Law Enforcement

Impound change okayed
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday his plans to adjust the rules for impounding cars driven by unlicensed drivers was cleared by prosecutors. "All of our procedures have been run through the city attorney's office," Beck said at his monthly media availability. "I don't do things in a vacuum," he said. "I have not only met with the city attorney on this, I've met with the district attorney on this, I've met with community groups." Beck says out of fairness, he plans to instruct officers to limit the use of a vehicle code statute that causes cars to be impounded for 30 days in the cases of some unlicensed drivers caught on a first offense.
KFI640 Los Angeles Daily News

Crime alerts for Pacoima and 14 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 15 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Four neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Pacoima was the most unusual, recording 12 reports compared with a weekly average of 5.0 over the last three months. Lake View Terrace topped the list of 11 neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD surrounds home after shots fired in Wilmington
A man suspected of shooting at Los Angeles detectives earlier this week could be holed up in a Wilmington home that was surrounded by police late Thursday night, law enforcement authorities told The Times. Officers saturated the area after a report of shots fired. A suspect was barricaded inside, law enforcement authorities said. A convoy of Los Angeles Police Department squad cars and trucks were responding late Thursday to the scene by South Avalon and East Lomita boulevards, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD seeks witnesses to Jack Sparrow, catwoman brawl in Hollywood
The Los Angeles Police Department is trying to sort of the details of a fight in front of the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday evening involving several people dressed as characters. The incident was the latest run-in between characters who pose for pictures with tourists and then aggressively demand money. In the most recent case, an unidentified man dressed as Jack Sparrow was pepper-sprayed by an attacker, police said. The attack occurred during a fracas involving people dressed as Catwoman, an alien and a second pirate, police sources said.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD searches for additional victims of actor accused of date rape
Investigators put out a call Thursday in their search for other possible victims of an aspiring actor who was arrested last year for allegedly sexually assaulting at least two women after taking them out on dates in the Hollywood area. Robert Aaron Stephens, 33, was arrested in February 2011 and charged with crimes including forcible rape, rape by use of drugs, sodomy by use of force and attempted forcible oral copulation, said Shiara Davila-Morales of the District Attorney's Office.
Los Angeles Daily News

Retired LAPD officer remembers North Hollywood shootout as 15th anniversary nears
It's one of those events that everyone has a story about. The date was February 28, 1997. Where were you when the North Hollywood shootout happened? LAPD Officer John Caprarelli didn't get to watch it unfold live on TV like most of us - he was on the frontlines. Now retired, Caprarelli is author of a new book - "Uniform Decisions: My Life In The LAPD And The North Hollywood Shootout" - about that fateful day.
CBS2

Super Bowl weekend kicks off with DUI checkpoints, patrols
Are you ready for some football (and DUI checkpoints)? Football fans and those who are just along for the drinks, be smart this Sunday. According to a LAPD news release, "LAPD vs. Drunk Driver's: Super Bowl XLVI Weekend," DUI saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints will be enforced all weekend to keep the streets safe.
LAist

Pensions

Why are we surprised by good news?
It turns out that its pension funds performed well enough last year to save the City $90 million in anticipated contributions. The cries of alarm from self-proclaimed experts looking to eliminate public pensions have been inversely proportional to the depth of the 2008 market collapse: the lower the market went, the louder their calls for ending public pensions became. Continuing to fund public pensions would lead to bankruptcy, they constantly claimed.
LAPPL Blog

Prisons

Refusal to fund California prison construction could delay end of federal oversight
For six years, a federal receiver has been in charge of fixing California's broken-down prison medical system. The receiver says he can finish the job soon, but he needs state lawmakers to pay the full $2.5 billion they promised for medical facilities. The state has already spent a billion dollars on improvements. Lawmakers now say they don't need to spend any more. The receiver worries that the improvements in prison medical care could slip away.
Southern California Public Radio

Legislation

Demi Moore 9-1-1 call sparks move to block recordings
News coverage of actress Demi Moore's recent medical emergency has led one California lawmaker to push for new restrictions on the release of taped recordings of 9-1-1 calls. Assemblywoman Norma Torres, D-Pomona, announced today that she plans to introduce legislation to "protect the privacy of 9-1-1 medical emergency calls."
Sacramento Bee