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July 31, 2011

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Editorial

No excuses for L.A. County's emergency communications fiasco

The meltdown of L.A. County's emergency communications project means years of wasted effort and lost opportunity.

The tragedies of 9/11 tested first responders and exposed a weakness in their systems: Police, fire and hospital personnel in many areas, Los Angeles included, communicate on different electronic platforms and thus have difficulty coordinating their responses to large, complicated catastrophes. In Los Angeles, where earthquakes pose that challenge more frequently than acts of terrorism, 9/11 alerted local officials to the need for a coordinated communications network. The county's response was to launch a joint powers effort to develop what is known as the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System. Fully a decade later, that work is in a shambles, a meltdown that should embarrass all involved.

At the heart of this particular fiasco is a competition between Motorola and Raytheon, two large companies bidding for the right to build the communications network that would allow police officers, firefighters and others in Los Angeles County to talk to one another in an emergency. After years of research and analysis, the joint powers authority, composed of leading law enforcement and government officials, decided that Raytheon had presented the more promising and economical bid, and negotiators settled down to work out the details with the company. But problems soon complicated those talks. Motorola complained that the bids were improperly evaluated. The negotiators mistakenly shared some of Motorola's proprietary information with Raytheon. Lobbyists for Motorola suggested that Raytheon was incapable of building the system, while those for Raytheon complained of influence-peddling by Motorola.

On Thursday, the board overseeing this project retracted the bid and decided to start over. After extensive negotiation, and less than a month before finalizing a deal, lawyers for the board declared that the original request for proposals was flawed and needed to be rewritten. That amounts to years of wasted effort. It could threaten federal grant support for the project, and it means that Los Angeles will, for years to come, remain just as exposed to the danger of uncoordinated first responders as it was on that fateful day a decade ago.

There is no duty more sacred to government than the protection of its citizens. In this instance, those charged with that duty have failed.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-larics-20110731,0,5712169,print.story

Surveys find widespread violence against nurses and other hospital caregivers

Nearly 40% of employees in California emergency rooms said they had been physically assaulted on the job in the previous year

The patient was drunk, naked and covered in blood when he burst out of his emergency room cubicle around 2 a.m., brandishing scissors. He lunged at two nurses and began chasing them.

It took two police officers and three zaps from a Taser to subdue him.

Rattled by this attempted stabbing in 2009 and other attacks at Ventura County Medical Center, emergency room nurse Lorraine Sandoval began keeping count of every time a colleague was assaulted or threatened by patients. On average, she found, it was once or twice a day.

"We should not have to wait until a nurse, doctor or EMT or patient is seriously injured or killed before something is done," Sandoval recalled telling her bosses, who later installed an armed officer in the emergency room.

Although nearly invisible to the public except in extreme cases, violence against nurses and other hospital caregivers is commonplace in California and around the nation, according to surveys, state records and interviews with hospital employees and industry experts.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hospital-violence-20110731,0,2116884,print.story

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Raids on Northern California pot farms yield 101 arrests

More than 460,000 marijuana plants in and near the Mendocino National Forest are destroyed. The proliferation of such growing operations is destroying ecosystems and scaring hikers away, an official says.

State and federal authorities fanned out across six Northern California counties in recent weeks in a broad attack on marijuana farms in U.S. forests, officials said.

More than 460,000 pot plants were destroyed and 101 people arrested in the raids in and around the Mendocino National Forest.

The action came in response to a proliferation of marijuana farms that are destroying ecosystems and scaring hikers away, Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for Northern California, said at a news conference announcing the operation Friday.

"The Mendocino National Forest is under attack by drug traffickers," Haag said at the news conference in Ukiah. "Visitors to the forest are increasingly intimidated by the prospect of armed drug traffickers and illegal cultivation sites.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot-raid-20110731,0,3752857,print.story

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FBI offers reward in case of missing New Hampshire girl

(Video on site)

(CNN) -- Tips continued to pour in Saturday in the disappearance of an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl, but so far none have led to the child, Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said.

"We are looking at those tips. We are honing the investigation based on those tips," she said.

The FBI offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the disappearance of Celina Cass, who vanished between 9 p.m. Monday night and the time her parents went to wake her Tuesday morning. Officials said a private citizen is also offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to Celina Cass' return.

Dive teams will be brought in Sunday to search area ponds, Young said.

About 100 investigators -- including FBI agents, New Hampshire and Vermont state police, local authorities and employees of the state's Fish and Game Department -- have been searching for Celina door-to-door in the small, tight-knit town of West Stewartstown.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/30/new.hampshire.missing.girl/

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California could make Mexican drug cartels bolder

The war, as they say, is going badly. This week's massive marijuana raid in the Mendocino National Forest is a clear indicator we're in deep trouble.

Legalizing marijuana isn't going to do the trick and reduce crime. Fifty massive grow gardens raided were clearly not for medicinal purposes. There is strong evidence tying them into the Mexican drug cartels.

California National Guard troops joined federal and local enforcement agencies as well as the Forest Service. The heavily armed presence was in response to the fact many of these grow gardens have armed guards. And they are confronting anyone who comes near them including hikers.

In essence, Mendocino National Forest is occupied by enemy forces.

http://www.mantecabulletin.com/section/38/article/25953/

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Federal Judge Rules Florida Drug Law Unconstitutional

A federal judge has struck down a Florida drug law that convicts suspects of a drug offense even if they are unaware that the controlled substance is illegal.

U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven found the 9-year-old law unconstitutional in a decision Wednesday and called for the resentencing of Mackle Shelton, who had faced 18 years in prison.

The ruling could pave the way for drug cases currently in the courts to be thrown out.

"Obviously, we are immediately drafting motions and pursuing this line on behalf of our own clients' (cases) that are pending, but we can't do much retroactively since those cases are closed," said Bob Wesley, public defender for Orange and Osceola counties. "I think it will be a robust line of litigation for all of us who appear in Florida criminal courts."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/30/federal-judge-rules-florida-drug-law-unconstitutional/?test=latestnews

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Businesses play key role in thwarting terror

(AP) Ultimately, it was the keen eye of a Texas gun shop clerk that helped authorities find an absentee soldier who had stashed bomb-making material in his nearby motel room for a planned attack on Fort Hood soldiers.

The enduring lesson for a post-Sept. 11 world: America's work force plays a crucial role in preventing potential terrorist attacks.

"A vigilant public and informed local law enforcement make it much more complicated for people wishing to carry out attacks to do so," said John Cohen, principal deputy counterterrorism adviser at the Homeland Security Department.

Federal and local law enforcement agencies have established programs over the past decade that encourage the public to report suspicious activity, and tips from businesses have led to multiple high-profile arrests.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-07-31-arrested-soldier-terror-tips_n.htm

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July 30, 2011

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U.S. boosting efforts against Al Qaeda in Pakistan

The terrorist organization is susceptible to a decisive blow in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death, a senior Obama administration official says..

The U.S. is "doubling down" on its strategy of covert targeted missile strikes in Pakistan in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death, believing that Al Qaeda is susceptible to a decisive blow, a senior Obama administration official said Friday.

"I think there are three to five senior leaders that if they're removed from the battlefield, would jeopardize Al Qaeda's capacity to regenerate," said retired Gen. Douglas Lute, who oversees Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy at the National Security Council. He declined to name them, other than Ayman al Zawahiri, who succeeded Bin Laden as Al Qaeda's leader.

"We've got to take advantage of the fact that when Bin Laden died, Al Qaeda was in uncharted waters," Lute said. "This is a period of turbulence.... You need to go for the knockout punch."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/sc-dc-0730-us-al-qaeda-20110730,0,1795830,print.story

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Ft. Hood suspect cries name of defendant in 2009 rampage

Naser Jason Abdo shouts in court, where he is charged in an alleged plot to target Ft. Hood soldiers. Killeen, Texas, home to the military base and previous tragedies, is rattled and relieved by his arrest.

The suspect accused of planning an attack on Ft. Hood soldiers had holed up in a motel room in Killeen this week, authorities said, with a 40-caliber handgun, a cache of bomb-making ingredients and a plan to make this military city ache all over again.

Instead, Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo appeared Friday in U.S. District Court in Waco. There, the army private shouted his inspiration for what authorities say was a plot to set off two bombs at a popular restaurant outside the sprawling Ft. Hood military base.

"Nidal Hasan — Ft. Hood 2009!" he said, a defiant reference to the army major and psychiatrist and fellow Muslim who is charged with killing 13 people at the base nearly two years ago.

Killeen, an unassuming 128,000-person city north of Austin, was deeply wounded by the rampage. The military is its lifeblood. During lunch, McDonald's and Whataburger are packed with men and women in fatigues. Military surplus stores are nearly as plentiful as hotels wrapped with "We Support Our Troops" banners.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-suspect-fort-hood-20110730,0,2841136,print.story

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$10,000 reward offered in theft of rifles from Army base

Twenty-six AK-47 rifles and a Dragunov rifle were stolen from a supply warehouse at the Army post at Ft. Irwin, in the Mojave Desert near Barstow.

Officials from several different agencies have investigated the theft, and said Friday that an undisclosed number of arrests have been made and one of the rifles recovered. Investigators are now asking the public's help in identifying other people who might have been involved and in finding the other 26 weapons.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call (800) 283-4867 or Ft. Irwin at (760) 380-5812 . The reward is for information leading to an arrest, officials said.

For the record, 5:02 p.m. July 29: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the weapons as AK-74 rifles, based on a news release from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/07/authorities-offer-reward-in-gun-theft-from-army-base.html

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Hamilton, Ontario - Canada

Muslims reaching out to public during warm, lengthy Ramadan

Muslims in the city are preparing for the longest and warmest Ramadan they have seen in about a decade.

But this won't stop them from sharing their holy month with the city at large, community leaders say.

Muslims begin fasting from sunrise to sundown 11 days earlier each year, in accordance with the lunar calendar, said Hussein Hamdani, spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Greater Hamilton.

“This year it's all of August …. As we get deeper into the summer, the sunset gets later.”

http://www.thespec.com/print/article/571301

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New Mexico

Chief touts community policing plan

Project 365, a new component of the National Night Out campaign, will help identify a particular problem or area of concern within the city and work on resolving the dilemma within one year. The first target? The concrete canal that runs under North Main Street, which over the years has often been often filled with unsightly graffiti and criminal activity, not water.

"We are going to change that," Williams said Friday at a news conference by a mural recently painted on the wall of the canal visible at 2100 N. Main St. by participants in the Juvenile Citation Program."It just doesn't take a department, it takes everyone involved," City Councilor Miguel Silva said at Friday's event.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_18583717

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Colorado

Agencies partnering to host National Night Out in Craig

The 2011 National Night Out, a community policing program that promotes crime prevention activities, community safety programs and community partnerships for a safer America, is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday in Craig.

Wendy's, 1280 W. Victory Way, is hosting the event, which includes local law enforcement, fire, medical and service agency personnel. Also as part of the event, residents are encouraged to leave their porch lights on at home as a national symbol against crime.

National Night Out is free and open to the public.

http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2011/jul/30/agencies-partnering-host-national-night-out-craig/

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Ohio

Fed Up Cleveland Community Installs Crime Cameras

CLEVELAND— Watch out! Someone is watching you along Madison Avenue in Cleveland.

"About 80% of the street from West 85th to West 105th is covered by surveillance cameras. This is community policing at it's very best," said Mike McDonald, safety director of Ward 16.

Businesses and residents in the struggling district have turned vigilante. Authorities are watching for crime with surveillance systems that people can view from their work computers, home computers, even their cell phones.

"This is a grass roots effort, real community team work. It's really all thanks to the work by local merchants, neighborhood entrepreneur Mike Lewis, and city council," added McDonald.

"The merchants really took the lead on this one. They came to me and the Development Corporation for help. So, we worked out some discretionary funds to help lower the costs of the camera systems so businesses could have them," said Councilman Jay Westbrook, of Ward 16.

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-crime-cameras-madison-avenue-cleveland-neighborhood-txt,0,7748646.story

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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Good morning – and thank you all for being here. It is a pleasure to join with U.S. Attorney [Brendan] Johnson and President [John Yellow Bird] Steele in welcoming you to today's meeting. And I want to thank everyone who participated in today's opening ceremony for sharing their gifts and talents with us.

It is a privilege to be here in Pine Ridge, to stand with so many extraordinary leaders, and to visit some of your sacred places – grounds that have been marked by tragedy and loss, as well as healing and hope. Nearly half a century ago, following his tenure as Attorney General, Robert Kennedy traveled to Pine Ridge to learn about the conditions here, to shine a light on the struggles so many faced, and to signal the U.S. government's commitment to ensuring peace, security, opportunity, and – above all – justice on tribal lands.

Today, this commitment lives on – and it has been renewed, and strengthened, by President Obama and this Administration. On behalf of my colleagues at the Justice Department and across the federal government, I am eager to hear from you – to learn more about the challenges you face; to better understand your concerns; and to discuss the goals, responsibilities, and dreams that we share – as well as the future that we must build.

http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/ag/speeches/2011/ag-speech-110728.html

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WMD Central

Part 2: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Our interview continues with Dr. Vahid Majidi, head of our Weapons of Mass Destruction, or WMD, Directorate, which marked its fifth anniversary on July 26.

Q. Can you provide a few examples of successful WMD investigations over the past five years?

Dr. Majidi: We've managed quite a few cases actually, including our first major counterproliferation investigation that involved two Iranian men and one Iranian-American who were charged in California with conspiring to export certain technologies from the U.S. to Iran. Other examples include a Texas man charged with possessing 62 pounds of sodium cyanide; a government contractor in Tennessee charged with trying to sell restricted U.S. Department of Energy materials; and a Nevada man charged with possessing deadly ricin. (Note: see the sidebar for more examples.)

Q. What has the FBI learned over the past five years?

Dr. Majidi: Quite a bit. For some time, we've had WMD coordinators in every one of our field offices. But we realize that for WMD prevention to be truly comprehensive, we need to think and act globally. So that's why—in addition to our network of legal attaché offices and agents around the world—we've recently put our first WMD coordinators overseas, in our offices in Tbilsi and Singapore. We also have personnel assigned to Interpol to help it develop an international WMD training program like ours.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/july/wmd_072911/wmd_072911

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July 29, 2011

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Soldier suspected of planning Ft. Hood attack

Naser Jason Abdo, 21, is arrested at a Texas motel after buying gunpowder. A U.S. official says he intended to target a restaurant popular with military personnel.

A possible terrorist plot against military personnel at Ft. Hood in Texas was disrupted with the arrest of an Army private who had purchased ammunition and bomb-making materials in preparation for such an attack, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo, a 21-year-old Texas native who had successfully argued that he was a conscientious objector whose Muslim faith would not allow him to deploy to Afghanistan, was arrested at a motel Wednesday by Killeen, Texas, police after his purchase of gunpowder at a local gun store aroused employees' suspicion. Abdo, who had been charged this year with possession of child pornography, had been absent without leave since early July.

Authorities suspect that Abdo, who was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky, was planning to construct bombs and detonate them at a restaurant popular with Ft. Hood personnel, according to a U.S. official who has been briefed on the case. Abdo intended to gun down survivors after the bombs went off, said the official, who asked not to be named because he is not in law enforcement.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-soldier-fort-hood-20110729,0,6009856,print.story

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Emails to White House didn't mention gun sting

An ATF supervisor who was asked to provide information on efforts to stop weapons trafficking to Mexico did not mention Fast and Furious, a botched operation that let guns reach drug cartels.

The ATF's field supervisor on the Southwest border sent a series of emails last year to a top White House national security official detailing the agency's ambitious efforts to stop weapons trafficking into Mexico, but did not mention that a botched sting operation had allowed hundreds of guns to flow to drug cartels.

Over three days in September 2010, William D. Newell, a 20-year veteran who at the time was the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' field operations in Arizona and New Mexico, briefed Kevin M. O'Reilly, director of North American affairs for the White House national security staff. Newell sent the emails in advance of a meeting between Mexican officials and John Brennan, President Obama's deputy national security advisor.

A White House official confirmed Thursday that Newell had said nothing about the specific tactics used to fight weapons traffickers, which included allowing "straw" purchasers to buy guns without immediately arresting them, in hopes the small-time traffickers would lead authorities to the cartels and reveal smuggling routes into Mexico. The so-called Fast and Furious operation was run out of the ATF's Phoenix field office.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fast-furious-emails-20110729,0,3056132,print.story

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July 28, 2011

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Op-Ed

Seeds of terror in Norway

Anders Behring Breivik has a lot in common with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

America's violent far right would have no difficulty recognizing the tell-tale signatures of Friday's killing spree in Norway — and not just because they would see the confessed perpetrator, Anders Behring Breivik, as an ideological soul mate who, like their own heroes, thought he could trigger a white-supremacist revolution with bombs and bullets.

Breivik appears to have been more than simply inspired by American predecessors such as Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber: The materials he used, the way he planned and carried out his attacks, and his own writings all suggest he was deeply familiar with the actions of some notorious political killers on this side of the Atlantic.

Breivik possessed a Glock semiautomatic, the same weapon McVeigh was carrying when he was arrested by a hawk-eyed Highway Patrol officer 90 minutes after the April 1995 bombing in Oklahoma. Breivik also possessed a .223-caliber Ruger assault rifle, just like McVeigh.

The Ruger, in fact, has a long history of use by violent extremists because it is dependable, easy to load and fire, and cheaper than an AR-15 or M-16. It is also convertible, without much difficulty, to a fully automatic weapon.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-gumbel-breivik-mcveigh-20110728,0,6247708,print.story

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Norway police face questions over attacks response

(CNN) -- Norway's police are facing tough questions over their response to last Friday's terror attacks, in which 76 people died.

First, Oslo was rocked by a huge blast outside government buildings, which left eight people dead. Less than two hours later, a gunman reached Utoya island, some 20 miles away, and proceeded to fire on the mostly teenage participants of a political summer camp for well over an hour.

Reporters, particularly from the foreign press, have asked why it took an hour from the police first being alerted for armed officers to arrest the suspect, 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik.

Among their questions have been why a helicopter was not used to take elite officers to the scene, rather than them travelling by road, and whether problems with a police boat -- which meant civilian vessels had to be commandeered -- delayed the response.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/07/28/norway.attacks.response/

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Massachusetts

Our View: Community policing philosophy still runs through department

No one can fault the City Council's call last week to explore the restoration of community policing in New Bedford.

The program puts police officers in intimate contact with neighborhoods, engaging youths, getting a feel for social trends, becoming active, engaged members of the community who happen to have authority to take action the average citizen can't.

Police Chief David Provencher has been invited by the council to a meeting of the Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhoods to discuss the program, but we anticipate that issues about the number of officers on the force will throw cold water on the council's hopes for restoring the program.

Provencher and Mayor Scott Lang agree the department would need about 285 officers (the force stands at about 250 today) to put community police back into neighborhoods without siphoning resources from other department units, such as anti-gang, narcotics, sex assault, violent crime, school resource, canine and more.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110727/OPINION/107270345

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Wisconsin

Waukesha Night Out is Tuesday

Free event in Frame Park “to show support for community crime prevention,” said Sgt. John Konkol of the Waukesha Police Department.

Tuesday night will be a busy one at Frame Park, where there will be police cars, fire trucks, live DJ music, karate demonstrations and even a special appearance from Bango the Buck.

Waukesha Night Out, the annual event that promotes community policing and safety, is being held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. The event is held “to show support for community crime prevention,” said Sgt. John Konkol of the Waukesha Police Department.

“It expands the partnership with the law enforcement and all the other agencies that are involved in the community,” Konkol said. “These are good people coming out to experience all these things.”

http://waukesha.patch.com/articles/waukesha-night-out-is-tuesday

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July 27, 2011

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Mexico's 'boy killer' sentenced to three years in prison

Edgar Jimenez Lugo, alias 'El Ponchis,' was 14 when he was arrested and then admitted that he began killing at age 11.

The "boy killer" who for many became a symbol of the lawlessness and social deterioration of Mexican society because of the nation's drug war was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for killing four people in Morelos state.

Edgar Jimenez Lugo, alias "El Ponchis," was 14 when he was arrested by the Mexican army in December. The teenager admitted before news cameras at the time that he began killing at age 11 and that a cartel paid him $200 a week to do it. He claimed to have beheaded four of his victims.

Three years is the maximum sentence for underage criminals in Morelos state, said Juan Carlos Castro, a Juvenile Court spokesman. However, because of time served, Jimenez will spend two years and five months behind bars, Castro said.

Jimenez was arrested Dec. 2 while attempting to board a flight to Tijuana from the city of Cuernavaca, presumably planning to escape to the U.S. after details of his alleged exploits began appearing in Mexican newspapers. He was born in San Diego but grew up in Jiutepec, a small town near Cuernavaca where he was "kind of forgotten," his father, David Jimenez, told The Times last year.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0727-post-offices-20110727,0,60980,print.story

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Rutten: The maniac challenge

The Norway attacks illustrate once again the danger posed by hate-laced propaganda.

Sixteen years ago, I was one of The Times writers assigned to cover the Oklahoma City bombing. It was one of those wrenching stories that stand out in a reportorial memory that now extends back more than four decades, partly because my assignment was to each day write about the children killed in the day-care center beneath which Timothy McVeigh exploded his powerful car bomb.

One of the things I recall with particular clarity was the numbing realization that, by week's end, I'd simply run out of adjectives to use in describing broken little bodies. The other was the creeping horror several of us in the newsroom felt as we realized we knew the source of McVeigh's inspiration for the atrocity. Shortly before the bombing occurred, we'd discussed a story on a vile novel popular on the far right and within the militia movement then flourishing. It's called "The Turner Diaries," and it was written by the leader of one of the white nationalist factions into which the American neo-Nazi movement had splintered.

It's an account of how racist guerrilla fighters overthrow the government and trigger a race war in which all blacks and Jews are exterminated, along with "race traitors," who are hanged from lampposts on "the day of the rope." One of the key events in this imaginary war is the protagonist's successful attack on FBI headquarters with a fertilizer-fueled car bomb of exactly the sort McVeigh constructed. The novel contains a detailed account of building such a bomb, and photocopied excerpts from the book were found in the terrorist's car when he was arrested. As we later learned, McVeigh slept with a copy of "The Turner Diaries" under his pillow.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-0727-rutten-20110727,0,3883977,print.column

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Canada

Community work pays off for diligent kids

Ten-year-old Rushel hugged the bicycle she “worked so hard to get.”

“I love my bike,” she said quietly.

She hasn't thought of a name for the shiny Raleigh, seven-speed, dual suspension two-wheeler she earned participating in Tim Hortons' Earn-a-Bike program during the past month, but she's sure she can think of a good one.

Rushel was one of 130 Hamilton children who worked through the program under the guidance of their local policing centres doing community service — cleaning and polishing various public places from Waterdown to Van Wagner's Beach and back again — to be rewarded with a bike, lock, proper helmet and water bottle.

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/569625--community-work-pays-off-for-diligent-kids

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Jamaican police seek crime-fighting cues, clues from Palm Bay

When top police administrators from Jamaica sought out a city after which they could model a successful community- policing program, they didn't just spin the globe.

They Googled.

At the top of the Web search results were a myriad crime-fighting programs offered by the Palm Bay Police Department, an agency far from the crowded streets of Kingston or the lush mountains of Ocho Rios.

"We're going through a modernization program and as we improve, we thought it would be necessary to engage and look at other organizations involved with community policing," said James Forbes, senior superintendent of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. "We do our research. What we found was that Palm Bay police have one of the most advanced programs for volunteer officers."

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110727/NEWS01/107270329/Jamaican-police-seek-crime-fighting-cues-clues

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Secretary Napolitano Announces Stop.Think.Connect. ™ Campaign Partnership with D.A.R.E. America

WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign today announced a new partnership with Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) America — an initiative that will help protect millions of children from online threats by encouraging Internet safety.

"In today's world, Americans can use technology to engage with communities around the globe," said Secretary Napolitano. "Now, more than ever, it is important that all Americans — adults and children alike — learn to protect themselves online and do their part to ensure that cyberspace is a safe and secure environment for all Internet users."

Using the resources of the largest child safety program of its kind in the world, the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign will train D.A.R.E. officers to talk to kids and parents in their communities about cybersecurity, and provide them with the Stop.Think.Connect. Community Outreach Toolkit – an all-inclusive resource with simple tips and tools they can use to stay safe while using the Internet.

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/20110726-stop-think-connect-dare-partnership.shtm

Combating Transnational Organized Crime

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WMD Central - Five Years and Building

Five years ago this week, the FBI established its first Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Directorate to centralize and coordinate all WMD-related investigative activities, intelligence analysis capabilities, and technical expertise from across the Bureau. Recently, FBI.gov spoke with Dr. Vahid Majidi—the head of the WMD Directorate since its launch—on his office's work over the past five years. Today, he talks about the current threat and specific focus of the directorate. Later this week, he'll discuss case examples, lessons learned, and the future of the directorate.

Q. Why was the directorate created?

Dr. Majidi: The FBI has been in the WMD business for quite some time, more formally since 1995 when we created a program in our Counterterrorism Division to address the WMD threat. But obviously, a lot has happened in recent years. And it became clear that our WMD response crossed operational lines and also involved our counterintelligence, criminal, and cyber programs—not to mention the response and forensics expertise in the FBI Laboratory and the render-safe capabilities of our Critical Incident Response Group. We needed a single force to coordinate all of our WMD activities. The directorate gives us that.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/july/wmd_072611/wmd_072611

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July 26, 2011

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Brown signs California Dream Act

New law covers private funding; governor signals he may also favor expanding public Cal Grants eligibility.

Following through on a campaign promise, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law Monday easing access to privately funded financial aid for undocumented college students. He also signaled that he was likely to back a more controversial measure allowing those students to seek state-funded tuition aid in the future.

Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), author of the private financial aid measure, described it as an important but incremental step toward expanding opportunities for deserving students who were brought to the U.S. illegally through no choice of their own. Cedillo is pressing ahead with a more expansive measure that would make certain undocumented students eligible for the state's Cal Grants and other forms of state tuition aid.

Brown said he was "positively inclined" to back that bill but would not make a decision until it crosses his desk.

"I'm committed to expanding opportunity wherever I can find it, and certainly these kinds of bills promote a goal of a more inclusive California and a more educated California," Brown told reporters after the bill-signing ceremony Monday.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown-dream-act-20110726,0,7117085,print.story

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The strands of the Sinaloa drug cartel web

Channeling the Mexican cartel's nonstop river of cocaine onto trucks bound for cities in the U.S. requires a vast labyrinth of smugglers working in L.A. And women like Lupita, a no-nonsense psychic with a short fuse.

Gabriel Dieblas Roman took orders from cartel bosses in Mexico, hard men who ruled by fear, but he wouldn't approve a shipment without talking to a plucky, middle-aged woman from Compton.

Guadalupe "Lupita" Villalobos ran a storefront botanica where Virgin of Guadalupe statuettes sat beside grinning Saint Death skeletons. She would threaten to turn neighbors into toads, and her clients believed she could divine the future by studying snail shells scattered on a tabletop.

Roman, a client, called her one day for advice on an important matter. Sounding anxious about a pending cocaine shipment to the East Coast, he asked Villalobos to "give it a little look."

"When is it leaving?" Villalobos asked.

"Tomorrow," Roman said.

A rattling sound came over the phone, then the jangle of objects spilling on a hard surface. "Well, everything is normal," Villalobos told Roman. But she wasn't finished. "Be careful, there is surveillance," she said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/cartel/la-me-cartel-20110726,0,4541715,print.story

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U.S. Embassy in Mexico not told of ATF guns sting

Embassy officials raised concerns that U.S. guns were showing up at crime scenes in Mexico. But ATF officials kept the embassy in the dark about the operation to sell weapons to straw purchasers to trace smuggling routes.

As weapons from the United States increasingly began showing up at homicide scenes in Mexico last summer, U.S. Embassy officials cabled Washington that authorities needed to focus on small-time operators supplying guns to the drug cartels.

Embassy officials did not know that at least some of the weapons were part of an ill-fated sting run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in which illegal straw purchasers were allowed to buy guns so smuggling routes into Mexico could be traced. Ultimately, ATF lost track of an estimated 1,700 weapons that were part of the so-called Fast and Furious operation, which began in November 2009.

Nearly 200 such guns were later recovered at crime scenes in Mexico. And two AK-47s from Fast and Furious were recovered in December at the scene of the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fast-furious-cable-20110726,0,7863243,print.story

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Guns from U.S. sting at Mexican crime scenes: report

(Reuters) - At least 122 firearms from a botched U.S. undercover operation have been found at crime scenes in Mexico or intercepted en route to drug cartels there, according to a Republican congressional report being issued on Tuesday.

Mexican authorities found AK-47 assault rifles, powerful .50 caliber rifles and other weapons in late 2009 that were later linked to the U.S. sting operation to trace weapons going across the border to Mexico, the report said.

Guns from the program, dubbed "Operation Fast and Furious," also were found at the scene of the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in the border state Arizona last December. It is not clear if they were the weapons responsible for his death.

The sting has become an embarrassment for the Obama administration and its Justice Department, rather than a victory in cracking down on the illegal flow of drugs and weapons to and from Mexico.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/26/us-usa-guns-mexico-idUSTRE76P33T20110726?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

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North Carolina

'Vigilante Grannies' are on the crime case

But when vandals targeted her Stallings community in Union County a few months ago, Ritch recruited several other grandmothers to do something about it.

They call themselves the "Vigilante Grannies."

They leave notes on suspicious cars, watch who hangs out in the park and don't hesitate to contact police. Their work has already contributed to one arrest and neighbors say they feel safer in their Fairfield Plantation homes. "It takes a serious thing and identifies it in a way that a lot of folks can relate to," Ritch said. "Our motto is, 'fear is not in our makeup.' "

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/07/26/2481555/vigilante-grannies-are-on-the.html

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July 25, 2011

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Editorial

California Dream Act: Opening college doors

Assemblyman Gil Cedillo's AB 130 would make illegal immigrant students eligible only for private scholarships derived from nonstate funding. The governor should sign it.

Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) has spent much of his legislative career trying to persuade lawmakers to grant financial help to undocumented immigrant students attending state colleges or universities. Until recently, his proposals stalled. Some opponents argued that extending such benefits would encourage more illegal immigration and displace deserving students who are in the U.S. legally. Others said such efforts would give false hope to students who would be ineligible for jobs once they graduate.

With AB 130, a bill that is part of proposed legislation known as the California Dream Act, Cedillo has addressed those concerns and produced a bill worthy of adoption. It has passed both houses of the Legislature, and Gov. Jerry Brown should make it law.

The measure would make illegal immigrant students eligible only for private scholarships derived from nonstate funding. State and federal financial assistance would remain off-limits. In practical terms, it would mean that those students who already qualify for in-state tuition under a 2001 state law could apply for private funds donated to schools. Currently, undocumented immigrants are ineligible for any financial help, including private scholarships. Last year, the University of California awarded more than $45 million in undergraduate scholarships funded by donor-provided gifts and endowments.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-dream-20110725,0,2258286,print.story

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Hartford, CT Boasts Public Safety Response & Gun Crime Intelligence with ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection & Location Service

Hartford Reinforces its Commitment to Public Safety and Reduction and Prevention of Gun and Other Related Crimes

HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The City of Hartford, CT, is partnering with ShotSpotter, Inc., the market leader and innovator in wide-area acoustic surveillance and gunshot location and detection technology, to provide the ShotSpotter® Gunshot Location Service to the city. The ShotSpotter Gunshot Location Service delivers real-time and immediate gunshot location data, giving officers improved situational intelligence that heightens first responder safety and enables accurate decisions for emergency response. The ShotSpotter gunfire alert data also helps improve incident response and management and provides additional forensic evidence for investigations and analysis.

“Reducing gun crime and associated violence is a top priority for the City of Hartford and our department”

City of Hartford Mayor Pedro E. Segarra recently announced the reinstatement of the Shooting Task Force along with the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location Service as two significant actions designed to combat the recent rash of gun violence in Connecticut's Capital City. The emphasis on public safety and security in Hartford is a collaborative effort of the Mayor's Office, Hartford Police Department, the Chief State's Attorney's Office, and state and federal agencies.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110725005831/en/Hartford-CT-Boasts-Public-Safety-Response-Gun

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