Law Enforcement

Crime drops in L.A. for 10th straight year
Overall crime in Los Angeles fell for a 10th straight year in 2012, but small increases in petty thefts and homicide numbers again provoked the perennial question of how much longer the city's remarkable crime drop would continue. Overall, crime declined by about 2% in Los Angeles, fueled by drops in many serious crimes including robbery, assault and auto thefts, according to preliminary numbers collected by the Los Angeles Police Department. The decline was smaller than in previous years because of jumps in lower-level crimes such as thefts from vehicles and personal thefts.
Los Angeles Times

Operation Shoes from Santa: A huge success
LAPD Olympic Station's Operation Shoes from Santa event on December 20 proved to be a huge success. 700 shoes and 400 toys were given to underprivileged school-aged children thanks to the help of LAPD officers, community groups, private and corporate donors, as well as Motor4Toys Charitable Foundation.
For a video recap of the event, visit http://lapd.com/r/B/MTEwODg2/MjAwOTA4/0/0/aHR0cDovL3lvdXR1LmJlL0FtdEhTQUZrRmg0IyEjIQ .

2,037 weapons collected by LAPD at city's buybacks
The city collected 2,037 firearms, including 75 assault weapons, at its gun buyback programs held in Van Nuys and South Los Angeles on Wednesday, city officials announced on Thursday. The gun buybacks, which were scheduled in the wake of the Newton, Conn., school shootings, allowed gun owners to turn in their weapons and receive $100 or $200 Ralphs gift certificates, with no questions asked.
Torrance Daily Breeze

Report: Law enforcement deaths down in 2012
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 nonprofit 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.
Associated Press

Warning: Celebratory gunfire for New Year's could land you in prison
Los Angeles leaders on Thursday warned that anyone discharging a firearm into the air to celebrate the new year won't only risk killing someone but could also face a lengthy sentence. "Firing into the air weapons in celebration puts innocent lives at risk," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "Nothing ruins the holiday season like an errant bullet coming down and killing an innocent." Villaraigosa said the misuse of firearms is on everyone's mind in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting that left six adults and 20 children dead.
Los Angeles Times

Suspect jailed in bus-bench fire attack on homeless woman in Van Nuys
A 24-year-old man was booked Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder after a homeless woman was set on fire as she slept on a bus bench in Van Nuys, officials said. Dennis Petillo, 24, 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 being held in lieu of $500,000 bail. Witness Erickson Ipina of North Hollywood told a camera crew he saw the suspect go into a nearby Walgreen's and buy what appeared to be rubbing alcohol.
City News Service

Oakland brings in William Bratton to help fight crime
One of the biggest names in policing is coming to Oakland to help turn around a department he said last year was trapped in "a perfect storm of bad." William Bratton, who has headed both the New York City and Los Angeles police departments, is being brought in as a consultant to focus on reducing violent crime, city leaders announced Thursday. "Bratton will help us build on the smart police strategies Chief (Howard) Jordan has already put in place," Mayor Jean Quan said.
Oakland Tribune

Handguns

Record number of Americans oppose handgun ban
An unprecedented number of Americans support the right to own a handgun, despite the recent mass killings at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., that have renewed the push for gun control. Even with the killings in Newtown as a backdrop, a new Gallup poll shows 74 percent of Americans now support the right to possess a handgun, while just 24 percent would support a ban. In fact, the Gallup poll is a near-perfect example of why passing gun control legislation will be difficult.
Washington Post

Map of handgun owners published in New York newspaper
A newspaper's publication of the names and addresses of handgun permit holders in two New York counties has sparked online discussions -- and a healthy dose of outrage. The Journal News, a Gannett Co. newspaper covering three counties in the Hudson Valley north of New York City and operating the website lohud.com, posted a story Sunday detailing a public-records request it filed to obtain the information.
Associated Press

Prisons

Jeffrey Beard sworn in as California's corrections secretary
Jeffrey Beard, the former prisons chief of Pennsylvania, was sworn in Thursday morning as Gov. Jerry Brown's new corrections secretary. A spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed that Beard took his oath of office from a member of the governor's staff at agency headquarters in Sacramento. His appointment still requires confirmation by the California Senate. Beard has little more than a week to sign off on whatever plans California proposes to further reduce prison crowding.
Los Angeles Times

The Courts

California Supreme Court upholds picketing at store entrance
In a hands-down win for organized labor, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state's labor laws assuring union members the right to picket on privately owned walkways fronting store entrances are not unconstitutional. The long-awaited and much-watched ruling reverses a 2010 decision by Sacramento's 3rd District Court of Appeal striking down two parts of the state's labor laws as unconstitutional and declaring retail owners can't be forced to allow picketing on their property just because it relates to a labor dispute.
Sacramento Bee