Law Enforcement

LA downgrades low-level crimes to infractions
If you drive without a license, camp on the beach, or use a fake ID to buy alcohol, you'll no longer face a criminal charge in Los Angeles. An internal LAPD memo dated July 25 that was sent to commanding officers detailed 91 violations that are now considered infractions instead of misdemeanors. That means the violations won't appear in U.S. Department of Justice criminal records, and they no longer figure into department crime statistics tracking misdemeanors and felonies.
NBC4

Venice Beach crash: Suspect got car in Colorado, has record
Nathan Louis Campbell came to Los Angeles less than a month ago, driving a 2008 Dodge Avenger just purchased from a dealership in Littleton, Colo. The 38-year-old lived in Hollywood nearly two decades ago, spending a few months living on and off at Covenant House, which provides services and housing for homeless youths. It's unclear how he spent the years in between - aside from a record of petty crimes in Colorado and Florida, little is known about Campbell.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD motorcycle officer injured in Highway 14 collision
A 46-year-old Los Angeles Police Department motorcycle officer was injured in a collision with a vehicle today in the Santa Clarita Valley while he was headed to work on Highway 14, an investigator said. The motorcycle officer's injuries are considered moderate and not life-threatening, said California Highway Patrol Officer Gordon Verrone. At 5:30 a.m., the officer and the driver of a 2008 Toyota Corolla collided in the southbound lanes of Highway 14 just north of Golden Valley Road, Verrone said.
Santa Clarita Valley Signal

Amber Alert sent to cellphones across region
An Amber Alert in San Diego County Monday night prompted authorities to send text alerts to cell phone owners across Southern California. The alert was part of a partnership between cellphone companies and the California Highway Patrol to send out urgent Amber Alerts via text messages. James Lee DiMaggio is suspected of killing Christina Anderson, 44, of Lakeside and kidnapping one or both of her children: Hannah Anderson, 16, and Ethan Anderson, 8.
Los Angeles Times

Traffic

Rise in pedestrian deaths may be due to texting while walking
The Department of Transportation announced steps Monday to combat a recent rise in pedestrian deaths that it said was partially due to what Secretary Anthony Foxx called "distracted walking." Walking while texting or listening to music, or while on drugs, may have contributed to the increase, Foxx said. After decades of fewer pedestrians being killed in traffic crashes, deaths rose from 4,109 in 2009 to 4,432 in 2011, and 69,000 were injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

Prisons chief outlines response to court-ordered reductions
California will rely on county jails, community correctional facilities and out-of-state prisons to reduce its prison population by nearly 10,000 inmates by the end of the year, the state's corrections secretary said Monday. Jeffrey Beard outlined the planned response during a meeting with The Bee's Editorial Board three days after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Gov. Jerry Brown's request to delay a federal court order to reduce prison crowding by December.
Sacramento Bee

Calif. seeks to move inmates to private prisons
California will seek to move thousands of inmates to private prisons in a last-ditch attempt to avoid releasing violent offenders to ease prison crowding, the state corrections chief said Monday. The state will take the step after the U.S. Supreme Court last week refused to delay a lower court order requiring California to free nearly 10,000 inmates by year's end, Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard told The Associated Press.
Associated Press

Probation officers say new training standards put them in harm's way
As counties work to put Gov. Jerry Brown's prison realignment plan into place, new concerns are being raised over the safety of probation officers who have to supervise inmates released under the AB 109 legislation. The union that represents the probation officers in Los Angeles County sent a letter to Chief Probation Officer Jerry Powers last week demanding that he halt a controversial training procedure for deputies hired specifically to do home visits with AB 109 inmates.
Los Angeles Daily News

Guns

Study finds online gun sale loopholes
A new study shows online gun purchases have a bigger background check loophole than other methods. An analysis of Internet gun sales by the left-leaning group Third Way found more than 15,000 guns - one-third of which were semi-automatic weapons - available for sale without background checks in 10 states from a single website during the months of June and July. Additionally, in 2,000 online advertisements, Third Way found buyers were intentionally seeking private sellers where background checks are exempt from federal law.
Politico

City Government

Garcetti says he wants L.A. to shed its '800-pound gorilla' image
New Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti invited mayors from the other 87 cities in the county to his ceremonial residence and 63 (including representatives of mayors) showed up. Garcetti said he planned to make such informal get-togethers a regular occurrence during his administration. "I've heard from so many friends in neighboring cities that we act sometimes like the 800-pound gorilla that doesn't listen,'' Garcetti said of Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest city.
Los Angeles Times