Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for West Hills, Westwood and 10 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 12 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Eight neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. West Hills was the most unusual, recording four reports compared with a weekly average of 0.3 over the last three months. Westwood topped the list of four neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

A rough arrest in Los Angeles
I have not risen far in the command structure of the Los Angeles Police Department. Now and again I regret this (on pay days, usually), but most often I am comfortable with the decision I made long ago to remain close to the rough and tumble of police work on the street. And sometimes events so arrange themselves as to provide me with even more reason to be content with my place on one of the lower rungs of the chain of command. When I have finished my duties for the day (or night, as the case may be), I drive home to my family with little thought about what might be happening back at work.
Jack Dunphy/Pajamas Media

Amber Alert arrest
A man was arrested in Santa Ana on Monday on suspicion of domestic violence against his wife and step-daughter after a two-county search triggered by an erroneous report that the girl had been kidnapped, police said. The girl had blood on her arms when she jumped out of a 2007 blue four- door Nissan Altima and shouted for help at a gas station in the 1000 block of West Anaheim Street in Wilmington in L.A.'s Harbor Area around 8 p.m. Sunday, said Lt. Andy Neiman, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.
City News Service

Captain Paul Snell transferred out of Van Nuys Division
Beginning Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department Van Nuys Division was under the watch of two new captains, as former captain Paul Snell has been transferred to the Southwest Division of LAPD, which encompasses the University of Southern California and the Coliseum. Taking over for Snell as Area Captain is Ivan Minsal, the former Valley Traffic Division Captain. Taking over as Patrol Captain is Brian Pratt, former Patrol Captain in the Northeast Division.
Sherman Oaks Patch

Memorial for slain CHP Officer Ken Youngstrom set for Thursday
A public memorial for California Highway Patrol Officer Kenyon Youngstrom, 37, who was shot during a routine traffic stop along I-680 near Walnut Creek last week, will be held Thursday in Vacaville. Law enforcement officers from across the state are expected to attend the memorial at Mission Church at 10 a.m. Meanwhile, the Fairfield community is continuing to raise money for Youngstrom's family.
NBC Bay Area

FBI investigates Calif. bank heist, alleged kidnap as possible "copycat" case
A California bank heist last Wednesday in which a Bank of America manager says she was told to strap what she believed was a bomb to her midsection and forced to order employees to "take out all the money" from her branch bears a striking resemblance to another bank robbery over a decade ago - a resemblance authorities are investigating. In November of 2000, Michelle Renee told police she was kidnapped at her home, along with her 7-year-old daughter Breea and their adult roommate Kimbra, strapped with a fake bomb and forced to take $360,000 from the Bank of America branch she managed in Vista.
CBS News

Death Penalty

LA judge refuses to order one-drug executions
A judge turned down a bid Monday by the Los Angeles County district attorney to order the immediate execution of two death row prisoners by a new single-drug injection method. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler said he did not have jurisdiction to order the procedure that has never been used in California. Executions in the state have been on hold for years while appellate courts consider the legality of the three-drug protocol now in place.
Associated Press

Pensions

Moody's says Calif. pension fix is positive step
Moody's is calling California's pension reform plan a positive development for the state and local governments. The ratings agency said Monday that the bill helps the credit outlook for California and local governments, many of which participate in state plans. Lawmakers approved a pension reform bill last month that significantly reduces retirement benefits for new workers. Moody's says cities and counties will save the most because employees will have to start paying half their retirement costs.
Associated Press

Immigration

L.A. to consider multi-use library cards for illegal immigrants
Los Angeles officials are considering a plan to turn the library card into a form of identification that the city's large illegal immigrant population could use to open bank accounts and access an array of city services. The City Council last month voted unanimously to study the plan, which would have Los Angeles join the growing number of cities across the nation that offer various forms of identification to undocumented workers and others who cannot get driver's licenses because of their immigration status.
Los Angeles Times

California Border Patrol immigrant apprehensions fall to new low
With the economy still down, sneaking across the California border just isn't as tempting as it once was for illegal immigrants. The number of apprehensions by the California Border Patrol fell from about 101,000 in 2010 to 73,000 during 2011, according to new figures from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The number of immigrants apprehended at the California border has fallen 65 percent since the start of the recession and nearly 90 percent since 1992.
Sacramento Bee