Law Enforcement

Crime prediction tool pilot successful
A crime prediction tool has been successfully piloted by the Los Angeles Police Department. Several years ago, it challenged a team comprising two mathematicians, a criminologist, and an anthropologist to come up with a way to prevent crime before it happens. The result is PredPol, designed to put police on the scene before crime happens. It led to a 12 per cent drop in crime in the Foothill Division of Los Angeles and a 27 per cent drop in crime in Santa Cruz.
Police Oracle

Hollywood intersection dedicated to 'Onion Field' victim
LAPD Officer Ian Campbell's last breaths were in the dirt of a Kern County onion field. It was March 9, 1963, and he and his partner, Karl Hettinger, had been driven to the area at gunpoint. Hettinger managed to escape but Campbell was shot and killed, and his death was chronicled by author Joseph Wambaugh in his classic "The Onion Field" and a later film. Campbell's name will now be memorialized in the neighborhood that he patrolled, said L.A. city officials who on Friday dedicated a Hollywood intersection to the slain officer.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD accepting community police academy applicants
The Los Angeles Police Department's Topanga Division station, which serves Woodland Hills and other local areas, is accepting applicants for the upcoming Community Police Academy. The academy gives community members the opportunity to experience some of what LAPD officers go through during their own training. During the course of the sessions, participants will learn about the law, the varying types of force an officer may use during different situations, crime scene investigation and more.
Woodland Hills Patch

Two dead in apparent landlord-tenant dispute
A simmering dispute between a Westside landlord and tenant turned deadly Saturday when a 56-year-old man allegedly shot his landlord to death, then killed himself, authorities said. Los Angeles Police Officer Sara Faden said officers responding to a call for an ambulance in West Los Angeles early Saturday found Alphonse Bernardin Jr., 80, with two gunshot wounds to the chest. Faden said Bernardin was inside his home in the 2400 block of Colby Avenue and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Los Angeles Times

Suspects sought in Jefferson Park liquor store shooting
Police were searching for multiple suspects following a fight at a Jefferson Park liquor store that ended when one man was shot, authorities said Sunday. Officers responded shortly after 11 p.m. to Sammy's Liquor in the 2800 block of Jefferson Boulevard, where a 24-year-old San Gabriel man had sustained gunshot wounds in the shoulder and collarbone, said LAPD Sgt. Chris Mayberry. The man was taken to California Hospital Medical Center and reported to be in stable condition, Mayberry said.
Los Angeles Times

Woman's body found stabbed in Boyle Heights
The body of a woman who had been stabbed was found early Sunday in an industrial section of Boyle Heights, Los Angeles police said. Officers found the woman, described as being in her 40s, with stab wounds at the intersection of 7th and Rio streets about 1:20 a.m., said Officer Cleon Joseph. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, Joseph said. Police did not have any information on a possible suspect.
Los Angeles Times

Homeland Security

Concerns arise that civilian drones can be hijacked
They've become the eyes and ears of the military. Small, unmanned aircraft systems designed and built by AeroVironment Inc. at a Simi Valley plant are being used extensively by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They can hover, swoop and fly at altitudes high enough to operate virtually undetected while providing live streaming video of enemy operations. But there's just one glitch - they can be hijacked. Or at least Professor Todd Humphreys suspects they can.
Los Angeles Daily News

Immigration

Bill would drop immigration hold for those suspected of minor offenses
Blanca Perez was selling ice cream in the San Fernando Valley last year when police arrested her, seized her cart, tossed her frozen treats and sent her fingerprints to federal immigration authorities. She pleaded guilty to illegal vending and, just as she was to be released, was told she was to be held for officers of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Sacramento Bee

Pensions

A path to poverty
We've used this space on at least three occasions in the past two years to warn of the dangers of pushing Americans out of traditional defined pensions and into 401k plans. Our point has been that reliable and secure retirement incomes cannot be provided by 401k plans. Moreover, traditional pension plans have stood the test of time as a cost-effective and proven retirement instrument to provide the American worker with a secure and dignified retirement.
LAPPL Blog

Prisons

California unlikely to meet prison crowding reduction requirement
California's progress in relieving its teeming prisons has slowed so much that it probably won't comply with a court-ordered population reduction, and judges have raised the prospect of letting some inmates out early. Three federal jurists have given the state until Friday to come up with a schedule for identifying prisoners "unlikely to reoffend or who might otherwise be candidates for early release" and to detail other ways to hasten the emptying of double-bunked cells.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Venice zip line speeds ahead after board denies residents' appeal
Angelenos and tourists alike could soon be speeding over the Venice boardwalk on a new zip line. On his blog Friday, Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl's staff announced that the Los Angeles Board of Public Works unanimously denied an appeal by residents who opposed the project because of concern about noise, access to the beach and ocean views. The pilot program will now head to the California Coastal Commission for a permit.
Los Angeles Times