong.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/6393551-418/rahm-emanuel-garry-mccarthy-support-earlier-curfew-for-kids.html?print=true

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The Axe Falls on Criminal Justice Spending

House GOP leaders propose $1 billion in cuts to Justice Department budget that could end funding for community policing, and sharply reduce juvenile justice programs across the country.

With a massive federal deficit looming, it was only a matter of time before conservatives targeted federal spending for anticrime programs. Yesterday, the Republicans now running the House of Representatives took their first thorough swipe at Justice Department accounts that have mostly weathered major cuts so far.

The plan by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and his appropriations subcommittee colleagues for the year starting October 1 is dramatic: an end to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program that has helped states and localities hire community police officers since 1994; no more funding for states to help pay the costs of imprisoning illegal immigrants; and big reductions in juvenile justice funding.

It's part of an overall reduction of more than $1 billion in the Justice Department budget of $27 billion-plus.

http://www.thecrimereport.org/archive/2011-07-the-axe-falls-on-criminal-justice-spending

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Santa Cruz's New Cops Do Intensive Crime Studies

In a new progressive policing policy, Santa Cruz officers must write research papers on neighborhood problems.

It sounds like the setup of a joke, but the extended study that Santa Cruz Police Officer Forrest Crowell did of a donut shop on Ocean Street is a serious new approach for the local police department in handling crime and training officers.

Crowell did what is called a Neighborhood Portfolio Exercise, which requires recently-hired officers not just to get out and meet people in the community, but to find a problem and write a full report on ways to solve it.

Then the beat cop gives a presentation, complete with powerpoint slides, to the police administration, city councilmembers and business or community people who were affected by the study.

"This is a way for officers to focus on one small neighborhood and take those skills to a larger beat when they go out on their own," said Roger Buhlis, a training officer with the Richmond Police Department who is on the board of the national Police Society for Problem Based Learning.

http://santacruz.patch.com/articles/santa-cruzs-new-cops-do-intensive-crime-studies

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July 7, 2011

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More U.S. agencies implicated in Mexico gun-trafficking probe

The head of the ATF says the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration never told him they had informant relationships with Mexican drug cartel figures targeted by Operation Fast and Furious.

The embattled head of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has told congressional investigators that some Mexican drug cartel figures targeted by his agency in a gun-trafficking investigation were paid informants for the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.

Kenneth E. Melson, ATF's acting director, has been under pressure to resign after the agency allowed guns to be purchased in the United States in hopes they would be traced to cartel leaders. Under the gun-trafficking operation known as Fast and Furious, the ATF lost track of the guns, and many were found at the scene of crimes in Mexico, as well as two that were recovered near Nogales, Ariz., where a U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed.

In two days of meetings with congressional investigators over the weekend, Melson said the FBI and DEA kept the ATF "in the dark" about their relationships with the cartel informants. If ATF agents had known of the relationships, the agency might have ended the investigation much earlier, he said.

As a result of Melson's statements, "our investigation has clearly expanded," a source close to the congressional investigation said Wednesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the inquiry is ongoing. "We know now it was not something limited to just a small group of ATF agents in Arizona."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-atf-guns-20110707,0,6692919,print.story

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TSA warns of possible airline threat involving implanted bombs

The government has warned airlines that terrorists are considering surgically implanting explosives into people in an attempt to circumvent screening procedures, according to U.S. officials.

There is no indication of an immediate plot, but the new information could lead to additional screening procedures at the nation's airports. Existing scanners would not necessarily detect bombs implanted under a person's skin, experts said.

While the information suggests such a threat would come from overseas rather than domestic groups, federal officials are ordering precautions both in the U.S. and abroad, the official said.

The idea of surgically implanting bombs has been examined by intelligence agencies in the past, but new information has suggested that terrorist groups are seriously considering the technique, officials said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-pn-tsa-implants-20110706,0,3733493,print.story

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Videotaped street attack divides Chicago's Boystown

A videotaped stabbing and beating of a man in Chicago's Boystown neighborhood has torn wide some rifts in that community.

At a community policing, or CAPS, meeting Wednesday night, it was standing-room only for hundreds in the auditorium of the Inter-American Elementary School in Lakeview. All came because of a common concern about the latest high-profile and violent attack in their community. The recorded images of the attack show a crowd beating, stabbing and jeering at a 25-year-old African American man Sunday night on Boystown's busy Halsted Street.

Police see early signs of success in summer crime suppression plan in West Willow

On a recent bicycle patrol through Ypsilanti Township's West Willow neighborhood, Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department deputies Jim Roy and Nick Krings stopped a car driven by a known drug-dealing suspect. The man fled and ran out of view. Roy and Krings temporarily lost his trail until a resident pointed to where the man was hiding behind two houses and said, “He went that way.”

The man, who was wanted on several felony warrants, was then apprehended, thanks in part to the resident's assistance.

“A couple years ago, that never would have happened and we would have gone right by the houses,” Roy said. He said residents in the past didn't trust police enough to offer them assistance, but that is changing this summer.

With a two-pronged summer operation that includes a violent crime squad and a more visible neighborhood unit dedicated to addressing neighborhoods' quality of life issues, the Sheriff's Department hopes to reduce crime in several problematic Ypsilanti Township areas over the summer.

http://www.annarbor.com/news/sheriffs-department-ypsilanti-township-see-early-signs-of-success-in-summer-crime-plan/

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The Administration Celebrates New Citizens on Independence Day

On the 4th of July, I joined a wide array of leaders ranging from the Department of Homeland Security's Chief of Staff of the Office of General Counsel to the 2010 Miss America in welcoming and congratulating our nation's newest citizens during a naturalization ceremony at the historic George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens on our nation's 235th birthday.

This moving and meaningful ceremony is part of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' annual celebration of Independence Day. More than 24,000 candidates will become citizens at approximately 350 ceremonies held across the country from June 27 to July 4.

At Mount Vernon, we welcomed 100 candidates---hailing from 41 countries---to United States citizenship. While this was an especially important day for these new citizens coming from every corner of the globe, it was also a special day for our nation and its future prosperity. The naturalization ceremony reaffirmed the deeper meaning of citizenship and the American dream. New citizens continue to renew and enrich the American dream as well as contribute to our cultural, spiritual and intellectual richness.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/07/06/administration-celebrates-new-citizens-independence-day

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We Will Honor All Those Who Have Fallen

I commend the decision of our Commander-in-Chief, President Obama, reversing the long-standing policy of not sending condolence letters to the families of service members who commit suicide while deployed to a combat zone. The greatest regret of my military career was as Commanding General of the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq in 2004-05. I lost 169 Soldiers during that year-long deployment. However, the monument we erected at Fort Hood, Texas in memoriam lists 168 names. I approved the request of others not to include the name of the one Soldier who committed suicide. I deeply regret my decision.

The brave individuals who wear the cloth of this great Nation in combat deserve our deepest gratitude. It is remarkable all they have accomplished. I am incredibly proud of them and of their families. That said, they are tired. The persistent high operational tempo of this war, the terrible things some have seen or experienced in combat, have undoubtedly taken a toll on them. Many are struggling with the ‘invisible wounds' of this war, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety. Any attempt to characterize these individuals as somehow weaker than others is simply misguided.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/07/06/we-will-honor-all-those-who-have-fallen

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July 6, 2011

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Inmate hunger strike expands to more California prisons

Inmates in at least a third of California's prisons are believed to be refusing meals in solidarity with maximum-security prisoners at Pelican Bay.

Inmates in at least 11 of California's 33 prisons are refusing meals in solidarity with a hunger strike staged by prisoners in one of the system's special maximum-security units, officials said Tuesday.

The strike began Friday when inmates in the Security Housing Unit at Pelican Bay State Prison stopped eating meals in protest of conditions that they contend are cruel and inhumane.

"There are inmates in at least a third of our prisons who are refusing state-issued meals," said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The number of declared strikers at Pelican Bay — reported Saturday as fewer than two dozen — has grown but is changing daily, she said. The same is true at other prisons.

Some inmates are refusing all meals, while others are rejecting only some, Thornton said. Some were eating in visitation rooms and refusing state-issued meals in their cells, she said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0706-hunger-strike-20110706,0,378335,print.story

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Terrorism suspect secretly held for two months

Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali, is the first detainee known to have been secretly held by the Obama administration outside the criminal justice system.

A Somali militant linked to Al Qaeda was held and interrogated for two months on a U.S. Navy ship — the first publicly known example of the Obama administration secretly detaining a new terrorism suspect outside the criminal justice system.

Senior administration officials revealed the case Tuesday after an indictment against the man, Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, was unsealed in federal court in New York. The indictment, which does not mention Warsame's military detention, charges that he worked to broker a weapons deal between Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen and the Somali militant group Shabab. It alleges that he fought on Shabab's behalf in Somalia in 2009, then went to Yemen in 2010 for explosives training and took part in terrorist activities there.

According to administration officials, Warsame was seized April 19 by U.S. forces in international waters while traveling between Yemen and Somalia. He had been identified by U.S. intelligence as an important target, the officials said. A second person taken into custody with Warsame was later released, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing intelligence matters.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-somali-detainee-20110706,0,1268288,print.story

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Iran's execution binge

Human rights abuses are increasing as Tehran's leaders use public executions to send a message to dissenters.

Why not Iran?

Egypt and Tunisia have overthrown repressive regimes. Citizens in Syria, Yemen and other Middle East countries are demanding change. Yet in Iran, where a wave of 2009 demonstrations helped spark the movements we are now witnessing elsewhere in the Middle East, the populace is strangely silent.

What accounts for the relative quiet in Iran? The answer, at least in part, is that one of the great human rights tragedies of the modern era is underway in Iran.

From the moment the first protesters hit Tahrir Square in Cairo, Iran's leadership has cracked down hard, instituting a brutal campaign of terror against its own people. The most gruesome manifestation of this repression has been a wave of public executions.

Since January, Iran has been on an execution binge. In February, the United Nations reported that the rate of executions in Iran had increased threefold in 2011 over the previous year. Amnesty International reported that Iran is the only country this year known to have executed juvenile offenders, a violation of international law. And though exact numbers are difficult to come by, it is now estimated by human rights organizations that more than 140 people have been executed in Iran so far this year, a rate that, if continued, would push the number far past the total for 2010.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-wallace-cranes-iran-20110706,0,4347272,print.story

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A juvenile justice system that's adrift

The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has real potential but has been left leaderless.

These are interesting times for those who work in the field of juvenile justice. In many states, lawmakers and voters are turning away from the 1990s model of treating youth offenders like adults and locking them up in adult prisons. Influential conservatives have banded together to support constructive and cost-effective alternatives to lengthy sentences. Across the nation, juvenile crime rates are falling, giving states some time and breathing room to restructure delinquency programs. Momentum is building for meaningful and cost-saving reform. All that's lacking is national focus and strong leadership.

California's example shows what happens when that leadership goes missing. Draconian laws put into place in the last 20 years still result in too many youth offenders here being sentenced and imprisoned as adults. Our prisons are bursting, the failing Juvenile Justice Division of the state corrections department has turned over much of its mission to counties, and Los Angeles County's troubled Probation Department is operating under a federal consent decree while critics are calling for even broader scrutiny. What this state and many others need at just this time is effective and creative support from the federal office that for many years sorted through policies, promoted best practices and offered research and technical assistance. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention could help states and counties sort through what works and what doesn't — and then advocate for legislation and funding to continue reducing juvenile delinquency.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-juvenile-20110706,0,5785789,print.story

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Federal Fingerprint Sharing Program Meets Resistance

Can state and local governments opt out of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) controversial Secure Communities program?

The question seems straightforward enough. Yet more than two years after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials launched the fingerprint-sharing program, some local government officials are still confused about their rights to opt out.

Secure Communities is an automated fingerprint data-sharing program between local law enforcement offices and federal immigration enforcement agencies. Despite recent DHS claims that the program is mandatory, many elected officials refuse to participate and continue to ask for an out. Most recently, Providence, R.I., Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare asked the federal government to excuse his city from the program. One month later, Pare told the Providence Journal that he was still waiting for a response.

Christopher Zimmerman, board chairman of Arlington County, Va., said the DHS “has had difficulty giving us straight answers. One official would say this is a voluntary program for local communities, while another was saying they were working to make it mandatory.”

http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Federal-Fingerprint-Sharing-Program-Meets-Resistance.html

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Fairhope utilizes crime mapping service

FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WALA) - Crime that occurs within the city limits and police jurisdiction of Fairhope is available for review by citizens on the Community Policing and Neighborhood Crime Statistics website .

Once on the website, visitors can search for crime data by entering a specific address or by simply entering "Fairhope, AL" in the search box.

Visitors can narrow the search by selecting the "Date Range" tab and choosing a beginning and ending point for the query. The Records Management System, where the website retrieves its information, was established on February 9, 2011, and it is updated daily at 2:30 a.m.

Additionally, the website features an "Incident Layers" tab which allows visitors to narrow down the types of crimes they want to view. However, some calls received by the police department, such as sexual assaults, domestic violence and incidents involving juveniles, will not be displayed.

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/baldwin_county/fairhope-utilizes-crime-mapping-service

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What You Can Do to Support Military Families

This morning, the First Lady sent the following message to the White House email list, wishing them a Happy Independence Day and encouraging all Americans to honor our brave men and women in uniform by volunteering to give back to the military families who sacrifice so much to keep us safe.

Good morning,

This Independence Day, I hope you'll join me and my family in recognizing both our brave men and women in uniform and their families for everything they do to protect our country and our way of life.

We know that when our troops are called to serve, their families serve right along with them. For military kids, that means stepping up to help with the housework and putting on a brave face through all those missed holidays, bedtimes and ballet recitals. For military spouses, it means pulling double-duty, doing the work of both parents, often while juggling a full-time job or trying to get an education.

That's why, a few months ago, Dr. Jill Biden and I started Joining Forces, a nationwide campaign to recognize, honor, and serve our military families. Our troops give so much to this country and they ask us for just one thing in return: to take care of their families while they're gone. So we've put out a call to action. We're urging all Americans to ask themselves one question: What can I do to give back to these families that have given so much.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/07/04/what-you-can-do-support-military-families

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July 5, 2011

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Editorial

Homelessness in L.A.: Cleaning up skid row the right way

Los Angeles city officials and advocates for the homeless have clashed in and out of state and federal court for the last decade over attempts to 'clean up' downtown's skid row.

For much of the last decade, Los Angeles city officials and advocates for the homeless have clashed in and out of state and federal court over attempts to "clean up" downtown's skid row.

In April, that battle heated up again when advocates sued the city, accusing police and the Bureau of Street Services of violating the constitutional rights of eight homeless men whose property — including carts, tents and other personal items — had been seized and dumped when they briefly left to eat, use a bathroom or appear in court.

And last week, U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez reached the absolutely correct conclusion when he issued a temporary injunction against the city that bars sanitation workers and police from seizing or destroying the property of homeless people left unattended on skid row.

So far, so good. But now, City Atty. Carmen Trutanich's office says it wants a jury to decide whether the city should have to pay damages to the eight men.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-homeless-20110705,0,4741811,print.story

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DHS Program Needs Fundamental Reform to Reverse the Damage Done to Community Policing

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is preparing to announce the constitution of a new Secure Communities Advisory Committee, a group assembled to analyze growing concerns about the program's scope and implementation and to recommend improvements. Earlier this week, ICE also re-iterated that all states and localities will be forced to participate in the program, disregarding governors and law enforcement officials in Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, California, and elsewhere who are trying to cancel their participation in the program because of its negative impact on community policing and crime fighting. When law enforcement leaders reject a “law enforcement” program, and when the federal government tramples over states' ability to determine their own local policing policies, something is fundamentally wrong. The Secure Communities Advisory Committee could be an important step toward bringing this program in line with its stated goals. But that will only come to pass if DHS is willing to make real, fundamental reforms.

Read on for background about the Secure Communities program, the impact it is having on the ground, concerns raised by law enforcement leaders, and reforms that are needed to reverse the damage done to community policing.

http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-de-noticias/details/dhs-program-needs-fundamental-reform

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July 4, 2011

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Editorial

Fourth of July: Words of wisdom from the Founding Fathers

This group of mostly white Anglo-Saxon Protestant property owners had profoundly differing opinions about governance.

July 4, 2011

Independence Day 2011 dawns amid a resurgence of interest in our nation's Founding Fathers. "Tea party" conservatives in particular like to invoke them as an inspiration. Yet while it is certainly possible to find writings by individual founders that adhere closely to modern right-wing principles, this group of mostly white Anglo-Saxon Protestant property owners had profoundly differing opinions about governance — differing not only among themselves but often from the views of today's conservatives.

Those who believe the founders intended the United States to be a Christian nation, for example, should consult the writings of the deist Thomas Jefferson or note the appalling views of Boston patriot Samuel Adams, who thought religious tolerance should apply to everyone except Catholics. Benjamin Franklin's views on taxation and private property would sound downright Marxist if Karl Marx hadn't been born after they were written. All the men quoted below signed the Declaration of Independence 235 years ago today.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-founders-20110704,0,4671679,print.story

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Fourth of July: A pop quiz about America

How much do you know about the founding of the nation? (see full article and submit answers for all questions in full version on line)

• 1. At the time of the American Revolution, which of the following was not true
• 2. One reason for American dissatisfaction with Britain was
• 3. Which of the following details about the Boston Tea Party is not true
• 4. The Stamp Act, passed by the British Parliament and reviled by American patriots, required colonists
• 5. Which of the following is not true of the silversmith and patriot Paul Revere
• 6. Benedict Arnold agreed to tip off the British to the vulnerabilities at West Point in exchange for payment and a commission in the British army. Which of the following about the traitor isn't true
• 7. George Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army in 1775 and became the nation's first president in 1789. Which of the following things is not true of Washington
• 8. Which of the following passages is from Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence
• 9. John Hancock is best known for the size and flamboyance of his signature on the Declaration of Independence. Which of the following facts about him is not true
• 10. Thomas Paine's passionate pamphlet "Common Sense," published in 1776, was a rousing call to action. Which of the following passages is not from that work

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oew-quiz-fourth-of-july,0,3791281.triviaquiz

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July 4 warning: Texas says don't go to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

The state of Texas is warning Americans to avoid travel to the Mexican border town of Nuevo Laredo this holiday weekend because of an anticipated surge in drug cartel violence aimed at Americans.

In a news release Saturday, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Webb County Sheriff's Office said their sources indicated that the Zetas drug cartel was "planning to target U.S. citizens who travel to Nuevo Laredo this weekend."

Steven C. McCraw, the department's director, also said in the statement:

"According to the information we have received, the Zetas are planning a possible surge in criminal activity, such as robberies, extortions, car-jackings and vehicle theft, specifically against U.S. citizens."

Reuters reported that Mexico's tourism chief earlier had complained that similar warnings were "misinformed" and lacked credibility.

Violence from Mexico's drug cartels has prompted travel warnings from the U.S. State Department. Mexico reported more than 12,000 drug-war deaths last year amid violence that has made headlines and affected tourism.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-nuevo-laredo-warning-20110703,0,871729,print.story

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — It's William Whipple's turn to be recognized.

The New Hampshire merchant is one of the lesser-known signers of the Declaration of Independence. This year, there are plans for Whipple and 11 others to be honored for their place in history with a small bronze plaque at their gravesites or homes, thanks to a group of descendants of the Founding Fathers.

Whipple, one of three men from New Hampshire who signed the famous document — the others were Josiah Bartlett and Matthew Thornton — had no direct descendants. His only child, a boy, died as an infant and is buried near him at the Old North Cemetery in Portsmouth. Whipple, who also commanded troops during the Revolutionary War and served as a state judge and legislator, died in 1785 at age 55.

It's about time he was honored, said Blaine Whipple in Portland, Ore., a distant relative who has researched and published several volumes on 15 generations of the Whipple family in America.

"He was one of the workhorses of the Continental Congress," Whipple said. "He's never been given the credits that he earned." Whipple was chairman of the marine, foreign relations and quartermaster committees and served on another committee that gathered intelligence on the British, he said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jt2WocrzBoVHRqaLmJrn7YTx4cwA?docId=983895e7b3524532a10238dcf5c053dc

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A new and improved unit within the Charleston Police Departments wants to engage you.

The reorganization of the Community Services Division puts the bike, traffic and community service units -- which include the walking beat and school resource officers -- under the same umbrella.

Lt. Shawn Williams, who is heading the unit, said he takes the name of the unit seriously and wants to add "community" back into Charleston policing.

The idea of positive contacts with residents is not new, but is something Williams said city police have "unfortunately" gotten away from.

"There is an old saying, "If the wheel is not broken, why fix it?'" he said. "We probably dropped the ball [with community involvement] as the 911 system expanded across the county. It provided a huge divide between police officers and their community.

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