Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Leimert Park, Tarzana and 14 other L.A. areas
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 16 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. 13 neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Leimert Park was the most unusual, recording nine reports compared with a weekly average of 2.9 over the last three months. Tarzana topped the list of four neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Police wound machete-wielding man near downtown L.A.
A machete-wielding man, who allegedly had hacked a diner outside a taco truck and later was shocked with a Taser by police officers to no effect, was shot by those same officers during a confrontation near downtown Los Angeles early Saturday, authorities said. The man, whose name police did not release, was in critical condition at a local hospital. The victim he allegedly had lacerated several times with a machete remained in serious condition. His name also was not released.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. vs. New York police baseball games a hit for charity
It was a showdown of sorts between the East Coast and the West Coast, the pitting of two of the largest police forces in the U.S. against each other. The Los Angeles Police Department's Centurions took on the New York Police Department's Finest at Griffith Park in a friendly baseball tournament to benefit charity.
Los Angeles Daily News

Calif. officer shooting suspect dies in custody
A man suspected of shooting and wounding a northern California police officer died in the custody of Sacramento police, following a foot chase, authorities said Sunday night. Tyrone Smith, 32, was unresponsive in the back of a patrol car after being caught late Saturday night some seven hours after the shooting of the Twin Rivers police officer, Sacramento police said in a statement. The Twin Rivers officer, whose name has not been released, was in critical condition after being hit with several bullets, but is expected to have a full recovery after surgery Sunday.
Associated Press

Feds: Gang membership up as crime alliances grow
The gang problem in the United States is growing and there are an estimated 1.4 million members in some 33,000 gangs, the federal government said Friday. Gangs are collaborating with transnational drug trafficking organizations to make more money and are expanding the range of their illicit activities, engaging in mortgage fraud and counterfeiting as well as trafficking in guns and drugs, according to the national gang threat assessment for 2011.
Associated Press

Prisons & Parole

Limiting California's 'compassionate release' program
Gregory Powell, better known to L.A. history buffs and fans of novelist Joseph Wambaugh as the "Onion Field" killer, is going to die in prison. That's fine with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the family of Powell's victim and even Powell himself. But it does raise questions about the state's "compassionate release" program and whether killers should be set free when their time is nearly up.
Los Angeles Times Editorial

Jail expansion: Counties seek millions from state
California counties are lining up to secure millions of dollars in state funds to expand jails now that Gov. Jerry Brown's plan is under way to shift the incarceration of some felons from prisons to jails. But while many county officials cheer the availability of $600 million in state funds to add more jail beds, opponents of prison expansion say building more incarceration space will discourage prosecutors, police and other public safety officials from seeking alternatives to lockups.
San Francisco Chronicle

California prison layoff notices begin downsizing process
California's prison agency on Friday began issuing 26,000 layoff warning notices as it begins a massive, slow-motion transfer of some of its work to local governments. The mailing by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is going to employees with less than 10 years of state service - from case record technicians and cooks to correctional officers and groundskeepers. The department, however, won't wind up laying off that many workers.
Sacramento Bee

City Government

L.A. City Council increases fees for more than 50 permits
The cost of working in Los Angeles is about to get higher for people who need city permits to do their jobs. From pawnbrokers and gun shops to skating rinks and dance clubs, the Los Angeles City Council on Friday increased the fees on more than 50 permits, including for the first time charging charities for approval to solicit money from residents. The council approved the package of Los Angeles Police Department fee increases by a 12-0 vote, with officials saying they are needed to cover the city's cost of processing permit applications.
Los Angeles Daily News

Pensions

The pension debate isn't just about the public sector
Nearly one-half of California workers will face significant economic hardship in retirement, living on incomes that are less than double the federal poverty threshold. That is one of a number of disturbing but well-documented predictions in Meeting California's Retirement Security Challenge, a report just released by UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. The report goes on to describe the alarming erosion of what once were three solid pillars of retirement: Social Security, private savings and secure defined benefit pensions.
Fox and Hound Daily