Sherman Oaks Senior Lead Officer Ron Carter issued this message.

Once again, our Neighborhood Watch Groups and residents in Southern Sherman Oaks demonstrate that they are taking back their communities by being the "Eyes and Ears" of Law-Enforcement. Here is another example:

On January 19, 2012 at approximately 8:45 p.m., a member of the Encanto Drive Neighborhood Watch observed a male suspect, who appeared to be trying the door handles of parked vehicles in the area at the 15000 block of Encanto Drive. The resident was out walking his dog and was able to obtain an excellent description of this suspect, as well as the last location he was seen. A second caller from the Neighborhood reported a similar suspect along the 3700 block of Sheridge Drive.

Officers responded quickly and observed a male, matching the descriptions, now in the 3600 block of Saugus Avenue and made a pedestrian stop to investigate. This suspect was found to be in possession of a large number of credit cards which were not in his name, California Identification belonging to someone else, a wallet with initials matching the cards found, sunglasses & eyeglasses, GPS Systems, cell-phone chargers and other items which were tracked back to victims from this same general area.

Thanks to the quick action of the Neighborhood Watch members in this area, the equally fast response of officers, another Felony Suspect was removed from our community. The investigation traced his actions back to a residence and he was booked for Residential Burglary, with multiple other charges for the Thefts and Burglaries from Motor Vehicles.

Great job by all persons involved and you know your names!

Your Los Angeles Police Department, Van Nuys Division Detectives and Senior Lead Officers applaud your strong participation in Community Policing at it's finest.

http://shermanoaks.patch.com/articles/gotcha-alert-citizen-action-leads-to-felony-arrest

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Jan 21, 2012

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N.C. tour turns poverty's 'bloodless statistics' into reality

In six poor rural counties the rates range from 21% to 26%. Among blacks, poverty rates approach 40% in parts of those counties. Statewide, the poverty rate is 17. 4%, the nation's 12th highest.

The state's NAACP, seeking to put a human face on what it calls "bloodless statistics," mounted a Truth and Hope Tour of Poverty through the six counties Thursday and Friday. More than 60 volunteers from the civil rights group and several other nonprofits piled onto a bus to hear local residents describe what poverty looks like and feels like.

"It's no sin to be poor," the Rev. William Barber told residents of tiny Roper, N.C. "But it is a sin to allow entrenched and systemic poverty in the richest nation on Earth."

For two days, residents stood up in churches, town halls and community centers in the six counties to lay out the full dimensions of lives circumscribed by poverty.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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Adult in Ohio Craigslist case charged with murder

A self-styled chaplain suspected in a deadly scheme to rob people who replied to a Craigslist job ad has been charged with multiple counts of aggravated murder, kidnapping and robbery and could face the death penalty if convicted, according to an indictment announced Friday.

The charges against Richard Beasley accuse him of killing three men and wounding a fourth in August, October and November.

Beasley, 52, of Akron, who has been jailed in Akron on unrelated prostitution and drug charges, has denied involvement in the Craigslist slayings. He was arrested in November after authorities linked him to the alleged plot.

Prosecutors would not speculate on a motive but Attorney General Mike DeWine, who joined in announcing the charges, said investigators are looking at "serial killings."

"Are there more bodies? We frankly do not know," DeWine said, appealing to people with any information about missing persons to come forward.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/20/adult-in-ohio-craigslist-case-charged-with-murder/

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Washington

Fighting crime, one abandoned shopping cart at a time

Parked in alleys and capsized on roadsides, the stray shopping carts caught Longview police Office Scott McDaniel's eye.

The 22-year department veteran, assigned a couple months ago to patrol the Highlands neighborhood for the first time in years, was startled by how many abandoned carts he saw. Residents who don't have cars often push the carts home from grocery stores and then, unwilling or unable to return them to the store, will ditch them wherever convenient.

First the carts were a pet peeve for McDaniel. Not only did the carts pose a hazard to vehicles, he said, they also were a blight on the neighborhood, which the city has made a goal to revitalize.

Then McDaniel, 46, decided to act.

Last week, he borrowed the police department's pickup truck. With the help of Sgt. Dixie Wells, lead officer of the Highlands community services unit, McDaniel rounded up 20 shopping carts. The officers quietly returned the carts to Walmart, Safeway and Winco, not bothering to notify store management.

http://tdn.com/news/local/fighting-crime-one-abandoned-shopping-cart-at-a-time/article_79c84ef6-43d4-11e1-8254-001871e3ce6c.html?print=1

Distracted pedestrians? Accidents on rise for headphone-wearers

But what about distracted walking?

In a study published this week in the online journal Injury Prevention, researchers examined six years of reports and found that the number of headphone-wearing pedestrians killed or injured by moving vehicles has tripled in the U.S. since 2004 and 2005. Sixteen people were injured or killed in that two-year period; 47 people were injured or killed in 2010 2011, they found.

“We knew that drivers can be distracted,” Dr. Richard Lichenstein, the study's lead author, said in a phone interview from Maryland. But pedestrians wearing headphones can be distracted too, he said, and risk getting hit by cars or buses or even trains.

Lichenstein, director of pediatric emergency medicine research at the University of Maryland Medical Center, said he decided to study the topic after reading headline after headline about pedestrians being killed while wearing headphones.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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Highly organized drug ring relied on 8-year-old as a lookout

A Wednesday raid on the ring in East Harlem also turned up some surprises, such as 2 1/2 gallons of liquid PCP in Hawaiian Punch bottles and $39,000 in cash, New York police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a news conference. Thirty-five people were arrested and charged with a total of 275 counts alleging conspiracy, drug possession and drug-selling.

"We had housewives, people going back with large amounts to their neighborhoods in other states. We had all ... types of people," police Inspector Lori Pollack said in an NY1 account describing the range of customers who frequented the business, which did more than $1 million a year in drug sales.

"It was pretty structured, I will say that," she said of the manner in which the alleged ringleaders, brothers Lamont and Bernard Moultrie, ran the drug ring. "There were posts. You knew where you had to be, you knew what your hours were going to be." The ring included packagers, security guards and vetters who would assess each customer for signs they might be undercover agents.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2012/01/drug-ring-used-8-year-old-boy-as-lookout.html

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First, a sex offender registry. Next, an animal abuser registry?

Animal abusers, take heed. Efforts to establish online registries for animal abusers, like the ones for sex offenders, are gaining support, with legislation pending or soon-to-be-introduced in at least five states.

Among the efforts is one from Florida state Sen. Mike Fasano, who has proposed Dexter's law, named after a kitten that was beaten to death in his state. His proposal would require convicted animal abusers to register with authorities. Their names, home addresses and photographs would be posted online, and they would be required to pay $50 a year to maintain the registry.

Registries also have been proposed in Maryland, Colorado, Arizona and New York. Stephan K. Otto, director of legislative affairs for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, expects similar proposals in more states.

Suffolk County on Long Island in 2010 moved to create a registry, and has since been followed by two other New York counties. No names appear on the Suffolk County registry yet, because it was only recently set up. Convicted abusers will appear on the registry for five years. Those failing to register are subject to a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail.

The New York counties also require pet stores and animal shelters to check the names of anyone seeking to adopt or buy an animal against the registry, Otto said.'

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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Severed head: no arrests made in Hollywood body parts case, LAPD says

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/

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Anonymous claims credit for crashing FBI, DOJ sites

Following a Justice Department release stating that federal officials had taken down the file-sharing site Megaupload, hacking collective Anonymous launched several attacks on government and entertainment industry Web sites in retaliation.

Seven executives from Megaupload, a very popular site for sharing files, were indicted, The Washington Post's Sari Horowitz and Cecilia Kang reported Thursday. Federal officials said the site was flagrantly disobeying copyright laws and protections. Megaupload attorney Ira Rothken denied those charges.

Within hours of the announcement, Anonymous vowed to crash the Web sites of the Justice Department and Universal Music, which were unresponsive for hours late Thursday. The group continued to announce more targets, including the main page for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which was rendered inaccessible about 8:30 p.m. Thursday night, and the White House, which was not.

The attacks did not appear to be designed to collect any information from the Web sites, but simply flooded the pages with more Web traffic than they were designed to handle. This is known as a distributed denial-of-service attack, and is a common tactic Anonymous members use to embarrass companies and organizations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/anonymous-claims-credit-for-crashing-fbi-doj-sites/2012/01/20/gIQA7vYODQ_print.html

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Federal official in Arizona to plead the fifth and not answer questions on 'furious'

The chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona is refusing to testify before Congress regarding Operation Fast and Furious, the federal gun-running scandal that sent U.S. weapons to Mexico.

Patrick J. Cunningham informed the House Oversight Committee late Thursday through his attorney that he will use the Fifth Amendment protection.

Cunningham was ordered Wednesday to appear before Chairman Darrell Issa and the House Oversight Committee regarding his role in the operation that sent more than 2,000 guns to the Sinaloa Cartel. Guns from the failed operation were found at the murder scene of Border Agent Brian Terry.

The letter from Cunningham's Washington DC attorney stunned congressional staff. Last week, Cunningham, the second highest ranking U.S. Attorney in Arizona, was scheduled to appear before Issa‘s committee voluntarily. Then, he declined and Issa issued a subpoena.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/20/federal-official-in-arizona-to-plead-fifth-and-not-answer-questions-on-furious/

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Military suicides drop, other problems on rise

The number of suicides among soldiers has been leveling off, but there has been a dramatic jump in domestic violence, sex crimes and other destructive behavior in a force that has been stressed by a decade of war, according to an Army report released Thursday.

“There's a lot of good news in this report, but there's also some bad news,” the Army vice chief of staff, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, told a Pentagon news conference. “We know we've got still a lot of work to do.”

Suicides among active-duty soldiers and National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers not on active duty totaled 278 last year, down 9 percent from 2010.

“I think we've at least arrested this problem and, hopefully, will start to push it down,” Chiarelli said.

But violent sex crimes and domestic violence have increased more than 30 percent since 2006 and child abuse by 43 percent.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/military-suicides-drop-other-problems-on-rise/2012/01/19/gIQAYLcMDQ_print.html

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CDC: Many Teen Girls Unaware of How Easily They Can Get Pregnant

(WASHINGTON) -- Many adolescent girls are confused about how easy it is to become pregnant, especially when contraceptives aren't used, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Data taken from the 2004 to 2008 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System of females between 15 and 19 years old found that one in two teens who had an unwanted pregnancy reported that neither they nor their partner used birth control.

In the group that dispensed with contraceptives, a third of girls claimed that they didn't think they could pregnant at that time, 23 percent said their partner refused to use birth control and about the same number had no problem with getting pregnant.

[ CLICK HERE TO READ THE CDC REPORT ]

http://www.wtma.com/rssItem.asp?feedid=116&itemid=29787475

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Canada

Kits make mark on child protection

The Penticton community policing office and auxiliary police members are offering free child identification kits to parents this weekend.

“It's something nobody ever wants to have to dig out, but if your child ever does go missing, it can help bring closure to the case,” said Jim Porteous, Penticton safety co-ordinator. “It is a record that the parent can have available so that if their child should go missing, it can be a starting point for police to start tracking them.”

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Cherry Lane shopping centre, volunteers and auxiliary police members will be taking children's fingerprints to give to the parents to keep as part of a child identification kit. Porteous advises parents should take the prints, along with a small sample of their child's hair and an updated photo, and put them in safe spot.

The event will also serve to bring awareness to their volunteer-based Citizens on Patrol, speed watch and operation lockout auto crime programs. Porteous said in the past year Citizens on Patrol have increased their patrol hours in Penticton by about 20 per cent.

http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/news/137716753.html

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I want to thank all of you for the invitation to speak today and to share some thoughts on OJP's and the Justice Department's work with the nation's mayors, particularly in the area of youth violence. Before I do, though, I want to really applaud what you're doing to improve public safety in your cities. There is such innovation going on around the country – it's just exciting to hear about.

At the Department of Justice, we know protecting communities falls on your shoulders. Most crime, we know, is handled by local law enforcement, local prosecutors, and local judges, not to mention their local allies outside the justice system.

So your role in setting crime policy and directing public safety resources is really unique. No other government “CEO” has the kind of daily obligation to prevent and reduce crime that you do – not governors, not even the President. At the Department of Justice, we're proud to support your efforts – and I can tell you that the Attorney General and I continue to fight for critical funding for you through programs like JAG-Byrne and others – and I know Barney will talk in a moment about COPS funding.

http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/ojp/speeches/2012/ojp-speech-120119.html

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Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Remarks at the National Sheriffs' Association 2012 Winter Conference

WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today delivered remarks at the National Sheriffs' Association 2012 Winter Conference highlighting the Department's progress over the past three years working together with state and local law enforcement to build a safer, more secure and resilient nation.

“Homeland security starts with hometown security, and we all have a role to play,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We have made extraordinary progress in improving how we share information, train together, and build new capabilities while identifying and addressing evolving threats to enhance public safety and security.”

During her remarks, Secretary Napolitano underscored the Department's collaboration with law enforcement and first responders on countering violent extremism and human trafficking, reporting suspicious activity, securing the border and enforcing our nation's immigration laws, through training and information sharing initiatives. The Department continues its strong support for fusion centers, working in coordination with other federal partners, through training, technical assistance, technology and grant funding as well as the deployment of DHS intelligence officers to fusion centers, who work alongside their state and local counterparts to assess evolving threats and share information.

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/20120119-napolitano-sherriffs-association-2012-winter-conference.shtm

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Jan 19, 2012

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More body parts found near man's head in Hollywood Hills park

Police discover a hand, then another, and, as they are about to end their search for the day, they find two feet below the Hollywood sign.

As the sun set over the Hollywood Hills park where police spent Wednesday searching for human body parts, they still didn't have a name to go with the man's head discovered there a day earlier.

What they did have were two hands and two feet. Authorities were optimistic that the hands were in good enough condition to obtain fingerprints.

The homicide investigation began Tuesday afternoon after two dog walkers in Bronson Canyon Park noticed their dogs playing with a plastic bag and went to inspect it.

Inside was a man's head. His hair was graying. Police said he appeared to be in his 40s and that he probably had been dead for a day or two.

The discovery launched a massive search. More than 30 Los Angeles Police Department detectives and additional officers on horseback fanned out across seven acres of rugged parkland Wednesday.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0119-hollywood-head-20120119,0,5810837.story

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Washington Monument to get $7.5-million donation for repairs

The Associated Press reported Wednesday night that philanthropist David Rubenstein's gift will be announced Thursday.

Congress appropriated $7.5 million for the monument's repairs, with a matching amount to be raised privately. Rubenstein's gift delivers it all at once.

The iconic obelisk cracked in August during a magnitude 5.8 earthquake centered in Virginia. Cracks are visible on the outside, including one near the top that is 4 feet long and up to an inch wide, and the monument leaks when it rains.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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Court asked to reconsider ruling on bone marrow compensation

The Obama administration has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision last month to allow compensation to people donating bone marrow cells harvested from their bloodstreams.

In a petition for rehearing by the full U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. argued that the court ignored the intent of Congress to shield all organ sales from "market forces" when a three-judge panel ruled unanimously on Dec. 1 that marrow cells collected from blood aren't covered by the 1984 National Organ Transplant Act.

Congress amended that statute in 2005, after the less-invasive bloodstream harvesting of marrow was in widespread use. It clearly intended that such harvesting also be covered by the ban on organ sales, Holder said in the government's appeal, which was filed with the San Francisco-based court Tuesday.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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TSA apology? Two elderly women were screened improperly

The Transportation Security Administration has offered a mea culpa, of sorts, for the screening of two elderly women who said they were partially strip-searched at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport in November.

Yes, security screeners violated procedures when they asked the women, in separate incidents, to show them medical devices concealed beneath their clothing, said Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Betsy Markey in letters made public this week.

But Markey vehemently denied that the women were "strip-searched."

Lenore Zimmerman, 85, of Long Beach, N.Y., and 88-year-old Ruth Sherman, of Sunrise, Fla., became the focus of national media attention after they alleged in late November that they were partially strip-searched when traveling through Kennedy Airport.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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Viral Chicago beating video points to bewildering trend of posting alleged crimes online

CHICAGO — It seems to defy the logic of committing crimes in such way as to reduce the risk of getting caught: ruffians intentionally recording themselves on video beating and robbing someone, then posting it on YouTube so anyone anywhere can see it, including police.

The latest example of this disturbing but increasingly common phenomenon comes from Chicago, where police Wednesday arrested seven teens who apparently did just that. Their video had gone viral.

The practice, some experts say, is a modern twist on the age-old human penchant for boasting about one's exploits to impress the community at large and to warn perceived rivals that their group is more powerful than others.

“Medieval warriors putting the heads of their enemies on sticks, scalping and even school yard brawls in the ‘50s — they're all ways of displaying that dominance in public,” said Pam Rutledge, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based psychologist who heads the Media Psychology Research Center. “These news tools — the Internet, YouTube — just let you spread the word much farther.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/viral-chicago-beating-video-points-to-bewildering-trend-of-posting-alleged-crimes-online

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Jan 18, 2012

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Federal oversight of state prison healthcare to end

A report on how to wrap up six years of receivership is due by April 30. Many of the program's goals have been accomplished, judge says.

Reporting from Sacramento -- Federal oversight of prison healthcare in California is nearing an end, a judge said Tuesday, six years after he ruled that abysmal medical conditions were contributing to an inmate death every week.

U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson said Tuesday that healthcare in state lockups has improved significantly since he seized control of the system, a move that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

"While some critical work remains outstanding — most notably on construction issues — it is clear that many of the goals of the receivership have been accomplished," Henderson wrote in a three-page order.

State officials were rebuffed when they sought to end the receivership in 2009. On Tuesday, Gov. Jerry Brown applauded the judge's decision.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-me-prisons-20120118,0,4174737,print.story

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Supreme Court to schools: Take care with First Amendment

The court's action puts school officials on notice they may violate the First Amendment if they try to discipline students for online posts made from their home computers.

Last year, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that school officials cannot police “off-campus speech” by students unless they can show it caused a major disruption at school. Based on that standard, the appeals court upheld free-speech lawsuits by the students over profiles of their principal that one judge called “lewd and vile.”

In one case, an eighth-grade girl posted a mock profile of her principal with his photo that called him a “sex addict” who enjoyed “hitting on students” on his office. In a second, a high school senior from western Pennsylvania profiled his principal on MySpace as a drug user, a “big fag” and a “big whore.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez Indicted for Attempting to Assassinate the President of the United States

WASHINGTON—Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 21, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was indicted by a federal grand jury today for attempting to assassinate the president of the United States. The indictment stems from the November 11, 2011 shooting near the White House.

The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director of the FBI's Washington Field Office; and David Beach, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service.

The federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a 17-count indictment against Ortega-Hernandez, who has been in custody since his arrest November 16, 2011. In addition to the attempted assassination charge, Ortega-Hernandez was charged with assaulting federal officers with a deadly weapon, injuring property of the United States, and related firearms charges. The grand jury returned criminal charges against Ortega-Hernandez for violating District of Columbia law as well. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the charges carry a possible prison term of life imprisonment.

http://www.fbi.gov/washingtondc/press-releases/2012/oscar-ramiro-ortega-hernandez-indicted-for-attempting-to-assassinate-the-president-of-the-united-states

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Jan 17, 2012

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Homeless make up growing number of California welfare recipients

Number of CalWorks families without a permanent place to live has grown by 98% in the last five years.

When Genivive Jones lost her job last year and started bouncing between friends' homes and motels with her toddler daughter, she inadvertently joined one of the fastest-growing groups of state welfare recipients: homeless families who receive aid known as CalWorks.

Over the last five years, the number of CalWorks families without a permanent place to live has grown by 98%. That's nearly four times the growth of non-homeless families who are also getting assistance.

The increase shows how difficult it is for people on the lower rungs of the financial ladder to improve their situation in the current tough economy, experts say, especially because the average amount that Los Angeles County families get from the state has shrunk from $560 a month three years ago to $490 last October.

"The largest growth has been at that level of need where people are at the ledge of homelessness," said Michael Arnold, executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Grants could become even smaller if Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget passes. Brown wants to reduce CalWorks by about $1 billion.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare-20120117,0,6779013,print.story

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A thorough review of L.A. County's jails

The Christopher Commission would be a good model for the L.A. County jail panel.

Los Angeles County's jails have been under federal oversight for more than 25 years, yet complaints of brutality persist. In the last two years alone, some 30 sheriff's deputies have been disciplined for beating inmates or covering up abuse. And last week, a federal probe led to criminal charges against one jailer, with more likely to follow. So what role can the special commission created late last year by the Board of Supervisors have in sorting out this mess?

As it begins its investigation, it would do well to review the work performed in 1991 by the Christopher Commission, which helped transform the Los Angeles Police Department and restore its reputation after the Rodney King beating. That commission focused on identifying the structural flaws in the department.

Similarly, the jails commission could determine whether the deputy culture inside the lockups is part of the problem. It could consider whether rookie deputies, whose first job out of the academy is as jailers, receive appropriate supervision. And it could identify the shortcomings that allow excessive use of force to go unpunished.

Just as important, the commission's members — four retired judges, a pastor, a police chief and an expert on jails — ought to ensure that their work is as public and transparent as possible. Already, some on the panel have suggested that deputies should be allowed to testify anonymously, or even be granted immunity from criminal prosecution. That's a bad idea. The commission has no authority to offer immunity. Moreover, even anonymous or compelled testimony could compromise the concurrent and ongoing FBI investigation.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-commission-20120117,0,4638237.story

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Boy, 10, suspected of fatally stabbing friend, 12

A 10-year-old boy is suspected of fatally stabbing a 12-year-old friend in the chest with a kitchen knife, authorities say.

The older boy died Monday afternoon at a hospital after he was taken from his friend's home in El Cajon, about 15 miles east of San Diego, said the San Diego County sheriff's department. The mother of the 10-year-old was at home at the time of the stabbing, according to the U-T San Diego.

Sheriff's officials have taken the 10-year-old into custody. Sheriff's homicide Lt. Larry Nesbit says "the case will be up to the juvenile justice system."

It remained unclear whether the boy had been booked into the juvenile detention system. The sheriff's office did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press, but said in a statement early Tuesday that the boys' identities would not be released because of their ages.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/17/boy-10-suspected-fatally-stabbing-friend-12/

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Cincinnati holds gun buyback on King holiday

CINCINNATI – For the first time on the King holiday, a coalition of ministries and neighborhood groups here Monday held a different kind of anti-violence event: a gun buyback.

Organizers collected 50 operable guns of many types — handguns, rifles, shotguns and a couple of sawed-off shotguns in a two-hour gift-for-guns exchange at BLOC Ministries.

The bait: $100 gift cards from Kroger, Target, Walmart and Meijer. Private donations and religious congregations paid for the $5,000 worth of gift cards.

"We ran out of gift cards, not guns," said Arthur Phelps of the anti-violence group CIRV (Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence), one of the buy-back program's sponsors. "We had to turn people away."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-16/cincinnati-gun-buyback-king-holiday/52605892/1

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Arkansas

City Leaders Tackle Crime Prevention at Community Meeting

Former police officer provides glimpse behind men in blue

David M. Sullivan has been a retired police officer for more than a decade, but he still thinks like a cop. Originally from Pittsburgh, Sullivan retired after more than 25 years in the Air Force and - looking for a different direction - ended up on the streets of Dallas, Texas - in uniform.

Sullivan loved life as a street cop and calls himself “very pro-police.” The basis for his new book, The Police, the Public and Crime: Police/Politics/Community/Justice, takes a full and sometimes critical look at the culture of police institutions in U.S..

Neither a white-wash nor a sentimental journey about his life in blue, Sullivan's book takes the reader into the nuts and bolts of how police departments can be compromised by outside forces.

The book explores the dynamics within a structure where politics, within and outside that community can compromise departments and individuals. His sidebar topic is how those compromises, in turn, shape the public's perception.

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/pasadena/news/former-police-officer-provides-glimpse-behind-men-in-blue/article_bbd51824-2b8a-5014-a94c-d52a35ff1b58.html

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As grant money dwindles, police chiefs fear rise in crime

WASHINGTON -- Lebanon Police Chief Scott Bowen says his department would be "in dire straits" without the nearly $1.8 million it has received through the federal Community Oriented Policing Services program.

The program has allowed Lebanon to hire or keep 15 officers since 1995. That accounts for more than one-fifth of the city's 72-member police force.

But funding cuts mean COPS grants won't be easy to come by this year. And experts say the program, deemed wasteful by conservative critics, may soon be gone for good -- a possibility that leaves Bowen and other Tennessee police chiefs fearing a rise in crime.

Congress cut COPS funding by 66 percent in 2012, to $200 million from $586 million.

With a smaller budget, COPS will no longer provide grants to install security equipment in schools or to prosecute sexual predators who target children, according to Corey Ray, spokesman for the program at the Justice Department.

The bulk of COPS money this year -- between $100 million and $140 million -- will go toward hiring new police officers, Ray said. That's a steep reduction from last year's $238 million hiring fund.

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/200883/2/As-grant-money-dwindles-police-chiefs-fear-rise-in-crime-?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Cbc%7Clarge

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Jan 16, 2012

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Op-Ed

The Peace Corps kids are all right

Peace Corps volunteers shouldn't be pulled out of Central America.

My mother, reacting to the recent spate of alarmist headlines about "raging" violence and increased security measures affecting Peace Corps volunteers in Central America, has taken to calling me on a near-nightly basis.

"Just needed to hear your voice," she says to explain the call. "I'm fine, Mom," I respond. Frankly, it's getting annoying.

It's not that I don't appreciate the chance to speak with my mother. What bothers me is knowing that she is seriously worried. No matter how much I try to persuade her otherwise, she is convinced my life is in constant danger. Never mind that only one volunteer has been murdered in Guatemala in the 40-plus years the Peace Corps has operated there; as far as she's concerned, it's a war zone. Let me tell you (and her, for the thousandth time!): Guatemala is not Afghanistan. Not even close.

Americans who ride the bus in Guatemala are indeed often targets of pickpockets on the hunt for money, cellphones, cameras and iPods. Volunteers are no exception to this rule, and most of us have been fleeced at least once. It's usually a nonviolent affair, though, and, aside from the hassle of having to fill out Peace Corps reimbursement slips, it's not a big deal.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-metzker-peace-corps-in-central-america-20120116,0,6009069,print.story

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Calif. killings suspect's dad also homeless

YORBA LINDA, Calif. - Just days before being arrested, a Marine veteran suspected in the deaths of four homeless men in Southern California visited his father, who is himself homeless, warning of the danger of being on the streets and showing him a picture of one of the victims.

"He was very worried about me," Refugio Ocampo, 49, told The Associated Press on Sunday. "I told him, `Don't worry. I'm a survivor. Nothing will happen to me."'

The father also said his son came back a changed man after serving in Iraq, expressing disillusionment and becoming ever darker as his family life frayed and he struggled to find his way as a civilian.

The father said he lost his job and home, and ended up living under a bridge before finding shelter in the cab of a broken-down big-rig he is helping repair.

His 23-year-old son, Itzcoatl Ocampo, is awaiting charges in connection with the serial killings of four homeless men since late December.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57359613/calif-killings-suspects-dad-also-homeless/

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Ohio taking death penalty case to US Supreme Court

COLUMBUS, Ohio— Ohio's governor and attorney general said Sunday the state is asking the U.S. Supreme Court for a ruling that Ohio's protocol for carrying out the death penalty is constitutional.

Lorraine was condemned to death in the 1986 slaying of an elderly Trumbull County couple. But the federal appeals court said Friday his execution should be delayed to review changes Ohio has made in carrying out the death penalty.

Lorraine argued that Ohio broke its promise to adhere strictly to its execution procedures. But the state said that deviations from the procedures during the last execution were minor and that an inmate's rights would not be violated by changes, such as which official announces the start and finish times of an injection.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2012/01/15/ohio_taking_death_penalty_case_to_us_supreme_court/

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