Lakers' Kobe Bryant leads annual Homewalk to End Homelessness

For the second consecutive year, Bryant is the honorary chairman of the five-kilometer run and walk, which is part of the United Way's campaign to end poverty in Los Angeles County.

Registration is $25 for walkers and $30 for runners. The fee is waived for children 17 years old and under. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation will match every donation of $100 or more, with organizers expecting a record amount to be raised.

All proceeds are used to support organizations that move homeless veterans and chronically homeless people into permanent supportive housing.

Bryant said he became interested in trying to end homelessness because "it's an issue that's kind of faded into the background."

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_22017474/lakers-kobe-bryant-leads-annual-homewalk-end-homelessness

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Texas

Community-based policing begins with you

When my daughter was growing up, she would bring me all of her toys to fix, all her problems to solve and ask me all of the hard questions in life.
Her mother got the truly impossible questions. Later, as she grew older, there were fewer toys to fix, she learned how to solve more of her problems, and she broadened her base of sources to resolve the crises of life.

I was still included, but she was learning to be her own person and make her own decisions. It was humbling as well as rewarding to realize I was no longer the “Oracle at Delphi.”

Law enforcement is much the same in many ways. Initially, the community looks to them for all of the answers and to solve all of the problems. What are you doing about burglaries in the community? What are you going to do to stop gangs from growing? Why isn't the police department more sensitive to our needs and concerns? We are looking to you to fix everything. After all, it is your responsibility, and it is what we pay you to do.

For years, many departments operated under this philosophy, only to find out it was a losing battle. No department can be everywhere at all times and solve problems everyone assumed they knew all about but in reality, knew little if anything.

Communities also realized that, like the developmental process, they were major shareholders in the process and outcomes. It was no longer a “their (the police) problem and responsibility” it was an “our community and our future” issue.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/362522

Missouri

Mo. man charged with plotting 'Twilight' mass shooting

A 20-year-old Missouri man was charged Friday with planning a mass shooting this weekend at either a screening of the latest Twilight movie or a local Walmart.

Blaec Lammers, of Bolivar, is accused of buying assault rifles and more than 400 rounds of ammunition in a plot mimicking the July mass shooting that killed 12 and wounded 57 at an Aurora, Colo., theater showing the premiere of the latest Batman movie, the Springfield News-Leader reports.

Lammers was charged with first-degree assault, making a terroristic threat and armed criminal action. He is being held on $500,000 bail.

His mother contacted police Thursday, saying Lammers had bought assault weapons and ammunition, and was concerned he "may have intentions of shooting people at the movie," The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2, according to court documents. He told police he had bought a ticket for a Sunday show.

He then stated he might instead target the Walmart Supercenter in Bolivar "because if he ran out of ammunition he would be able to break the glass where the ammunition is stored and get more, writes the News-Leader, published by Gannett, USA TODAY's parent.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/16/twilight-missouri-man-charged-mass-shooting-plot/1710211/

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New York City

Man gets life in NYC subway plot

New York (CNN) -- A Bosnian immigrant who authorities said came within days of carrying out a plot to bomb New York City's subway system was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.

Adis Medunjanin, 34, had been charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction and conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda. After authorities foiled the plot, he then attempted to crash his car and kill himself and others.

Medunjanin chanted versus in Arabic from the Quran in front of Judge John Gleeson as a part of his statement to the court. He went on in English also criticized the U.S. for wars, hunger and torture.

Medunjanin's immediate family and extended wept as he spoke to the court.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/16/justice/new-york-terror-sentencing/?hpt=hp_t3

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Massive Red Cross response to Hurricane Sandy includes 33 local deployments

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The American Red Cross continues to provide food, shelter, relief supplies and comfort to many people still struggling in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Given the extensive scope of the damage, this is likely to be the most massive Red Cross response in the U.S. in the past five years, Red Cross officials said.

More than 5,800 Red Cross workers from all 50 states are supporting shelters, providing food and water, and driving through neighborhoods to distribute meals and supplies. About 90 percent of these workers are volunteers. Residents' needs are far from over, as discouraged and frustrated people clean out their homes and struggle with housing and emotional issues.

Locally, the Red Cross has deployed 33 volunteers so far, including Regional CEO Tim Miller. Some volunteers are extending their standard two-week volunteer period, because it is so important to them to ease the suffering of those affected by the storm.

In partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Red Cross has served 5.6 million meals and snacks from kitchens and feeding sites in New York and New Jersey. Last night, the Red Cross and other organizations housed about 1,800 people in 16 shelters.

http://www.lakeconews.com/option=com_content&view=article&id=28054:massive-red-cross-response-to-hurricane-sandy-includes-33-local-deployments

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Massachusetts

Holyoke Deploys Mobile Community Policing Truck to Neighborhood

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WGGB) — Consider the Mobile Community Policing truck a police substation on wheels.

“This is really a dynamic set of circumstances that I don't know is going on anywhere else in the country,” said Holyoke Police Chief James M. Neiswanger. “This is unique to Holyoke. Anybody will tell you, you can't put a street cop on every street corner or a community police officer on every street corner. The reality is because this is mobile, we can extend our range and our presence to those problem spots.”

In this case, the truck is parked across from 556 South Bridge Street. Surveillance video shows a constant stream of people in and out who police say are buying and selling drugs. It's less than a block from Morgan Elementary School.

The mobile unit is meant as a show of strength to criminals, but the officers are also there to show their commitment to law abiding people. They're talking to kids and their families in the area and are handing out information door to door,

“I feel very happy about them taking care of the community, the city taking care, better care than it was before,” said Hector Flores who lives nearby.

http://www.wggb.com/2012/11/16/holyoke-deploys-mobile-community-policing-truck-to-neighborhood/

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Minnesota

Concerned citizens keep watch in Superior

Mike Almond had four good reasons to join Superior's new Citizen Watch program: his daughters. “For me, first and foremost, it's my kids,” he said. “The more deterrent I have to keep drugs away from them, the better.”

He learned about the program when he approached Nora Fie, children's librarian at the Superior Public Library, about setting up a safety awareness class for children. As they worked on the class, tentatively scheduled for April, Community Policing Officer Bonnie Beste asked Almond to think about joining the Citizen Watch.

“I'll do my share,” said Almond, who lives on Oakes Avenue. “I'm just trying to do my part.” When Kathleen “Kitty” Otto learned the new Citizen Watch program was starting, she was quick to join along with her sisters Dawn Priem and Tammy O'Brien. All three women are former members of the Superior Police Auxiliary.

“The Neighborhood Watch is a good thing,” said Otto, who lives on Weeks Avenue. “It does, it keeps the crime down.”

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/250124/group/News/

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Nov 16, 2012

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Iran's nuclear program ready to ramp up

VIENNA - Iran is on the threshold of being able to create weapons-grade uranium at a plant it has heavily fortified against Israeli attack, diplomats told The Associated Press on Thursday, calling into question an Israeli claim that Iran had slowed its nuclear time table.

One of three diplomats who discussed the issue said Iran was now technically ready within days to ramp up its production of 20 percent enriched uranium at its Fordo facility by nearly 700 centrifuges. That would double present output, and cut in half the time it would take to acquire enough of the substance needed to make a nuclear weapon, reducing it to just over three months.

Such a move would raise the stakes for Israel, which has said it believes the world has until next summer to stop Iran before it can get nuclear material and implied it would have time to decide whether to strike Fordo and other Iranian nuclear facilities.

The two other diplomats who spoke to the AP could not confirm the 700 number. But both agreed that Tehran over the past few months had put a sizeable number of centrifuges at Fordo under vacuum. It takes only a few days to begin enrichment with machines that are under vacuum.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_22003734/irans-nuclear-program-ready-ramp-up

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Wisconsin

Watchful eyes of citizens

Mike Almond had four good reasons to join Superior's new Citizen Watch program, his daughters.

“For me, first and foremost, it's my kids,” he said. “The more deterrent I have to keep drugs away from them, the better.”

He learned about the program when he approached Nora Fie, children's librarian at the Superior Public Library, about setting up a safety awareness class for children. As they worked on the class, tentatively scheduled for April, Community Policing Officer Bonnie Beste asked Almond to think about joining the Citizen Watch.

“I'll do my share,” said Almond, who lives on Oakes Avenue. “I'm just trying to do my part.”

When Kathleen “Kitty” Otto learned the new Citizen Watch program was starting, she was quick to join along with her sisters Dawn Priem and Tammy O'Brien. All three women are former members of the Superior Police Auxiliary.

“The Neighborhood Watch is a good thing,” said Otto, who lives on Weeks Avenue. “It does, it keeps the crime down.”

http://www.superiortelegram.com/event/article/id/71990/

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Cedar Rapids Police Chief Asks Community for Help Stopping Gun Violence

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - New Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman made his first public plea Thursday, asking for witnesses to come forward to help stop a spike in gun violence.

Gunfire in the city this year is already up 34 percent, with 59 confirmed reports this year compared to 44 in all of 2011. At least 13 people have been shot, including two who died from their injuries. In the past 25 shooting incidents, including four in the past week, no arrests have been made.

Jerman, who started Oct. 29, said in a statement issued by the department Thursday that he is “outraged” that more witnesses are not coming forward with information to help solve the shootings.

“I am upset by the number of reports of shots fired and disappointed that more citizens are not coming forward with information to hold these offenders accountable,” Jerman said.

The bloodiest stretch of shootings happened in mid-April, when four people were shot in four days. One of them, 22-year-old Raphael Blackwell, died.

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Cedar-Rapids-Police-Chief-Asks-Community-for-Help-Stopping-Gun-Violence-179560341.html

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U.S. finds lack of accountability in Las Vegas police shootings

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday released the results of an investigation into the use of force and officer-involved shootings by Las Vegas police, finding a lack of accountability by the department.

The agency's investigation comes after Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers were involved in a record 25 shootings in 2010, the cap to a decade that saw that number top 20 three times, another first.

The surge in police use of force was documented in a five-part series in the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper last year that looked at dozens of shootings over two decades in which 142 civilians were killed and no officers were fired or prosecuted.

"The (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department) is taking too narrow an approach by just looking at whether an officer was in fear of his life - they're not holding officers accountable to adhere to the department's policies and principles," said James "Chips" Stewart of CNA, a Virginia-based research and analysis firm hired by the DOJ for the study.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/16/us-usa-lasvegas-police-idUSBRE8AF05U20121116

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Florida

Clearwater Police Recognized for Hispanic Outreach

Clearwater Police is profiled in a national report regarding police work in immigrant communities.

Clearwater Police Department is profiled in the Vera Institute of Justice's comprehensive report, "Engaging Police in Immigrant Communities: Promising Practices from the Field." The report serves as a guide for law enforcement agencies that are looking to begin or expand work with immigrant communities.

Clearwater Police is one of 10 agencies selected out of more than 200 nationwide to be featured for its positive practices in engaging immigrants in the community. learwater began its Hispanic Outreach Program, Operation Apoyo Hispano, in 2001 after recognizing the need to break down cultural and language barriers with a growing Hispanic community.

"Our Hispanic outreach efforts are a very important component of our community policing strategy," said Clearwater Police Chief Anthony Holloway. "We understand and recognize the value of positive and open communication with all members of our community whom we serve."

http://clearwater.patch.com/articles/clearwater-police-earn-recognition-for-hispanic-outreach

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Nov 15, 2012

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Arizona

U.S. Border Patrol under scrutiny for deadly force

NOGALES, Ariz. - A pair of Mexican drug smugglers in camouflage pants, bundles of marijuana strapped to their backs, scaled a 25 foot-high fence in the middle of the night, slipped quietly into the United States and dashed into the darkness.

U.S. Border Patrol agents and local police gave chase on foot - from bushes to behind homes, then back to the fence.

The conflict escalated. Authorities say they were being pelted with rocks. One agent responded by aiming a gun into Mexico and firing multiple shots at the assailant, killing a 16-year-old boy whose family says was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Oct. 10 shooting has prompted renewed outcry over the Border Patrol's use-of-force policies and angered human rights activists and Mexican officials who believe the incident has become part of a disturbing trend along the border - gunning down rock-throwers rather than using non-lethal weapons.

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has launched a probe of the agency's policies, the first such broad look at the tactics of an organization with 18,500 agents deployed to the Southwest region alone. The Mexican government has pleaded with the U.S. to change its ways. And the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has questioned the excessive use of force by Border Patrol.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21993788/u-s-border-patrol-under-scrutiny-deadly-force

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North Carolina

Fair Bluff police say community is helping them make arrests

FAIR BLUFF, NC (WECT) - Making nine arrests in two weeks, police in Fair Bluff have crossed off a list of nearly a dozen wanted suspects, and Police Chief Justin Hewett says that the community policing helped to catch the men and women.

"We have access to NC Aware now and CJ Leads," said Hewett. "When we pull vehicles over, we can run license plates. Plus, look and see if someone has a warrant."

http://www.wect.com/story/20100435/fair-bluff-police-getting-help-from-community

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California

San Jose seeks public input in police chief search

SAN JOSE -- San Jose officials are inviting residents to offer suggestions for what the city should look for in its next police chief in a series of public meetings starting the last week of November. "We're really checking back with our community," said David Vossbrink, a spokesman for City Manager Debra Figone.

Police Chief Chris Moore, 51, appointed in February 2011, surprised City Hall in September when he announced he'll retire at the end of January after just two years leading the department where he is a 26-year veteran.

A search for a successor already is under way, led by Teri Black-Brann whose public-sector executive recruitment firm had led the last effort that ultimately settled on in-house candidate Moore after the retirement of former Chief Rob Davis.

That effort involved dozens of community meetings to gauge public sentiment at a time when the department was rocked by critics who accused officers of heavy-handed enforcement tactics against Latinos, Asians and blacks.

"The theme the last time was 'culturally competent,' a chief committed to community engagement and community policing," Vossbrink said. "What we're doing now is a double-check: Has anything changed?"

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_21997148/san-jose-seeks-public-input-police-chief-search

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New Jersey

Police to Hold Emergency Preparedness Seminar

Tonight's meeting to focus on general emergency preparedness

Teaneck Police will hold an emergency preparedness seminar Thursday night, the latest in a series of public outreach efforts organized by the department's community policing unit.

Officers from the Community Policing Squad, working with the town's emergency management office, have held several meetings on various emergency situations. The presentations have been tailored for groups ranging from children to senior citizens, and can be taken as a whole or in parts.

Thursday's meeting will focus on general preparedness, according to the township. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at Police Headquarters, located at 900 Teaneck Road.

More information is available by calling the Community Policing Squad at 201-837-8759 or the police desk at 201-837-2600.

http://teaneck.patch.com/articles/police-to-hold-emergency-preparedness-seminar

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Nov 14, 2012

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Red Cross response to Sandy fails to meet expectations

ROCKAWAY PARK, N.Y. - Noreen Ellis begged the American Red Cross for help a few days after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the U.S. East Coast.

A 90-year-old bedbound woman living on Ellis's block needed to be moved from the Rockaways, an eight-mile long, narrow spit of land in New York City, to a shelter with heat and electricity.

"I said, 'This woman needs to be transported. Can you help?' And the Red Cross said, 'We don't do that,'" Ellis said.

She shot back: "What does the Red Cross do?"

Ellis's frustration, echoed by many residents in the places worst hit by Sandy across the New York region, exposed a gulf between what many people expected the charity to do in times of crisis and what it actually delivers.

In interviews with public officials and Red Cross staff, as well as first responders from other aid organizations, it has become clear the Red Cross was hampered by the sheer magnitude of the disaster, by its decision to position supplies and staff well outside the areas likely to be hardest hit by the storm, and by misperceptions about what kinds of relief it would provide in New York City.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/14/storm-sandy-redcross-idUSL1E8ME0JF20121114

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Illinois

A pervasive culture of silence in the Chicago Police Department led officers to try to cover up the brutal 2007 bar beating of a 115-pound bartender by a 225-pound off-duty officer, a federal jury has decided.

It was a big win for the plaintiff, Karolina Obrycka, who filed suit five years ago, and a big loss for the city. The jury awarded Obrycka $850,000 in damages Tuesday, deciding the police department had enabled the disgraced officer, Anthony Abbate, and shielded him from the attack's consequences until the case went public.

“Nobody tells me what to do!” Abbate had shouted at Obrycka during the 2007 attack after she told him he'd had enough to drink and refused to serve him any more alcohol. The assault, captured by a widely-circulated security video at Jesse's Short Stop Inn, shows the huge officer tossing the small bartender to the ground and beating her with his fists and feet.

He'd gotten into two other fights that evening, during which video showed he'd been shouting “Chicago Police Department!” while flexing, according to the Chicago Tribune. When Chicago police initially investigated Obrycka's case, they decided Abbate had committed a misdemeanor, not a felony, and detectives had Obrycka sign forms saying as much.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-chicago-police-code-silence-20121114,0,4931059.story

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Nov 13, 2012

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California

Bayview Officer Specializes in Community Policing

“She's the type of person every station captain wants on their staff,” said Bayview Station Acting Captain Robert O'Sullivan, of San Francisco Police Officer Sue Lavin-Mann. Lavin-Mann has been at the Bayview Station for the past 10 years. Prior to that, she worked with the Sheriff's Department, stationed at the County Jails, which she said served as a stepping stone to her current position.

Lavin-Mann grew up in Ireland. She immigrated to the United States after she graduated high school. After moving to San Francisco she earned a degree in criminal justice from City College.

Lavin-Mann's duties include code enforcement and policing the area's homeless population, among other responsibilities. “I enjoy my job because I get to work on something from start to finish,” Lavin-Mann said. “Also, I enjoy solving community problems.” Lavin-Mann focuses on community policing, acting as a liaison between residents and business owners and the City to solve neighborhood problems. Lavin-Mann has helped arrest people for stealing copper and other metals from vacant buildings, and is involved in efforts to improve Bayview parks. “Community policing seems to become more and more important each year,” Lavin-Mann said.

“She's a great help; phenomenal.” said Olia Jegik, owner of Skool restaurant, which is located on the corner of Alameda and De Haro streets. When three to four cars were being broken into every night outside Skool, Jegik called Lavin-Mann for help. “She did not leave us alone when customer's cars outside our restaurant were being broken into. I was afraid we would lose all those customers. She's just a woman of her word.”

http://www.potreroview.net/news10870.html

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Minnesota

Police Chiefs Association Honors Hopkins With Community Policing Award

The award recognizes departments that partner with others in the community to proactively address crime.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police and Cisco Systems has honored the Hopkins Police Department with the 2012 Community Policing Award.

The award recognizes law enforcement agencies worldwide for outstanding community policing, a philosophy that's about working with local partners to proactively address the conditions that lead to crime.

Hopkins was the winner for communities with populations smaller than 20,000 people.

“This isn't a Police Department award; this is a community award,” Police Chief Mike Reynolds said, noting the support the department has received from local nonprofits, churches and other city departments.

http://hopkins.patch.com/articles/police-chiefs-association-honors-hopkins-with-community-policing-award#video-12129759

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New York

Police Relations Exposed in Council, Court and Class

The police department's most controversial crime prevention strategies are coming under increased scrutiny with politicians debating their merit and the court system ruling on their constitutionality.

In the meantime, the question remains: Are tactics like stop and frisk and Operation Clean Halls “putting a distance between police and communities?”

That was a question addressed at “Crime and the Numbers Game,” a lecture and discussion held at the Monroe College King Graduate School for Urban Studies and Applied Research. Eli B. Silverman, an emeritus professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, led the discussion to an audience packed with students, professors and community members.

Silverman took an in-depth look inside the NYPD's manipulation of crime data, the surge of stop and frisk encounters, the increased use of police force in the Bronx and the crucial need for NYPD reforms.

http://www.norwoodnews.org/id=9668&story=police-relations-exposed-in-council-court-and-class/

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Chicago

In Chicago, Violence Soars And Witnesses Go Silent

As the number of shootings goes up, police are making fewer and fewer arrests for those violent crimes, leaving a staggering number of cases unsolved. Police blame a long-standing attitude for the failure to make arrests: you just don't snitch to police.

It's an old problem and an old code — "don't snitch." And it exists everywhere.

But in Chicago, where homicides and shootings are up significantly this year, that old code is leaving a rising number of violent crimes unsolved. Chicago Police Department statistics show arrests are being made in about 30 percent of shooting homicides, while close to 80 percent of nonfatal shootings are going unsolved.

When police can't find and arrest the perpetrators, they worry that the shooters will soon shoot again.

Witness Protection

"It's very frustrating," says Chicago Police Sgt. Cesar Guzman, a detective with the department's violent crimes unit. He describes one of the city's hundreds of unsolved shooting homicides, which happened earlier this year on the city's impoverished west side, along a wide boulevard.

http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=163242604

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Nov 12, 2012

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Ohioans' food stamp aid to be cut

Benefit to fall $50 a month starting in January

Ohio families receiving food stamps could get an unwelcome surprise come January: $50 less every month in assistance. For the 869,000 households enrolled in the program for the poorest Ohioans, that could amount to about $520 million annually out of the grocery budgets.

Because of the way the federal government calculates utility expenses for people receiving the benefit, a mild winter nationwide last year, and a lower price for natural gas, many families could experience a significant cut in aid, those familiar with the program say.

Recipients should get a letter from the state Department of Job and Family Services this month explaining the change, said Ben Johnson, a spokesman for the agency. Meanwhile, food banks and others that distribute food assistance are bracing for increased demand.

http://www.toledoblade.com/State/2012/11/12/Ohioans-food-stamp-aid-to-be-cut.html

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From ICE

Detainee Intercultural Center is a place for spiritual reflection

The newly-established Detainee Intercultural Center at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) El Paso Processing Center in Texas is a place where men and women in ICE custody can reflect, meditate and worship. The modest 13-by-55 foot structure is part of the existing building.

"The El Paso Processing Center is the only ICE detention facility in the country with such a dedicated center," said Sandra Marinelarena, the interim assistant field office director, addressing the group of attendees at the center's dedication ceremony held in early October.

"The new Detainee Intercultural Center, not onlyserves the spiritual needs of people in our custody, but it's part of ICE's larger effort to reform the immigration detention system as a whole," said ICE Field Office Director Adrian Macias. "For the past three years, ICE has been making a concerted effort to move away from a punitive immigration detention system to one that's more suited to civil immigration. The Detainee Intercultural Center in El Paso is another positive step in that direction."

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1211/121108elpaso.htm

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