New law: Texting on hands-free devices while driving will be legal Jan. 1

California drivers, feel free to text away -- as long as you don't use your fingers.

Much to the chagrin of many motorists disturbed by the growing problem of distracted drivers, a new state law kicks in Tuesday that will allow anyone behind the wheel to receive and send a text message as long as they are using technology designed to allow for a fully voice-operated, hands-free operation.

"A bad idea," said Eric Nordman, a 54-year-old mechanical engineer from Palo Alto. "There are enough distracted drivers out there without adding to the problem."

Proponents say ever-changing technology makes the new law inevitable, and they say it's better than having drivers type messages from handheld phones with their eyes off the road.

A driver going 55 mph while typing can cover the length of a football field without looking up, studies have shown.

The texting change is one of several new traffic laws to go into effect in 2013, including one setting standards on the use of red-light cameras and another allowing drivers to park free at locations where meters are broken.

http://www.dailynews.com/traffic/ci_22275963/new-law-texting-hands-free-devices-will-be

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Ohio

Ohio's youngest inmates have become its most dangerous

The most violent prisons in Ohio aren't the maximum-security facilities or those housing Death Row inmates.They're those holding teenager.

There were more assaults than inmates last year at Ohio's youth prisons, where the rate of assaults per inmate was 48 times greater than in adult lockups. An annual assessment filed this month by a court-appointed monitor said the conditions of the facilities are improving and that in certain areas, the state Department of Youth Services serves as a model for the nation.

But several Department of Youth Services staff members who spoke with The Dispatch said there isn't enough discipline in the youth prisons and talked of dangerous environments for both staff and teens.

“We need help. And we can't get it because everybody is scared to tell, because they don't want to lose their job; but I've got to tell somebody,” said a youth specialist who works at the Circleville Juvenile Correctional Facility. He did not want his name published for fear of retaliation.

“Sooner or later, somebody is going to get killed,” he said.

Violence, gangs scar Chicago community in 2012

CHICAGO (AP) — It was February, the middle of lunch hour on a busy South Side street. The gunman approached his victim in a White Castle parking lot, shot him in the head, then fled down an alley.

The next month, one block away, also on West 79th Street: Two men in hooded sweatshirts opened fire at the Bishop Golden convenience store. They killed one young man and wounded five others, including a nephew of basketball superstar Dwyane Wade. The shooters got away in a silver SUV.

In July, a Saturday night, two men were walking on 79th when they were approached by a man who killed one and injured the other. This shooting resulted in a quick arrest; police had a witness, and a security camera caught the shooting.

These three violent snapshots of a single Chicago street are not exceptional. It's been a bloody year in the nation's third-largest city.

A spike in murders and shootings — much of it gang-related — shocked Chicagoans, spurred new crime-fighting strategies and left indelible images: Mayor Rahm Emanuel voicing outrage about gang crossfire that killed a 7-year-old named Heaven selling candy in her front yard. Panicked mourners scrambling as shots ring out on the church steps at a funeral for a reputed gang leader. Girls wearing red high school basketball uniforms, filing by the casket of a 16-year-old teammate shot on her porch.

2012 - The Year in Review -- A Look at FBI Cases, Part 1

The FBI worked thousands of investigations during 2012, involving everything from extremists bent on terror to cyber thieves, financial fraudsters, and child predators. As the year comes to a close, we take our annual look back at some of the Bureau's most significant cases.

Part 1 focuses on our top investigative priority —protecting the nation from terrorist attack. Working with local, state, federal, and international partners, we thwarted a number of potential attacks on U.S. citizens at home and abroad.

Passing driver comes to the rescue of girl ready to jump from freeway overpass

At first, Jay Schaefer saw a bicycle parked on a Hollywood Freeway overpass. Then a 16-year-old girl perched on an outside ledge. Then the rush of Friday afternoon traffic below.

The plumber whipped a U-turn, leaped from his truck and held onto the girl for dear life.

"It was definitely not the norm," said Schaefer, 42, of Sun Valley. "I asked her if she was OK. She said, 'No, she wanted to die.' "Then I said, Let me help you, I'll do anything to help you."

The plumber for Drain Router Plumbing of Canoga Park was the first good Samaritan to help prevent a suicide at Whitsett Avenue and the 170 Freeway in North Hollywood.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_22276681/passing-driver-north-hollywood-comes-rescue-girl-ready

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Urban meth is no urban myth as more labs showing up in cities, suburbs

ST. LOUIS - Methamphetamine lab seizures are on the rise in the nation's cities and suburbs, raising new concerns about a lethal drug that has long been the scourge of rural America.

Data and interviews from an investigation by The Associated Press found growing numbers of meth lab seizures in cities such as St. Louis, Kansas City, Mo., Nashville, Tenn., and Evansville, Ind. Authorities are also seeing evidence that inner-city gangs are becoming involved in meth production and distribution.

"No question about it - there are more labs in the urban areas," said Tom Farmer, coordinator of the Tennessee Methamphetamine and Pharmaceutical Task Force. "I'm seeing car fires from meth in urban areas now, more people getting burned."

The increase in labs is especially troubling because meth brought into the U.S. from Mexico also is becoming more pervasive in urban areas. The Associated Press reported in October that so-called Mexican "super labs" are upping production, making meth more pure and less expensive, and then using existing drug pipelines in big cities.

Data obtained by AP shows that homemade meth is on the rise in metropolitan areas, too.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_22273662/urban-meth-is-no-urban-myth-more-labs

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Tale of two cities: Homicides plummet in New York, leap in Chicago

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was crowing.

"The number of murders this year will be lower than any time in recorded city history," Bloomberg said Friday in a statement announcing that homicides in the city this year had fallen to 414 — the fewest since it started keeping such statistics in 1963.

About the same time Friday, Chicago police were trying to get the message out that their city hadn't actually recorded its 500th homicide this year, as was being reported. A few hours later, they had to backtrack and acknowledge that, yes, in fact, "the city has seen its 500th homicide for 2012."

That's right: There were more homicides this year in Chicago than in New York, a city with three times the population. That means Chicagoans were proportionally 3.7 times more likely to be homicide victims than New Yorkers were in 2012:

"We've obviously seen, as a city, our shootings and our homicides going in a different direction," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said this month at a graduation ceremony for police recruits, vowing, "We will not rest" until that trend is reversed.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/29/16218098-tale-of-two-cities-homicides-plummet-in-new-york-leap-in-chicago?lite

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Dec 28, 2012

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Los Angeles

L.A. man arrested, accused of setting homeless woman on fire as she slept on Van Nuys bus bench

Dennis Petillo, 24, of Los Angeles was arrested shortly after the attack, which was reported at 12:51 a.m. at Van Nuys Boulevard and Sherman Way, officials said. He was jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Witness Erickson Ipina of North Hollywood told a camera crew he saw the suspect go into a nearby Walgreens and buy what appeared to be rubbing alcohol.

"He just poured it all over the old lady, then he threw a match on her, and then started running," Ipina said. "I was following him and then I pulled out my cellphone. I called 911 and he just turned back on me and pulled out a knife, and he told me, `Stop following me or I will cut you,"'

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_22271855/l-man-arrested-accused-setting-homeless-woman-fire

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Iowa

Iowa stance on immigrant driver's licenses criticized

The decision could affect almost 5,000 young Iowa immigrants who have been allowed to stay and work in the U.S. under Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Immigrant advocates are criticizing Thursday's decision by the Iowa Department of Transportation to deny driver's licenses to young people whom the Obama administration has allowed to stay and work in this country.

However, state officials say the decision — which could affect almost 5,000 Iowa immigrants — is simply intended to comply with state law and federal guidelines. In addition, key leaders in the Iowa Legislature say they have no plans to enact measures requiring DOT officials to issue driver's licenses to such workers.

The decision is bad news for Omar Del Jesus Mex Valle, 24, of Denison, who is participating in a new federal program that lets him temporarily remain in the U.S. He's a native of Campeche on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula who came to Iowa when he was 15 years old to join his mother and father, who immigrated here illegally. He told The Des Moines Register on Thursday that the agency issued him an Iowa DOT driver's license in October after he passed a written exam and a behind-the-wheel test.

Now he faces the imminent loss of his driver's license. "Oh, my gosh! I already have it," he said. "I hope they don't take it from me. I need it to go to my job, and to do stuff for my family."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2012/12/27/iowa-immigrant-drivers-licenses/1795427

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California

Former LA Police Chief Hired To Help Oakland Reduce Crime

OAKLAND (CBS/AP) – Besieged by spikes in murders and violent crime, Oakland city officials said Thursday they have hired former New York City police commissioner and Los Angeles police chief Bill Bratton as a consultant.

Police Chief Howard Jordan said Bratton, regarded as an international expert on reducing crime, combating gang violence and improving police-community relations, will help develop strategies to reduce the violence in one of America's most dangerous cities.

Bratton will be joining noted police strategist Bob Wasserman, head of the Boston-based Strategic Policy Partnership, who also has consulted many of the nation's biggest cities on policing.

They will report to Jordan, Mayor Jean Quan and City Administrator Deanna Santana. Wasserman, who began in September, is conducting a “top-to-bottom” review of the department, Jordan said. Bratton is expected to join early next year. “They will give us recommendations, and it is up to me to make sure they're implemented,” Jordan said at a news conference. “Because at the end of the day, it's my responsibility to ensure that policing is done at a lawful and constitutional manner that is also effective and efficient to reduce violent crime.”

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/12/27/248287/

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Pennsylvania

Lower Providence Police Getting a Bit more ‘Social'

Lower Providence residents are liking that they can they can see local crime alerts, safety tips and directly interact with their local police department through its new Facebook page.

As of Dec. 27, the Lower Providence Police Department's Facebook page has 390 likes, which is a happy surprise to some members of the department, as the page is just over a month old.

“It's very impressive and exciting,” Lower Providence Police detective Michael Jackson said. “It's great because people want to help and it's interesting content.”

Lower Providence Police Department (LPPD) joined Facebook Nov. 23. It has since grown its page likes and fan interaction through the posting of hyper-local crime alerts and safety tips straight from the police department to residents' fingertips.

Updating the Community Policing Philosophy

Jackson, who joined the Lower Providence Police Department in 2001, is credited for bringing up the idea of putting the LPPD on Facebook. In turn, he credits his wife for introducing him to the social media outlet three years ago.

http://lowerprovidence.patch.com/articles/lower-providence-police-getting-a-bit-more-social

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Connecticut

Traumatized Newtown Cops Unable to Work & at Risk of Losing Paychecks

In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre , a few Newton cops are suffering from severe emotional distress and are unable to return to work. About 15 police officers have been “critically affected” by the horror they witnessed as first responders, and a handful of them have been taking sick leave to try to recover from the trauma.

That sick leave is about to run out though, and the officers will be left without a paycheck. The union, Council 15 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is advocating for lawmakers for expanded workers' compensation benefits for witnesses of horrific crime scenes. Currently, employees are only covered for mental impairment “as the result of using or being subjected to deadly force -- but not for those who witness crime scenes with mass casualties.”

On December 14, Adam Lanza walked into two first grade classrooms and repeatedly shot and killed 20 children and six adults, before turning the gun on himself. The children were shot between two and eleven times each, and most died on scene. There is no known motivation for shooting.

This is probably the worst crime scene that a cop will ever walk into. By the time the first responders got there, it was over. There was no adrenaline of walking into a live gunfight to distract from the dead children and the terrified faces of the survivors. There's no sense, no reason, and nothing to be done but sweep the area and notify families. 20 families that each have to be told that their precious child has been murdered by a mad man.

http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/148766/traumatized_newtown_cops

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Human trafficking and other causes: Donate wisely during the holidays

RICHMOND, VA December 27, 2012 ? ‘Tis the season for baking cookies and shopping, singing carols and gift-wrapping; for spending time with family, calling on friends, and spreading holiday cheer to those we know and love. 'Tis also the season for donating time, money, and gifts in-kind to worthy causes and charitable organizations.

As our nation struggles to recover from an economic recession, charitable organizations are faced not only with budget cuts, but also with a greater demand for their services. As a result, nonprofits have a growing need for private donations just when their resources are at an ebb. As a columnist and speaker, I often encourage my audiences to support their local charities, especially youth-based organizations. While I urge you to donate generously to any charity, I also warn you to be wise about your investment.

Human trafficking is an issue which has gained a wildfire of attention recently; and in turn, scores of anti-trafficking organizations and campaigns have cropped up across the country. The increased attention to this heinous crime and its victims is positive; however, the list of nonprofits is growing so rapidly that it's nearly impossible to keep up with it. Many of these groups aren't yet listed with reputable watchdog organizations like Charity Navigator or GuideStar. If you choose to support an innovative, local anti-human trafficking group, then the responsibility of vetting falls on you, the donor.

CharityWatch offers ten tips for “ Giving Wisely,” the first of which is to “know your charity.” CharityWatch recommends that you request detailed information including a list of the board of directors, financial statements, and a mission statement. I encourage you to take your time in reading the mission statement. If the organization's mission is unclear to you, then it's likely unclear to the organization as well. While it may change over time, the mission statement must have a clear baseline. Without this, neither you nor the organization can understand its goals or boundaries.

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/speaking-out/2012/dec/27/human-trafficking-and-other-causes-donate-wisely-d/

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Dec 27, 2012

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US law enforcement deaths dropped in 2012, nonprofit report says

WASHINGTON – The number of law enforcement officers who died performing their duties in the U.S. declined by about 20 percent in 2012 after rising the two previous years, a non-profit organization reported Thursday.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund said in a report that 127 federal, state and local officers have died so far on the job. The majority of officers who died were either shot or were victims of traffic accidents, figures show. City and county police officers comprised most of the victims, but the list also includes a prison guard in Indiana who suffered a heart attack while responding to an unruly inmate, a deputy sheriff in Missouri who was fatally shot while responding to an ambush and a Coast Guard officer who was killed off the California coast while pursuing a vessel suspected of smuggling.

The toll is on pace to be the lowest since 2009, when 122 officers died, and this year would be only the second year since 1960 that the number of fatalities has dipped below 130. The organization, which also maintains a memorial wall in Washington bearing the names of fallen officers, reported 165 deaths last year and 154 in 2010.

The decline is heartening after two straight "alarming" years and may suggest that police departments, though still battered by budget cuts, are placing a greater emphasis on officer safety, said Craig Floyd, the chairman and chief executive of the Washington, D.C.-based memorial organization.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/27/us-law-enforcement-deaths-dropped-in-2012-nonprofit-report-says/

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New Jersey

OPINION

The Montclair Times Editorial: 'Mobile station' will enhance public safety

Community policing is an effective euphemism for police officers who are literally "in" a community, rather than driving through a neighborhood. Officers patrolling on sidewalks interact with residents and businesspeople. Gaining familiarity with their assigned beats, foot-patrol officers observe potential concerns and problems in the making. Walking along avenues, the officers' presence may discourage criminals — and the officers' presence certainly increases the perception of protection and security for folks residing, working or shopping on these avenues.

Perception is imperative, as is the presence of police. Foot patrols must be augmented by officers in vehicles who can quickly respond to emergencies throughout Montclair. This synergy enhances public safety. In Montclair and many other municipalities during recent decades, there's a preponderance of officers ensconced in their vehicles driving through neighborhoods without many, or any, officers walking in neighborhoods.

Recognizing residents' request for officers to be available for face-to-face conversations, more than a dozen years ago Montclair established an auxiliary police station in a storefront in Lackawanna Plaza shopping center in the 4th Ward. Our town also bought and installed a trailer in a field off Glenridge Avenue, also in the 4th Ward. The trailer served as a community-policing facility for officers who patrolled the neighborhood. This station generally was staffed, however, with officers during daytime hours. At night, when crime is always more prevalent, the trailer was usually unstaffed. Eventually, the Montclair Police Department vacated its storefront and locked its trailer, abandoning this version of community policing.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/184889601_The_Montclair_Times_Editorial___Mobile_station__will_enhance_public_safety.html

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Dec 26, 2012

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Ohio

Ohio gun group offers shooting lessons to teachers

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Following the killing of 20 children and six educators in Newtown, Conn., an Ohio-based gun group says it is launching a test program to train teachers how to use firearms.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Buckeye Firearms Association says it will initially accept applications from 24 teachers for its Armed Teacher Pilot Program. The three-day firearm-training class will be held at the Tactical Defense Institute in West Union. The association will pay for the training, including lodging and ammunition.

Association legal chairman Ken Hanson said in a statement that teachers and school board members have been "asking us for years" for this kind of training. He said the group's long-term goal is to develop a standard curriculum and make the training available to any teacher or school official.

Paragould patrols

A statement released Dec. 21 by Paragould Police Chief Todd Stovall suggests that his department may be backing away from its earlier hard-line — and almost certainly unconstitutional — plan that would have allowed officers on patrol in SWAT fatigues and carrying assault rifles to demand the ID of people on the street and arrest anyone who failed to comply. Stovall now says officers will only stop people when there is "reasonable suspicion to believe criminal activity is happening."

Stovall had announced the new "street crimes unit" at a Dec. 13 town hall meeting, vowing that anyone who refused to present ID and answer officers' questions during a stop would be arrested on charges of obstruction of governmental operations.

After a growing backlash against the proposal, the department cited "public safety concerns" in announcing that further meetings on the subject scheduled for Dec. 18 and 21 had been canceled.

On Dec. 16, Stovall issued a statement on the Paragould PD webpage. Responding to what he said was concern from citizens that officers might violate constitutional rights, Stovall said that officers wouldn't harass citizens, and wouldn't be carrying assault rifles constantly while on foot patrol, as it would be "impractical."

In the statement released Dec. 21, titled "Community Policing Clarification," Stovall dialed back his rhetoric even further, saying the Paragould PD is "committed to combating crime and insuring public safety without violating citizens' constitutional rights." Stovall said that while the department would be putting more officers on the east side of Paragould, which would necessarily "increase the number of police-citizen encounters," those encounters, Stovall said, would be done "within the bounds of the Constitution."

Dallas police are joining a growing number of departments around the nation that are tightening foot chase policies to save lives.

The vast majority of foot pursuits end in no injuries more severe than scrapes and bruises. But they can be fatal, as in the 2003 death of Tucson police Officer Kent Hardesty, who was shot repeatedly as he raced around a corner after a hit-and-run suspect.

“He just ran right into the guy's gun,” said Dave Smith, a former Tucson officer who teaches street survival courses. “Had he run wide around that corner, he would have at least had a chance to engage.”

It's just such a horrific end that Dallas police commanders want to avoid. A new foot chase policy is being drafted and is likely to go into effect early in the new year. That would put Dallas among the vanguard of police agencies, as only a few have such policies.

The draft directs officers not to: 1 ) Continue a foot pursuit if they are acting alone and would be chasing two or more suspects at the same time. 2) Continue a foot pursuit if they lose their weapon. and 3) Split up to chase multiple suspects.

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Dec 25, 2012

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New York

Officials: NY Gunman Set 'Trap' for Firefighters

A man who set his house on fire then lured firefighters to their deaths in a blaze of flames and bullets had attracted little attention since he got out of prison in the 1990s for killing his grandmother, authorities said.

But two months ago, William Spengler's mother died, leaving the 62-year-old ex-con in a Lake Ontario house with his sister, who he "couldn't stand," a friend said.

Spengler set a car and a house in his neighborhood ablaze early Monday, luring firefighters to the neighborhood and then killed two, wounded two others and injured a police officer while several homes burned around him, police said. Spengler then killed himself. His sister, Cheryl, was missing.

About 100 people attended an impromptu memorial vigil Monday evening in Webster, a suburb of Rochester. Dozens of bouquets were left at the fire station, along with a handwritten sign that said, "Thanks for protecting us. RIP."

Spengler, had been living in the home in Webster, a suburb of Rochester, with his mother and sister since his parole in 1998. He had served 17 years in prison after the beating death of his 92-year-old grandmother in 1980, for which he had originally been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. His mother, Arline, died in October . On Monday, Spengler fired at the four firefighters when they arrived shortly after 5:30 a.m. at the blaze, town police Chief Gerald Pickering said. The first police officer who arrived chased the gunman and exchanged shots.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/firefighter-shot-scene-blaze-western-ny-18054793

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Ohio

Ohio's youth prisons much-improved, monitor says

Some changes to Ohio's youth prison system are a model for the nation, an annual report concludes, while it also highlights continuing issues in the system involving gang violence, education classes and medical care.

Department of Youth Services administrators have done commendable work reducing the number of offenders in secure confinement and spreading services for youthful offenders around Ohio, according to the report released this month by a court-appointed monitor.

“I take great pride in the work we have done together to improve conditions in Ohio's juvenile correctional facilities,” monitor Will Harrell wrote in his report. He oversees an agreement between the state and youth advocates who sued over conditions in the system.

However, Harrell also noted “ongoing deficiencies” that must be addressed.

The Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Stark County, for example, still has too many incidents of violence, Harrell said.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/12/25/ohios-youth-prisons-much-improved-monitor-says.html

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Homeland Security helps Ohio prepare for threats

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Homeland Security in Ohio has teamed up with the state Department of Education to post informational resources for school administrators in the wake of the elementary school massacre in Connecticut.

The resources have been posted at http://homelandsecurity.ohio.gov/printed_material.stm

They include a quick guide on how to respond when there's an active shooter, such as having an escape route in mind, leaving belongings behind, hiding in a locked area and silencing electronics.

There's also a guide on how to respond to school violence, and an awareness poster that schools can print out that advises, "If you see something, say something," and a phone number to report suspicious activity.

Ohio Homeland Security Director Richard Baron says the effort is designed to increase Ohioans' awareness of potential threats and readiness to respond.

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Dec 24, 2012

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New Zealand

Basics essential in community policing

Building relationships with the community and focusing on preventing crime is paying off for police. Glen Innes neighbourhood policing team has been operating for just over a year now. Sergeant Harry Henderson leads the team and says statistics show that aside from domestic violence, the crime rate in the area has dropped significantly.

"A lot of people were scared to come into the town centre before because of drunken behaviour," Constable Scott Burrows says. "There was an existing liquor ban but it was blatantly ignored."

Within a couple of weeks of police enforcing the ban, the number of people drinking on the street dropped significantly, Mr Burrows says. Underage drinking has also become less of a problem.

Liquor stores are helping police to foster a community that uses alcohol responsibly, Mr Henderson says. Seven stores have signed an agreement to close at 10pm. The stores issue trespass orders to anyone caught supplying alcohol to underage youths.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/east-bays-courier/8094144/Basics-essential-in-community-policing

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California

Homicides plummet in Richmond, once considered among the most dangerous cities in U.S.

RICHMOND -- As Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose grapple with rising homicide totals and fears that their police departments are ill-equipped to stem the tide, a different reality has taken shape in this city once labeled among the most dangerous in the nation.

Eighteen people have been killed in Richmond this year, down from 45 three years ago and about half as many as the yearly average over the past decade. Many credit the turnaround to a confluence of law enforcement and community efforts since a summer of bloodshed in 2005 that led to calls for the city to declare a state of emergency.

While strained resources in police departments and social services have hampered public safety efforts in other Bay Area cities, Richmond has bulked up its police force from 150 sworn officers in 2006 to 190 today, implemented modern community-policing models and funded a novel violence-prevention office.

The results can be seen all over Richmond's craggy streets. Parks once prowled by drug pushers and gun toters now bustle with kids. Violent tracts, where gunfire and sirens once ushered in the Tent City peace movement, now host dog walkers and cyclists.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_22242618/homicides-plummet-richmond-once-considered-among-most-dangerous

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Mississippi

Sailors give back to the community through reserve police service

Seabees at Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport and 20th Seabee Readiness Group have found a way to give back to the community through volunteer service in the Gulfport Police Department Reserves.

Reserve police officers attend a four-month Reserve Academy, training for four hours on weekday evenings and eight hours on Saturdays, and working alongside full-time police officers at community events. They receive no pay for their service.

Each person has their own reasons for volunteering. Some may be following in the footsteps of family and friends, such as Petty Officer 3rd Class Brenden Sharp, 20th SRG, and Petty Officer 1st Class Rodolfo Gallardo III, NCBC Security Department, while some are working toward a professional goal. One thing they all have in common, however, is the desire to serve the community through law enforcement.

"I've always had an interest in criminal justice, and when I get out of the military, I want to do something in forensics, so I figured this was a good way to give back to the community and to do something that is in my interest," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jessica Martin, who is a corpsman at the Naval Branch Health Clinic.

http://www.sunherald.com/2012/12/23/4374520/sailors-give-back-to-the-community.html

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Massachusetts

Joy to their world Ex-Haverhill cop makes Christmas dreams come true for needy

Cheri Gainer was laid off three years ago and then medical problems set in for herself and her youngest child. The 35-year-old single Haverhill mother of a young boy and girl knew Christmas that year would not be merry.

“Someone told me to call Officer Hardy,” Gainer said. “I just called and left a message at the police station. He wouldn't want to know about you, who you were, why you were calling, nothing like that. Just how old your kids are and you wouldn't hear anything.”

She, like dozens of others, left a voicemail for Haverhill police officer Ozzie Hardy — and hoped. Days later she got a knock on her door. It was Hardy.

“He delivered them to my house,” Gainer said. “Bags full of presents. Five or six each. Nice things. My son was going to start baseball and he got a baseball mitt. ... It's hard to put into words. With things going on in this country, you don't know there's people in this world that care as much as they do. He makes you realize that good people are still out there.”

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2012/12/joy_their_world

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Ohio

Ohio among top producers of Peace Corps volunteers

COLUMBUS, OHIO (AP) — Ohio ranked No. 10 among all states in producing Peace Corps volunteers this year with a total of 291 volunteers.

Peace Corps officials say Ohio produces 2.5 volunteers for every 100,000 state residents, and 3.6 percent of all volunteers come from Ohio.

Officials with the organization's Midwest regional office in Chicago say Ohio historically has produced a total of 6,875 volunteers who have served in 139 countries. More than 210,000 Americans have served in the organization since President John F. Kennedy established it in 1961.

A total of 8,073 volunteers now work with local communities in 76 countries in fields including agriculture, community economic development, education, environment and health.

The agency says it promotes world peace and friendship and a better understanding between Americans and people of other countries.

.