Law Enforcement

Police union seeks grass-roots support
In this age of perpetual campaigns, the Los Angeles Police Protective League is beginning to develop a grass-roots level of support for 2013 with a pilot program in three council districts. Yard signs reading "Public Safety First," are going up in Council Districts 1, 13 and 15 in a test run for a possible citywide campaign - all designed to develop email lists of voters for the protective league to use as contacts in the 2013 election.
Los Angeles Daily News

You can't run from the cop car of the future
Police cars of the very near future will be smart to the point of being scary. Equipped with eight cameras, voice commands, incredibly intelligent software, and LTE radios, you're not going to get away with a damn thing. Engineers have done hundreds of ride-alongs, surveys, and simulations, and have applied all of their wireless knowledge into designing a police car that is so advanced it's actually very unsettling.
Gizmodo

California homicide rate drops 7.8 percent in 2010
A state government report said on Friday that California's homicide rate fell by 7.8 percent in 2010 to the lowest level since 1966, in-line with a U.S. drop in violent crimes that researchers have attributed in part to better police work. The nation's most populous state had a homicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 population, down from the year before when the rate was 5.1, said the California Department of Justice.
Reuters

Occupy L.A.

Occupy L.A. and environmental protesters demonstrate downtown
Occupy Los Angeles protesters returned to the streets Saturday in a large march that included many of the same demonstrators who were arrested during a police sweep of their camp outside of City Hall last week. One person was arrested during Saturday's heavily policed march in downtown L.A., apparently for failing to follow police orders to stay on the sidewalk. Other protesters identified him as Anthony Lascano. Lascano was one of nearly 300 protesters who were arrested in early Wednesday's eviction, an elaborate police action that involved some 1,400 officers.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD undercover cops infiltrated Occupy camp before raid, source says
The Los Angeles Police Department's effort to evict Occupy L.A. protesters from their camp at City Hall included using Occupy undercover officers in the weeks leading up to Wednesday's raid, a police source said. None of the officers slept in the camp, the official said. Instead, they tried to blend in to gather information about potential problems or complications -- such as any weapons being stashed or protesters planning to resist -- that the LAPD might face when the raid occurred.
Los Angeles Times

Scores of Occupy L.A. protesters are released from jail
Three days after Los Angeles police evicted Occupy L.A. protesters from City Hall Park, most of the nearly 200 who remained in jail were released Friday because they had otherwise clean criminal records. In all, nearly 300 were arrested early Wednesday when 1,400 officers broke up the 7-week-old encampment surrounding City Hall. They initially faced a minimum bail of $5,000, and about 40 had been bailed out Thursday. Scores of arrestees trickled out of Central Arraignment Court, across from the downtown Men's Central Jail, Friday afternoon after being processed and released.
Los Angeles Times

Handling the next occupation in L.A.
The Los Angeles Police Department and city leadership have received well-deserved praise for their successful eviction of the Occupy L.A. protesters from the grounds outside City Hall last week. Smooth communication, a smart policing approach and a disciplined, restrained force combined to defuse a situation that had confounded police from New York to UC Davis. Now that the occupation is gone, this is a moment to reflect on a lesson from the encounter that should guide city leaders going forward.
Los Angeles Times

Immigration

Initiative would give California illegal immigrants safe harbor
Nearly a million undocumented immigrants could live and work openly in California with little or no fear of deportation under an initiative unveiled Friday by a state legislator and others. Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Sylmar, is helping to spearhead the measure, called the California Opportunity and Prosperity Act. The proposal was filed Friday with the state attorney general's office, marking a first step toward a drive to collect the 504,760 voter signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.
Sacramento Bee

City Government

L.A. faces $72-million budget shortfall
Less than six months into its fiscal year, the city of Los Angeles faces a $72-million budget shortfall, raising the prospect of new cuts in services in coming weeks, according to a report released Friday. City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, budget advisor to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council, issued an interim financial status report calling for nearly two dozen city agencies to absorb a combined $21 million in reductions. Santana warned that the shortfall could grow once city officials calculate the cost of cleanup in the wake of last week's ferocious windstorms and the two-month encampment outside City Hall by Occupy L.A.
Los Angeles Times

FAA reviews LAPD's use of airport funds
Authorities are looking into whether the Los Angeles Police Department misappropriated millions of dollars it was paid for providing law enforcement services at Los Angeles International Airport. Federal Aviation Administration officials say they have begun reviewing a recent complaint alleging that the LAPD overcharged the airport and used the money to bolster city coffers and pay for police expenses unrelated to security at LAX, which has been described as a top potential target for terrorists.
Los Angeles Times