Law Enforcement

Jump in property crime puts Bel-Air on crime alert
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 12 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Eight neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Tujunga was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.8 over the last three months. Bel-Air topped the list of four neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD using surveillance cameras in downtown to monitor crime
Starting Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Department will be using new surveillance cameras to help keep an eye on downtown Los Angeles. A total of 30 high-tech cameras are expected to help police curb crime in the area. The total cost of the equipment and monitoring system is about $300,000 and is being paid for by a federal grant. Most of the cameras will keep an eye on Skid Row, the Fashion District and the Historic Core.
ABC7

LAPD orders body armor from KDH Defense
A U.S. manufacturer of custom body armor says the Los Angeles Police Department has ordered concealable armor and plates for its officers. KDH Defense Systems Inc. said the multiyear contract for its Level II and IIIA armor and polyethylene special threat plates was given to its exclusive distributor, Galls LLC. "This was a department-wide solicitation by the LAPD for concealable ballistic armor and polyethylene special threat plates to be worn while on patrol," said Paul Larkin, national sales director for KDH.
UPI

Stepfather to be arrested in Westlake boy's death, police say
The stepfather of a boy stabbed to death in Los Angeles' Westlake district will be arrested in connection with the killing as soon as he is released from the hospital, police said Tuesday. The 11-year-old was killed Monday after an apparent family dispute at his home in the 200 block of Carondelet Street. A 26-year-old suspect, believed to be the boy's stepfather, also suffered stab wounds and was being treated at County USC Medical Center. His condition was unknown.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD releases more info on officer-involved shooting from May 17
The Los Angeles Police Department Rampart Division released a statement Tuesday and provided details from an officer-involved shooting that occurred on May 17 on the 500 block of N. Madison Avenue in East Hollywood. The man who was shot was identified as Moises Palacios. According to the LAPD, officers responded at 9:50 p.m. to an apartment building after someone called 911 and said Palacios had punched his mother in the face, was brandishing a knife and had "threatened suicide and his mother."
Hollywood Patch

Twenty-nine LAPD officers graduate from DARE program
Twenty-nine Los Angeles police officers graduated Friday from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program - the LAPD's first DARE graduation in 10 years - and will soon be assigned to teach fifth- and sixth-graders its life-skills curriculum aiming at preventing youth drug abuse. In 1983, then-Los Angeles police Chief Daryl Gates implemented the program in the LAPD. Since then, the program, which is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons, has expanded to dozens of law enforcement agencies around the country and around the world.
City News Service

LAPD officer to dispute molestation charges
A Los Angeles Police Department officer arrested on charges of molesting two young girls he allegedly lured to his home will dispute those allegations in court, his attorney said Tuesday. Officer Miguel Schiappapietra pleaded not guilty last week to two felony counts of a lewd act on a child under 14 years of age following his arrest on May 18. Schiappapietra, 28, a six-year LAPD veteran, was off duty when he lured two minors to his Castaic-area home, where he sexually assaulted them, according to prosecutors.
CBS LA

Legislation

Senate advances tougher penalties for some sex offenders
Paroled sex offenders who remove their state-issued GPS ankle bracelets would face tougher penalties under a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate. The measure by Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) was one of dozens of bills approved as lawmakers face a Friday deadline for moving legislation out of the house in which it originated. Offenders who remove the electronic tracking devices would face six months in jail for the first violation, a year in jail for a second incident and potential return to state prison for a third offense.
Los Angeles Times

Legislature votes to restore $100 million to California courts
Chastened by the fury of court employees hurt by layoffs, court closures, and years of repeated cuts to funding for trial courts, the California Legislature voted to restore $100 million to the judicial branch's budget. The money will be an ongoing addition to the budget, but it comes with a few caveats: It must be used specifically for keeping the trial courts running, and officials from the Administrative Office of the Courts must account for the money received both before and after it is spent.
Courthouse News Service

Bill would require Calif. gun owners to safely lock, store firearms
The California Senate has narrowly approved a bill that would require gun owners to lock and store their firearms safely before leaving their property. Democratic Senator Leland Yee says the measure would reduce unintended injuries to children. "A gun is left on a dresser, a kitchen table, and the responsible adult is not there. And somehow a child picks it up, plays with it, and does harm to him- or herself," says Yee, the bill's author.
Capital Public Radio

City Government

L.A. Council rejects plan for city health department
A threat to create a new Los Angeles city health department, separate from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, drew opposition from the City Council on Tuesday even as signatures on an initiative petition are being reviewed. The council voted 11-1 to oppose the proposal from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, after county Chief Executive Officer Bill Fujioka and health director Jonathan Fielding cautioned the city would be facing initial costs of more than $50 million to replicate the services the county now provides.
Los Angeles Daily News