Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Hancock Park and eight other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in nine L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Five neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Hancock Park was the most unusual, recording four reports compared with a weekly average of 0.6 over the last three months. Historic South-Central topped the list of five neighborhoods with property crime alerts. It recorded 28 property crimes compared with its weekly average of 19.5 over the last three months.
Los Angeles Times

Help stop the parole of three unremorseful cop killers
Three of the four convicted New York City cop killers are up for parole in November 2012. We're asking you to send letters to the Parole Boards in opposition of their parole. The World Wide Web makes it easy to make a difference. Here's how you can help:
- Visit the NYC Patrolmen's Benevolent Association website (www.nycpba.org).
- Click on the "Keep Cop Killers in Jail" icon.
- Follow the on-screen directions to send letters opposing the parole of these cop killers.
LAPPL Blog

LAPD chief seeks appeal of $5.7M jury award
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck is urging that the city appeal a jury's decision to award $5.7 million to a convicted felon who was shot by police and paralyzed. The Los Angeles Times reports that Beck's reaction on Saturday comes after the jury agreed that 26-year-old Robert Contreras should be compensated for the injuries he suffered. Police shot him in 2005 when he fled the scene of a drive-by shooting. He allegedly turned toward officers with what they believed was a gun, but it turned out to be a cellphone.
Associated Press

Human remains found in Pacific Palisades
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the unidentified skeletal remains of a human body found Saturday morning near the entrance of Los Liones Canyon Trail in Pacific Palisades. According to police, West LAPD officers responded to a radio call of a death investigation at 10:45 a.m. near the trail entrance in the 500 block of Los Liones Drive. Two people were hiking near the trail when they spotted what appeared to be a human skull. They then reported what they saw at a nearby L.A. city fire station.
Pacific Palisades Patch

Man fatally shot in South Los Angeles
A man was fatally shot early Sunday morning in South Los Angeles, police said. The shooting was reported about 12:40 a.m. near South Central Avenue and 89th Street, according to Los Angeles police. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he was later declared dead. The victim has not been identified and the shooting remains under investigation.
Los Angeles Times

Safety enforcement operation aims to prevent car-vs.-pedestrian collisions on Tuesday morning in Northridge
Police will conduct a safety enforcement operation Tuesday near Cal State Northridge, where there has been a 57 percent increase in traffic collisions between pedestrians and vehicles. Officers with the LAPD's Valley Traffic Division along with the CSUN Police Department will conduct the enforcement operation from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at Reseda Avenue and Dearborn Street, in Northridge.
Los Angeles Daily News

Endeavour

Next for shuttle Endeavour: A two-day parade through L.A.
The public will get another chance to welcome space shuttle Endeavour to L.A. Following the shuttle's dramatic Friday flyover of California, Endeavour is to remain housed at a United Airlines hangar until next month. Then, a two-day parade from LAX to the California Science Center is scheduled to begin Oct. 12. The move prompted officials to cut down hundreds of trees and remove light standards to accommodate the large spacecraft. New trees will be planted later.
Los Angeles Times

Legislation

Some juvenile killers would get parole if Jerry Brown signs bill
Gov. Jerry Brown has until the end of the month to decide whether to sign a bill that would allow youths imprisoned without possibility of parole to be considered for release after 25 years. It puts California at the crossroads of a national debate over how to treat kids who kill.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

State to pink slip prison guards, parole officers next week
With the state's prison population shrinking rapidly by order of the U.S. Supreme Court, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is scaling back operations and issuing pink slips to many prison guards and parole agents next week. The downsizing comes a year after Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment plan took effect, when the CDCR handed off the supervision of certain low-level inmates and parolees to county sheriff's deputies and probation officers.
Los Angeles Daily News

City Election 2013

4 candidates for mayor debate in South L.A.
The four candidates for mayor sat in the pews at a historic black church in South Los Angeles on Saturday morning, their heads bowed in prayer. They had come to Brookins Community AME Church to debate a range of issues - from how to shrink the area's high unemployment rate to whether the new Crenshaw Line should be partially below ground. At stake was a slice of the city's significant African American electorate, which in local elections typically makes up about 13% of the vote.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Pension reforms may jeopardize privatization plans
Behind the scenes, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's pension reform proposal released last week could put plans to privatize the Los Angeles Zoo and the Convention Center on hold. While the mayor and Council President Herb Wesson say they remain in support of moving ahead with both proposals, the plan to bring in a private manager for the Convention Center was delayed again last week. And the proposal to have the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association take over operation of the zoo has remained stuck in the city bureaucracy with no movement in sight.
Los Angeles Daily News