Law Enforcement

Who knew L.A.'s red-light camera fines were 'voluntary'?
City officials this week spotlighted a surprising revelation involving red-light camera tickets: Authorities cannot force violators who simply don't respond to pay them. For a variety of reasons, including the way the law was written, Los Angeles officials say the fines for ticketed motorists are essentially "voluntary" and there are virtually no tangible consequences for those who refuse to pay.
Los Angeles Times

Man cornered by police shocked with Taser, bitten by police dog
A man who wanted to fight with police when he was cornered today was shocked with a Taser and bitten by a police dog, Los Angeles police said. Police were sent to the 200 block of East 84th Street on reports of an assault with a deadly weapon about 2 p.m., police spokeswoman Sara Faden said. It was unclear what the man, whose name was withheld, was suspected of doing. He was taken into custody by police assigned to the 77th Street Station, Faden said.
Los Angeles Daily News

2 LAPD officers injured in North Hills crash
Two Los Angeles police officers are recovering after being involved in a crash.
The incident happened at the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Lassen Street around 6 p.m. Monday. Officials said the police cruiser was making a left turn onto Lassen Street when it was broadsided by another car. Two officers inside the cruiser were hurt. One has a broken jaw and was admitted to the hospital. The other was also hospitalized after suffering cuts on his face. He has since been released.
ABC7

FBI data exchange system now fully operational
A new system that allows the FBI to automatically share information with local, state, regional, and other law-enforcement and criminal justice partners is now fully operational. Raytheon said it completed work on the last phase of the National Data Exchange (N-DEx) system, which allows the FBI to pass on information about criminal justice cases automatically to 200,000 investigators in more than 18,000 federal, local, state, and tribal agencies. The system also performs analysis to identify crime trends and patterns to aid in crime-prevention tactics, according to the FBI.
Information Week

Can a billboard really prevent hate crimes?
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and LA County Sheriff Lee Baca were on hand for the unveiling of an anti-hate crime campaign billboard in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The billboard, which reads "Stop Hate and Respect Everyone", sits high above N. Humboldt Street near Downtown Los Angeles. The hope is that the sign will have a positive impact on our communities and promote the concept of tolerance.
Fox11

LAPD Q&A: Noise, nightclubs, leaf blowers, coyotes
Senior Lead Officer Mike Lewis, the Los Angeles Police Department's community liaison for Studio City, answered questions about noise, barking dogs, nightclubs, leaf blowers, coyotes and other community issues to a group of residents recently. The questions were in response to queries made to the Land Use Committee of the Studio City Neighborhood Council.
Studio City Patch

Pensions

State pension funds urge action on nation's debt ceiling
CalPERS, CalSTRS and eight other public pension funds urged Congress and the White House to raise the nation's debt ceiling and address the massive budget deficit. In a letter to President Obama and members of Congress, the pension funds said "it is critical that the debt ceiling be raised to avoid a default." They added that the deficit must be trimmed back as well.
Sacramento Bee

Parole

LA County urges speedy plan to deal with parolees
Lawmakers on Tuesday named the Los Angeles County Probation Department as the lead agency to supervise thousands of state parolees who will fall under county jurisdiction beginning Oct. 1. The county Board of Supervisors designated the department and also warned it to hurry up and finish drafting plans to handle the influx by the end of the month-only weeks before the first parolees said. "You have a fire going on-let's put out the fire," county Mayor Michael D. Antonovich said at a board hearing.
Associated Press

Sheriff Baca, probation chief at odds over parolee supervision
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca blasted the county's probation chief Tuesday for being uncooperative in the county's preparations to take on state parolees. Baca accused Probation Chief Don Blevins of viewing the sheriff's department "as some sort of threat" even after Baca had backed down in his bid to take sole responsibility for supervising of hundreds of state parolees who will soon be passed from state custody to the county. Baca's initial proposal was an unprecedented attempt to take the task from county probation officers, who already do that sort of work.
Los Angeles Times

Politics

LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa takes on big issues
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has tackled a number of tough urban issues lately - averting a traffic gridlock "Carmageddon," pushing for public-private job creation with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, urging reforms to the state's landmark tax measure, Proposition 13, and testifying before Congress in support of federal transportation bills. But Villaraigosa, who is one of the nation's leading Latino politicians, a former Assembly speaker and the newly named president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is reluctant to tackle questions about his political future in California, such as whether he's a potential candidate for U.S. Senate or governor.
San Francisco Chronicle