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August 7, 2011

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Op-Ed

A false sense of national security

A premature triumphalism may put the nation at risk. A weakened Al Qaeda can still attack, and so can a slew of other terrorist groups.

The raid to kill Osama bin Laden is barely three months old, but already it is one of the proudest chapters in the history of the U.S. Special Operations Command — and of the Obama administration. Officials of both organizations have been taking one well-deserved victory lap after another, even going so far as to cooperate (apparently) with a journalist from the New Yorker who has just produced a riveting account of Operation Neptune's Spear. No doubt more books, articles and movies are in the offing. I wouldn't be surprised to see some Navy SEALs writing memoirs or licensing their stories.

There are two major problems with the understandable impulse to pop the champagne cork. In the first place, the officers and officials who are talking may well be compromising important operational details and making it harder to preserve secrecy about future missions — including those that don't go quite as well. Even more worrisome is the possibility that we are being lulled into a false sense of complacency that will allow Al Qaeda and other radical groups to stage a resurgence.

U.S. government officials are probably premature when they rush to proclaim, as the Washington Post reported, that Al Qaeda is "on the brink of collapse." Such predictions have been made many times before, and each time have been disproved by this terrorist group with its alarming ability to regenerate itself. It does not take much in the way of resources to carry out a terrorist strike (the Sept. 11 operation cost an estimated $500,000), so Al Qaeda does not need much infrastructure to pose a threat. Moreover, Al Qaeda is not the only terrorist organization we have to worry about.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-boot-threat-20110807,0,2454954,print.story

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Release child welfare reports

County supervisors' withholding of files on child deaths is unlawful and prevents public oversight.

In 2008, 10-year-old Seth Ireland of Fresno was beaten by his mother's boyfriend and later died of his injuries. Assembly Democrat Henry T. Perea responded with a demand that the state audit his county's child protective services agency plus three others in California, including the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. There is little point now in arguing whether Perea was merely playing to his Fresno constituents or genuinely seeking constructive change. One way or the other, the audit is on, and if conducted properly it can give the public and county governments valuable information about the performance of four of the state's child welfare agencies.

But the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is stonewalling. As Times staff writer Garrett Therolf reported last Monday, the supervisors have thumbed their collective noses at the Bureau of State Audits and refused to produce reports dealing with the deaths of dozens of children who came to the county's attention over the last four years because of abuse or neglect.

Such intransigence and preference for secrecy have a long history in the county Hall of Administration. The board exhibited these traits a year ago when it defied a state law requiring the county to release the files of children who had died from abuse or neglect.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-dcfs-20110807,0,237003,print.story

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Anonymous attacks US sheriffs' websites

Hacking collective says it stole data including emails and credit card numbers in retaliation for arrests of its sympathisers

The group of hackers known as Anonymous says it has hacked into about 70 mostly rural law enforcement websites in the US, a data breach that at least one local police chief said leaked sensitive information about an ongoing investigation.

The loose-knit international hacking collective posted a cache of data to the internet early on Saturday, including emails stolen from officers, tips that appeared to come from members of the public, credit card numbers and other information.

Anonymous said it had stolen 10 gigabytes worth of data in retaliation for the arrests of its sympathisers in the US and Britain.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/aug/07/anonymous-attacks-us-sheriffs-websites/print

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August 6, 2011

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States can't opt out of Secure Communities program

The Obama administration has told governors the fingerprint-sharing program that targets criminals in the country illegally does not need their approval to operate in their states.

In an unusual move, the Obama administration has told governors they cannot exempt their states from the controversial Secure Communities program, which uses fingerprints collected by local and state police to help immigration authorities identify and deport tens of thousands of criminals each year.

The Department of Homeland Security notified 39 governors Friday that the fingerprint-sharing program did not need their approval to operate in their states, and said it had voided agreements they had signed to authorize their states' participation, according to a copy of the letter.

"This change will have no effect on the operation of Secure Communities in your state," read the letter, which was signed by John Morton, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Governors in the other 11 states had not signed agreements.

The action was immediately denounced by some political leaders, immigration advocacy groups, and other opponents of the program.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-secure-communities-20110806,0,5832833,print.story

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California needs more time to fix prison overcrowding, report says

Legislative analyst says sending thousands of inmates to local jails is a good step. But the planned realignment won't move enough inmates as quickly as a federal court requires, according to his report.

Reporting from Sacramento -- California is unlikely to meet a federal court mandate to reduce its prison population by 34,000 inmates within two years, so state officials should ask for more time, the Legislature's top advisor said Friday.

Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor also challenged Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to reduce the number of inmates sent to out-of-state contract prisons, saying California instead should consider exporting more felons.

"The administration's push to reduce the number of these out-of-state beds while at the same time reducing overcrowding in the prisons makes little sense at the present time in our view," said the report by the Legislative Analyst's Office.

Brown has not decided whether to seek an extension of the court-imposed deadline, but believes the report "confirms that California is on the right track" with its plan to send some state inmates to county jails, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Ashford.

Taylor's report agreed that shifting thousands of low-level offenders to serve their sentences in county jails would move the state closer to complying with the court order. But the analysis "indicates that the realignment plan alone is unlikely to reduce overcrowding sufficiently within the two-year deadline."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-prison-overcrowding-20110806,0,6314695,print.story

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Californians would rather ease penalties than pay more for prisons

Poll shows a change in attitudes as California seeks ways to comply with court-ordered cuts to its prison population. Soured economy is a key factor.

Cash-strapped Californians would rather ease "third-strike" penalties for some criminals and accept felons as neighbors than dig deeper into their pockets to relieve prison overcrowding, a new poll shows.

In the wake of a court order that the state move more than 33,000 inmates out of its packed prisons, an overwhelming number of voters oppose higher taxes — as well as cuts in key state services — to pay for more lockup space.

The survey, by The Times and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, shows a clear shift in attitude by residents forced to confront the cost of tough sentencing laws passed in recent decades.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-poll-prisons-20110721,0,4309478,print.story

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Officers Guilty of Shooting Six in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS — In a verdict that brought a decisive close to a case that has haunted this city since most of it lay underwater nearly six years ago, five current and former New Orleans police officers were found guilty on all counts by a federal jury on Friday for shooting six citizens, two of whom died, and orchestrating a wide-ranging cover-up in the hours, weeks and years that followed.

The defendants were convicted on 25 counts, including federal civil rights violations in connection with the two deaths, for the violence and deception that began on the Danziger Bridge in eastern New Orleans on Sept. 4, 2005, just days after Hurricane Katrina hit and the levees failed.

“The officers convicted today abused their power and violated the public's trust during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, exacerbating one of the most devastating times for the people of New Orleans,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said. “I am hopeful today's verdict brings justice for the victims and their family members, helps to heal the community and contributes to the restoration of public trust in the New Orleans Police Department.”

In a grisly account, prosecutors said four of the defendants — Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius, Officer Anthony Villavaso and former Officer Robert Faulcon — had raced to the bridge in a Budget rental truck that morning, responding to a distress call from another officer.

There they poured out of the truck and opened fire, without pausing or giving a warning, on members of the Bartholomew family, who were walking to a grocery in the largely abandoned city. James Brisette, 17, a friend of the family, was killed, and four others were gravely wounded by the police, who kept firing as the Bartholomews raced for safety.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/us/06danziger.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

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School shooting plot in Louisiana stopped

COVINGTON, LA. (AP) — Authorities in suburban New Orleans say they have foiled a plot by three teenagers who planned to attack their high school on the opening day of classes.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain says officials at Lakeshore High School informed deputies July 17th they had uncovered the plot by a group of students that called themselves Day Zero. It wasn't immediately clear how the school found out about the plan.

The sheriff says the 15-year-old boys are being held in juvenile detention on charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism. They turned themselves in this week.

Strain says extra deputies will be at the school when classes start Monday, though authorities believe everyone involved was arrested.

Investigators say the group planned to bring guns and targeted at least one student

http://www.ksn.com/news/national/story/School-shooting-plot-in-Louisiana-stopped/DaK9hGejyESqPdBv48fG2A.cspx

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COPS Office Changed Police, Community Relationships

CrimeSolutions.gov Website Offers Back to School Resources to Practitioners, Teachers
In much of the country, the first day of school is just around the corner. Justice practitioners, teachers and others can visit the CrimeSolutions.gov Website and learn about successful school-related programs. Among the highly rated programs are Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers which aims to prevent the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in children within an elementary school setting and the Positive Action Program, which focuses on improving youth academics, behavior, and character within schools, families and communities. Another program, Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies, promotes emotional and social competencies to reduce aggression and behavior problems among elementary school–aged children. http://crimesolutions.gov/

BJS Releases Victims of Serious Violent Crime Report
About nine percent of victims of serious violent crime -- rape or other sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault -- received direct assistance from a victim service agency, according to the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) report, Use of Victim Service Agencies by Victims of Serious Violent Crime, 1993-2009 . While the rate of serious violent crime in the United States declined overall from 22 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 1993 to 6 per 1,000 in 2009, the percentage of victims receiving assistance from victim service agencies remained relatively stable. http://www.bjs.gov

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice - Office of Justice Programs -- www.OJP.gov

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cops-office-changed-police-community-relationships-126839943.html

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New Jersey

'Caught' doing the right thing brings rewards to residents in Woodstown

An implausible plan to fight terrorism through community outreach

A White House paper promoting community initiatives to curb radicalization is commendable, but there is no evidence to suggest such efforts work.

Preventing self-radicalized Muslim Americans from engaging in or abetting acts of terrorism is obviously a national priority. But a new Obama administration position paper offers an implausible approach to achieving that objective.

The blueprint, titled "Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States," mentions other sorts of terrorism, but its focus is on that fueled by Islamic extremism (though it doesn't use that term). Its recommendation is that the federal government engage in "strengthening community partnerships and preventing violent extremism … as a facilitator, convener, and source of information."

The notion is that community initiatives can help ameliorate extremism among young men who might be attracted to the teachings of Al Qaeda. The report draws an analogy with three other community initiatives: anti-gang efforts; liaisons between community groups and the federal government in connection with anti-terrorism efforts; and the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative designed to prevent school violence and drug abuse. In the schools program, the report notes, participating school districts must address violence and substance abuse.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-counterterror-20110805,0,7982943,print.story

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Canada

‘Flash robs' invade Canada

The next minute, like a well-oiled many-tentacled machine, the mob turned around and left with $800 worth of goods. Some were laughing, others had their heads down, and others looked directly into the security cameras, oddly defiant. Behind them was a single photographer or videographer, holding his camera and looking oddly out of place.

And then the store employee followed seconds later, shaking his head in disbelief. It was reportedly Canada's first “flash rob.” The phenomenon has been steadily occurring in many U.S. cities — Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Las Vegas among them.

Virginia Tech security put to the test in gun scare

BLACKSBURG -- A Virginia Tech gun scare raised international interest in minutes Thursday as the campus was alerted and secured, police went on a search and a sketch of a suspect was produced.

But as the day wore on and media inquiries came from stateside and abroad, no evidence was turned up of a safety threat -- a situation that started about 9 a.m. That's when three teenage girls reported that they'd seen a man possibly carrying a gun near Dietrick Dining Hall, university officials said. The girls were on campus as part of Higher Achievement, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that sponsors academic programs for at-risk middle school students.

On the campus that experienced the April 16, 2007, shooting tragedy, officials acted quickly Thursday morning. Thousands were going to class, working and attending summer camps -- even though the fall semester won't start until later this month.

"In this day and age, we don't think we had any other choice than to send an alert," Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said, also adding that "it's simply the world we live in today . . . communicate first, investigate later."

http://hamptonroads.com/print/609604

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NY Sen. Gillibrand supports policing bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (KEHR'-sten JIHL'-uh-brand) is supporting a bill designed to strengthen community policing nationwide.

The bill authored by Sen. Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, would authorize $500 million a year to hire up to 50,000 officers for community policing. It would authorize $250 million a year for police to acquire new equipment and $150 million a year to help local district attorneys hire community prosecutors.

Gillibrand says that with police agencies in New York hit by budget cuts, the legislation will keep officers on the beat and keep neighborhoods safe.

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/NY-Sen-Gillibrand-supports-policing-bill-1719800.php

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Wisconsin

Police to ride bikes to school with students in South side neighborhood

Madison police are hoping to continue making inroads into a South Side neighborhood with a troubled past by pedaling to school with students.

Starting with the first day of school on Sept. 1, members of the South District's Community Policing Team will join the Arbor Hills-Leopold neighborhood officer to bicycle to and from school with a group of youngsters in first through fifth grades.

Inspired by the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin's Safe Routes to School program and Leopold Elementary School's "walking school bus" concept, the effort is designed to give students positive contacts with police, said Officer Andre Lewis, a member of the Community Policing Team who is organizing the program with neighborhood Officer Deon Johnson.

"It just builds a good community relationship," Lewis said. For many residents, their only contact with police is when someone is being arrested, he said.

"It was a high-crime neighborhood a couple of years ago," Lewis said of the area that had problems with drugs, gunfire, fights and other disturbances. "The past couple of years, we've seen a drastic and significant change," he said, adding that police hope the bike program will help to further the positive results that have accompanied the addition of a neighborhood officer and other initiatives.

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/local_schools/article_6c76a9b8-bef6-11e0-a24c-001cc4c03286.html

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Australia

Police log on to face crime

The police have unveiled a new form of the Neighbourhood Watch scheme that uses Facebook

The police have unveiled a new form of the Neighbourhood Watch scheme that uses Facebook to allow residents to report crime and engage with the force. Project Eyewatch will be trialled at 10 local area commands in NSW, none of which are on the northern beaches.

Police commissioner Andrew Scipione said the project was “a promising, modern version of Neighbourhood Watch”, allowing residents and police to exchange information using police co-ordinated homepages on Facebook. “The traditional Neighbourhood Watch program has proved very successful over the years but people are leading more demanding lives,” Mr Scipione said.

“Many often don't have the time or ability to attend community meetings to discuss matters with police. But the majority of Australians have access to computers and the internet, via hand-held devices, tablets, laptops and personal computers.

“It makes sense to trial a community crime initiative where people can provide or receive information while at home or on the move. It will also provide a rapid flow of information, allowing the people of NSW to be quickly heard at a local policing level.”

http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/police-log-on-to-face-crime/

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ICE Effectively Responds to 9/11 Commission Report Recommendations

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August 4, 2011

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Hackers infiltrate computer networks of thousands of companies

The hackers, who belong to a government-sanctioned group from either Eastern Europe or East Asia, not only broke in but remained embedded in the computer systems, quietly siphoning secret data for years, security analysts say.

In what security experts believe may be the largest coordinated attack ever launched, hackers have for at least five years infiltrated the computer networks of thousands of companies, organizations and governments, stealing reams of intellectual property, military information and state secrets.

The perpetrators probably belong to a government-sanctioned group from either Eastern Europe or East Asia, according to security analysts. The hackers not only broke in but remained embedded in the computer systems, quietly siphoning secret data for years.

"Even we were surprised by the enormous diversity of the victim organizations and were taken aback by the audacity of the perpetrators," Dmitri Alperovitch, vice president of threat research at Internet security firm McAfee Inc., wrote in a 14-page report released Wednesday. The theft of so much valuable information "represents a massive economic threat," he said.

The attacks are part of what analysts see as a rapidly expanding international cyber threat that few companies or governments can adequately defend against, and which costs U.S. industries and taxpayers tens of billions of dollars every year in lost information, labor and legal fees. One research institute estimated that so far in 2011, companies have spent $96 billion on security breaches.

http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-cyber-attacks-20110804,0,3550373,print.story

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Cyber attacks on the rise and more costly, study says

Not only are more cyber crimes happening, but they are also costing companies more money, a recent study found.

The median cost of cyber crimes rose to $5.9 million, up from $3.8 million in 2010, while the number of attacks rose by 44% with at one successful attack on each of the companies in the study each week, according to a study released Tuesday by the Ponemon Institute, a research group that studies Internet security. Costs to targets include spending on security experts and investigations, loss of productivity, system software upgrades and the value of stolen intellectual property.

"The fact that costs have increased so substantially suggests that cyber crime issues are getting worse," said Larry Ponemon, chairman of the institute.

The study found the most expensive cyber crimes to be denial of service, Web-based attacks, malicious code and malicious insiders. The study found attacks are taking longer to resolve on average, 18 days, up from 14 last year, and are costing more as well, more than $415,000 per attack, up from more than $247,000 in 2010.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/08/rising-costs-suggest-cyber-crimes-getting-worse-study-shows-.html

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Bloomberg Takes on Racial Divide; Gives $30M to Men's Program

New program aims to even the odds for ex-offenders.

New York City is taking steps to hire ex-convicts as part of a sweeping social policy plan by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to lift the barriers facing young black and Latino men. An investigation into racial disparities in New York City yielded disturbing numbers. Black and Latino men were out of work, dropping out of school and living in poverty at rates dramatically higher than their white and Asian peers. Plus, 90 percent of the city's inmates and murder victims are black and Latino. With odds like these, it's no wonder 15-year-old Malik Campbell feels discouraged about his future. “The chances of me being successful is low,” Campbell said in Harlem Wednesday afternoon after hearing about the new Bloomberg plan, called the Young Men's Initiative.

Bloomberg is looking to change policies like the one that automatically blocks ex-convicts from consideration for city jobs. “There are a lot of convicted felons in this city,” said Vince Schiraldi, NYC Probation Commissioner. “We don't want them all to be unemployable because they're going to keep getting in trouble.” Asked about potential backlash from job seekers who do not have criminal convictions, Schiraldi said, “We're not trying to put our people on the head of the line. We're just trying to put people on the line.” The plan makes fiscal sense, according to Schiraldi, who points out that incarcerating one young man costs $50,000 to $60,000 dollars a year, but prevention costs only $5,000 to $8,000 a year.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Bloomberg-Takes-on-Racial-Divide-126740803.html

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Oregon

Vancouver calls on citizens to pitch in community policing efforts

Neighbors on Watch at a glance

U.N. declares famine in southern Somalia

In some places, the child malnutrition rate has soared to 55% and infant deaths have reached six a day, UNICEF says. Agencies are appealing for aid to boost operations in the war- and drought-stricken nation.

For months, people have been trudging out of the desert, leaving their dead children behind and carrying those who have managed to survive. On Wednesday, the horror of hunger and death unfolding in the Horn of Africa officially got a name: famine.

It's actually a very technical term, unless you're one of those walking for weeks in a last-ditch hope to save your family.

For the United Nations to declare a famine, as it did at a news conference in Nairobi, Kenya, the rate of child malnutrition must be at 30% or higher, daily deaths at two per 10,000 people and people not have access to food and other basic necessities.

According to UNICEF, the U.N. agency that focuses on children, the child malnutrition rate in southern Somalia has doubled in a single month; in some places it has reached 55% and infant deaths have increased to six a day.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-africa-famine-20110721,0,937233,print.story

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US to propose ammonium nitrate regulations

A homeland security official says the government will issue a proposal to regulate the sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate, the deadly chemical used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

In late 2007, Congress told the Homeland Security Department to develop a program to regulate the chemical, which is found in most fertilizers used around the world. On Tuesday, a proposal is expected to be published in the Federal Register.

The proposed regulation would require those who purchase, sell or transfer at least 25 pounds of the chemical in the U.S. to register with the government so they may be screened against U.S. terror watch lists, said the homeland security official, speaking anonymously because the proposal had not formally been published.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9ORQ72G1.htm

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Arizona

Gilbert residents can report crime tips online

In an effort to strengthen community policing, the Gilbert Police Department is making it easier for residents to submit tips about potential crimes through the new Submit a Tip online program.

The TipSoft Online program, the same one used by Mesa police, allows residents to anonymously submit crime tips choosing from a drop-down menu ranging from a person wanted on a warrant to suspicious activity and traffic concerns.

The system can be used by going to www.gilbertaz.gov/police/ and selecting the "Submit a Tip" link. Residents can send an e-mail or a text message to police.

"It's one-stop shopping for police assistance," said Sgt. Bill Balafas, a police spokesman.

He said TipSoft should be easier for residents to use because it replaces a series of links for specific problems and concentrates most reporting situations in one place.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/2011/08/02/20110802gilbert-online-crime-tips-program.html

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August 2, 2011

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Community policing reaches youths

Officers from the LAPD's Southeast Division are taking kids from their Watts-area neighborhood on surfing trips and to sports events in an effort to reach them before gangs do. The result has been a marked decline in juvenile arrests.

As morning broke over the city Monday, cops assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department's Southeast Division went about their normal routine, patrolling the streets. There was, as always, plenty to do. The division's 10-square-mile area has some of the highest crime and poverty rates in the city and is home to 120 documented gangs and three of the city's roughest housing projects.

But 18 miles and a world away, Officer Scott Burkett was working a very different beat. Having traded his uniform for a wetsuit, the 15-year LAPD veteran was in the water at Torrance Beach with about two dozen kids from the Watts-area neighborhood that Southeast patrols, teaching them to surf.

Surfing as crime-fighting strategy?

"It's about changing the relationship between the Watts community and the LAPD," said Southeast Capt. Phil Tingirides, a first-time surfer who got in the water Monday as well. "To do that, we've got to get the kids, and we've got to get them early."

In recent years, the violent crime rates in Southeast were too high to allow officers to work on anything but patrol, gang units and other traditional assignments, Tingirides said. But in 2009, after a few years of declines in crime, he asked Burkett to start a youth activities program.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lapd-pals-20110802,0,7019095.story

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U.S. sues over Alabama immigration law

The Justice Department challenges the strict measure, saying the Constitution prohibits states from creating a 'patchwork' of immigration policies.

The Justice Department filed a challenge to Alabama's tough anti-illegal-immigration law Monday, arguing that the Constitution prohibits state and local governments from creating a national "patchwork" of immigration policies.

The suit, filed in Alabama's Northern District, marks the second time the Obama administration has sought to block a state immigration reform law. Last year, the Justice Department filed a similar challenge to Arizona's controversial SB 1070. A federal judge decided to temporarily block key parts of that law, including a provision that would have required police to determine suspects' immigration status.

A number of states, including Georgia, South Carolina, Utah and Indiana, have embraced similar laws. Alabama's law, signed in June by Gov. Robert J. Bentley, is by far the strictest.

The law requires police to attempt to determine the residency status of suspected illegal immigrants. It also it makes it a crime for immigrants to work or solicit work, and prohibits landlords from renting to them. Among other things, it would prevent illegals from receiving state or local public benefits and bar them from enrolling in public colleges.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-alabama-immigration-20110802,0,3860956,print.story

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L.A. County prosecutors plan to seek death penalty in Grim Sleeper case

LAPD is seeking a voice sample from Lonnie David Franklin Jr., accused of killing 10 women in South L.A.. They want to compare the sample with a tape of a 911 call believed to be made by Franklin.

L.A. County prosecutors Monday said they would seek the death penalty against the man accused of being the Grim Sleeper serial killer and took the unusual step of seeking a voice sample of the suspect.

Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was charged last year in the deaths of 10 women in South L.A. in the 1980s and 1990s, but police have long suspected that he is responsible for more killings.

Prosecutors requested permission to allow police to take a voice sample from Franklin for comparison to an anonymous male who called 911 operators in connection with at least two Grim Sleeper killings. Detectives suspect Franklin might have made the calls himself and believe the 911 calls might help link additional killings to the suspect.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-grim-sleeper-20110802,0,4140438,print.story

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Gov. Brown signs law weakening testimony of jailhouse snitches

The new law requires prosecutors to present forensic evidence or uncompromised testimony that corroborates information provided by in-custody witnesses who claim to have been told or overheard incriminating statements by the defendant.

Dozens of Los Angeles County criminal convictions based on the testimony of jailhouse snitches have been overturned over the last quarter-century because appeals courts found the key witnesses to be unreliable or self-serving.

The district attorney's office years ago curtailed reliance on such sources.

The bill signed by Brown now makes those safeguards statewide policy.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/08/jerry-brown-jailhouses-snitches-new-law-.html

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Autopsy Scheduled for New Hampshire Girl Found Dead in River

n autopsy is scheduled Tuesday for an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl whose body was pulled from the Connecticut River in what authorities are calling a "suspicious" death.

The fifth-grader was last seen the night of July 25 in her West Stewartstown, N.H., home, where she lived with her mother, stepfather and 13-year-old sister. She was last seen in her bedroom and on her computer, according to authorities.

"We have brought Celina home, obviously not the way we wanted to bring her home," New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said Monday.

After an extensive search for child -- which included help from the FBI -- divers discovered her body Monday morning near a hydroelectric dam that spans the Connecticut River between her hometown and Canaan, Vt., not far from the Canadian border. Her body was pulled from the New Hampshire side of the river, near the Canaan Hydro-Dam, at around 5 p.m., according to local reports.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/02/autopsy-scheduled-for-new-hampshire-girl-found-dead-in-river/

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Baez expected to fight Casey Anthony probation order

ORLANDO -- Casey Anthony may be forced to return to Orange County, but not if her lawyer has anything to say about it.

An order filed Monday by Judge Stan Strickland would force Casey to stay in Orange County to serve a probation on her check fraud conviction from 2010.

But attorney Jose Baez is expected to file a motion Tuesday to fight that order.

Casey left jail in July after she was acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony.

Florida state Corrections officials thought she could serve the probation while she was in jail waiting for her trial.

But Judge Strickland, the original judge in her criminal trial who also heard her check fraud case, said he intended the probation to begin after her release.

http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/august/289162/Baez-expected-to-fight-Casey-Anthony-probation-order

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L.A. County child welfare chief quits

The resignation of Jackie Contreras is the third departure by a director of the Department of Family and Child Services in nine months. The embattled agency has been under scrutiny after reports in The Times of abuse and neglect.

The interim chief of Los Angeles County's troubled child welfare agency is quitting, a spokesman confirmed Monday.

The resignation of Jackie Contreras, effective Sept. 16, is the third departure by an agency director in nine months. Trish Ploehn, the embattled former chief, was forced out in December. In May, her replacement, Antonia Jimenez, quit after defying the Board of Supervisors' plan to reform the Department of Children and Family Services.

The agency has been under scrutiny since reports in The Times that more than 70 children had died since 2008 of abuse or neglect after coming to the attention of county social workers. Many of those deaths, county officials have confirmed, involved serious case management errors.

On Monday, The Times reported that supervisors are defying a state subpoena for county records involving deaths of children under the department's oversight.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dcfs-chief-20110802,0,6969902,print.story

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August 1, 2011

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L.A. County refuses to yield youth records

The Board of Supervisors defies a subpoena for records involving the deaths of children being supervised by the troubled Department of Children and Family Services.

Despite a warning from California's state auditor that they were committing a crime, Los Angeles County supervisors defied a subpoena for records involving the deaths of children who had been under the supervision of the troubled Department of Children and Family Services.

The inquiry was launched by the Legislature earlier this year after reports in The Times that more than 70 children had died since 2008 of abuse or neglect after coming to the attention of county social workers. Many of those deaths, county officials have confirmed, involved serious case management errors.

The audit is intended to be the most comprehensive probe in years seeking to identify whether systemic flaws contributed to fatalities in Los Angeles and other counties across the state. Lawmakers said it probably would result in legal reforms.

A lawyer at a special firm hired by the county to handle the matter said officials had provided dozens of boxes of records and allowed auditors to interview social workers but would not turn over documents that they believe are shielded by attorney-client privilege.

"In addition to the county's established right to protect its communications with its attorneys, the county seeks to preserve its ability to candidly evaluate its child protective services, and opportunities to improve those services, to further protect the children under the county's care," attorney Daniel P. Barer wrote in a response to questions from The Times.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-child-welfare-audit-20110801,0,2637695,print.story

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Health officials, speak up

Some health officials have been slow to release information on various diseases, but now new guidelines are in place.

An outbreak of food-borne E. coli infections have killed at least 50 people in Europe this year and sickened thousands of others. An aggressive and sometimes fatal fungus spread in the Missouri region hit by a half-mile-wide tornado. A virulent new strain of H1N1 flu emerged in Mexico in 2009, ultimately infecting people around the world.

New or mysterious illnesses like these can be terrifying, especially when reliable information is scarce. In the absence of facts, people don't know who is at greatest risk and how to protect themselves. Yet some health officials are slow to release information, concerned that it could cause needless worry or identify victims.

Policies about releasing information vary widely from agency to agency. During the swine flu pandemic, the disparate responses of health officials around the country were confusing and maybe even harmful. Some states, such as Delaware, regularly released many details about people who died of the illness. But when a child died in North Carolina, that's all that officials would reveal: a child died of H1N1 somewhere in North Carolina.

In a public health emergency, journalists want details about when, where and how a death occurred to make their stories more complete and satisfy the public's curiosity. But much more is at stake: Releasing accurate information reassures the public that officials are being honest about what they know and what the risks are.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ornstein-health-information-20110801,0,2187848,print.story

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