Law Enforcement

In Los Angeles, a police force transformed
Twenty years after the police beating of Rodney King was caught on videotape, and 10 years after the Justice Department imposed a consent decree to battle pervasive corruption in the Rampart Division, this has become a department transformed, offering itself up - in a way that not so many years ago would have been unthinkable - as a model police agency for the United States.
New York Times

LAPD honors academy graduate with award named for 1st slain female officer
For nearly two decades, the LAPD has honored the legacy of one of its own at each Police Academy graduation. It was 20 years ago that Tina Kerbrat, then 34 - an officer in the North Hollywood division - became the first female officer in Los Angeles to be killed in the line of duty. On the KCAL9 News at 8 P.M. Sunday, reporter Suraya Fadel introduced us to Erin Sandwick, the latest recipient of the award.
KCAL9

Police seek public's help to find murder
Hours after he eluded capture, Los Angeles police asked for the public's help in apprehending a man suspected of murdering two people in Chatsworth. Police suspect Brent D. Zubek, 43, of killing a man and woman whose bodies were found by police investigators Friday night at a home in the 20400 block of Lassen Street. The Los Angeles County coroner's office has not identified the victims.
Los Angeles Times

Suspects posed as security guards in Trader Joe's robbery
Los Angeles police said suspects involved in a string of Westside robberies sometimes posed as security guards. In the most recent robbery, which occurred Wednesday about 9:45 p.m. at Trader Joe's at National Boulevard and Midvale Avenue, all three masked individuals entered the store wearing shirts with "Security" written on the back. They were also armed with handguns, according to a police statement.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD searches for Sylmar party attackers
Police were searching Saturday for two suspects believed to have carried out a late-night attack at a party in Sylmar, authorities said. Two people were shot -- one in the knee and the other in the foot -- at a party in the 14600 block of Astoria Street. A third victim was stabbed in the stomach, Los Angeles police officer Gregory Baek said. The attack occurred shortly before midnight Friday. Police offered little information on the suspects, describing them only as Hispanic males. The incident may have been gang related, Baek said.
Los Angeles Times

Bratton as advisor doesn't sit well with some British
News that Prime Minister David Cameron had asked former Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton to be an unpaid advisor in the wake of riots in Britain's major cities recently has rankled some among the law-and-order ranks, who complain that the government was ignoring their homegrown expertise. Cameron's office confirmed Saturday that Bratton, who served as Los Angeles' police chief from 2002 to 2009, had agreed to consult with British law enforcement on gang violence and the social unrest behind the riots.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

California spending billions to build new prisons
At a dusty construction site in Vacaville adjacent to a prison yard, workers are putting the finishing touches on a 45,000-square-foot structure that will soon house dozens of California's most severely mentally ill offenders. When the $33.6 million project at the California Medical Facility is completed this fall, prison psychologists and psychiatrists will have private offices to treat their patients, and inmates requiring inpatient care will have individual cells near a nurse's station, as required by law. The building, which will include 64 cells, is one of 13 prison construction projects being funded by a $7.4 billion bond approved by the Legislature in 2007.
San Francisco Chronicle

Pensions

League of cities: Cut current worker pensions?
A new League of California Cities pension reform plan proposes a "detailed legal review" of whether pensions promised current workers can be reduced, a cost-cutting move widely believed to be prohibited by court rulings. A look at the legality of reducing pensions that current workers earn in the future, while protecting pension amounts already earned through years of service, is similar to a recommendation from the watchdog Little Hoover Commission in February.
Calpensions

City Government

New L.A. parking meter plan gets ticking
The new program - called ExpressPark - will begin in a 4.5-square-mile zone roughly bounded by the 10 and the 110 freeways, and Alameda Street and Adams Boulevard. It will use sensors and other technology to measure demand at about 6,000 sidewalk meters and 7,500 spaces in public parking facilities such as the Convention Center. Officials will adjust the cost of meters based on demand at various times throughout the day and on how long motorists stay in each space.
Los Angeles Times