Law Enforcement

Murders, serious crime drop significantly 2005-'12; LAPD credits more cops
Los Angeles recorded 298 murders in 2012, down a significant 39 percent from the 488 logged in 2005 , the LAPD and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reported Monday. In general, serious crimes such as homicide, rape, burglary and theft were also down significantly: to 104,159 so-called Part I crimes in 2012, compared with 128,759 in 2005, a 19 percent decline.
Southern California Public Radio

LAPD force exceeds 10,000 for the first time, officials say
For the first time in the city's history, Los Angeles' police force now exceeds 10,000 officers, city officials said Monday. Appearing with LAPD Chief Charlie Beck to discuss the continued drop in crime last year, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the department is budgeted for 10,023 officers, up from the 9,963 authorized over the last three years, during a deep budget crisis.
Los Angeles Times

Predictive policing forecasts crime that officers then try to deter
At a growing number of Los Angeles Police Stations, during roll call, every patrol officer is handed a mission map marked with one or more small squares. Each square denotes a real location in the officer's patrol area, 500 feet by 500 feet, in which a computer algorithm predicts a crime is going to take place that day. Between responding to radio calls and emergencies, officers are expected to spend time "in the box" to deter the predicted crime.
NBC4

Crime down in L.A., local newspaper baffled
When the crime experts are baffled, I'm here to help. The Los Angeles T imes reported last week that crime in the city of Los Angeles has dropped for the tenth straight year. As is often the case, criminologists are at pains to explain why. Note that there are always ready explanations when crime goes up. You simply point to whatever socioeconomic malady that happens to be occurring and blame it for any concurrent rise in the crime rate. Recession? Crime goes up. Housing slump? Ditto. Rise in unemployment? Uh huh. You get the idea.
Jack Dunphy/PJ Media

Court dismisses Giovanni Ramirez lawsuit against LAPD Chief Charlie Beck
A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit filed against LAPD Chief Charlie Beck by Giovanni Ramirez, the man mistakenly arrested for beating Giants fan Bryan Stow during the 2011 opening day at Dodger Stadium. Ramirez charged in the lawsuit that his civil rights were violated and he was publicly defamed after the arrest. Also, Ramirez said the city violated his Fourth Amendment rights when officers searched his residence looking for evidence.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD arrests serial killer suspect from 1980s
Authorities on Monday said they have arrested a 72-year-old man in connection with the slayings of three women in the late 1980s, alleging he is a serial killer who operated in Los Angeles as well as in Florida and the Gulf Coast region. Samuel Little, 72, has been extradited to California from Kentucky, where he was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service in early September on an unrelated criminal warrant, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Los Angeles Times

Clearing the way to change a bad law
A friend of law enforcement in the California Legislature, Senator Ted Lieu, turned to Twitter to call attention to a California Senate policy long in need of change. We are glad he did. Senator Lieu's tweet was prompted by a case in which a rapist was set free on a technicality. The Assembly tried to fix the problem in 2011 but the legislation to do that died in the Senate Public Safety committee because of the ROCA policy.
LAPPL Blog

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck on homeless pets and the officers that rescued them
The LAPD may be known for fighting crime, but they also help animals. The Voice For The Animals Foundation has created a calendar featuring LAPD officers with their own rescue animals. Voice for the animals is a non-profit animal rescue organization dedicated to creating respect and empathy for animals through education, rescue, legislation, and advocacy. Chief Charlie Beck is on the cover with his rescue dog, Handsome.
Southern California Public Radio

At LAUSD's Chatsworth Elementary, LAPD lieutenant is front and center
Arriving at Chatsworth Elementary School after a three-week winter break, kids and parents were greeted early Monday by LAPD Lt. Cory Palka, who shook the youngsters' hands, chatted up the parents and -- despite his easygoing demeanor -- brought a feeling of security to those entering the campus gates. "I think it's great that they're here," said Charlie Butler, escorting daughters Juliana and Veronica onto the school grounds. "I know that the LAPD is understaffed, so it's a big deal to me that they're here to deter bad people."
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD radio signals + ambient music = a haunting collage
The Montreal band Godspeed You! Black Emperor is famous for its collages of doomsaying street sermons and sad-eyed orchestrations. But the website You Are Listening to Los Angeles gives that formula a local and often spooky revamp. The site pairs dueling live-streams of instrumental ambient music culled from Soundcloud with chatter taken from the LAPD Citywide Dispatch and Hot Spots radio frequency.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

Brown seeks to lift state inmate caps
Gov. Jerry Brown says there's no need to do more to reduce crowding in state prisons, and population caps should be lifted. In a legal filing late Monday, state lawyers balked at the federal court requirement that California outline plans to further reduce prison crowding. Instead, lawyers insisted that conditions have improved sufficiently, even in prisons with thousands more inmates than they were built to hold. "The overcrowding and healthcare conditions cited by this court to support its population reduction order are now a distant memory," the filing said.
Los Angeles Times