Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Venice and 8 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in nine L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Six neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Venice was the most unusual, recording 23 reports compared with a weekly average of 4.0 over the last three months. Elysian Park topped the list of three neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Gang shooting in Watts kills one, wounds another
One man was shot to death and another injured early Sunday morning in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, police said. At 4:40 a.m., the two men were walking along Success Avenue in the Nickerson Gardens housing project, a Los Angeles police spokesperson said. As the pair crossed 114th Street, a dark colored sedan approached with three men inside. All three in the car opened fire, striking the men several times.
Los Angeles Times

LAPPL urges City Council to reconsider proposed city law on BB guns
The Los Angeles Police Protective League on Friday called a move by the Los Angeles City Council "ill-advised and dangerous," as the proposed law would require BB guns, pellet guns and airsoft rifles to be painted a bright color to differentiate them from real weapons. President Tyler Izen called on the City Council to reconsider its 14-1 vote on Wednesday that directed the City Attorney to draft the measure that would apply only in the City of Los Angeles.
LAPPL News Release

Teen arrested for evading police officers in Sunland
A teen who was driving erratically was arrested for felony evading after he fled from police officers and ran into a brick wall early Sunday in the Sunland area, police said. The brief pursuit took place at about 12:35 a.m. and ended at the intersection of Grove Street and McVine Avenue, said LAPD Sgt. Thomas Wunsch of the Foothill Division. Officers " believed he was a drunk driving suspect," Wunsch said. "They tried to stop him and he fled from officers, drove for a short time, and shortly after he ran into a brick wall."
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD arrests carjacking suspects in Hollywood
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Station arrested two people in connection with a carjacking just 90 minutes after the crime occurred, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The arrest took place somewhere in Hollywood, according to an LASD watch commander. A third man eluded capture. The two men are accused of assaulting a 56-year-old Canyon Country resident after he refused to give them the keys to his car shortly after parking his vehicle in the 17600 block of Jakes Way in Canyon Country, according to the news release from Lt. Randy Harris.
Hollywood Patch

LAPD welcomes 29 officers to the force at 2013 Academy graduation
The Los Angeles Police Department has welcomed 29 new officers into the force. The LAPD Academy graduation, held Friday morning in Elysian Park, saw 23 men and six women graduate. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti was among attendees, joining LAPD Chief of Police Charlie Beck, representatives from the LAPD Board of Commissioners and command staff at the ceremony. Graduates are required to complete 920 hours of training over the course of 24 weeks.
CBS LA

Ambush attacks on San Bernardino police mirror nationwide trend
Ambush killings were the leading cause of firearms deaths among peace officers across the country in 2012, according to a national study, and so far this year, reflect the rising violence against law enforcement in San Bernardino. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Law Enforcement Officer Deaths report said overall firearms fatalities among police are the lowest they've been in 57 years, but seven officers have been killed in ambush shootings this year and 15 were killed last year. That's a jump from 2011, when five officers died in ambush shootings.
Los Angeles Daily News

Rewards for unsolved crimes in Los Angeles County rarely useful
Offering financial rewards to the public in exchange for help in solving violent crimes seems like an effective crime-fighting tool that would appeal to a common human desire for personal profit. After all, Wild West outlaw Jesse James wasn't stopped until a state-funded payout for his capture led someone to shoot him in the head in 1882. But a Los Angeles News Group review of hundreds of prizes offered to help solve violent crimes since 2008 found that, statistically, rewards are rarely useful in solving crimes here.
Los Angeles Daily News

'Mandatory minimum' sentences to end for many drug offenders
Federal prosecutors will no longer seek long, "mandatory minimum" sentences for many low-level, nonviolent drug offenders, under a major shift in policy aimed at turning around decades of explosive growth in the federal prison population, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. planned to announce Monday. "Too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no good law enforcement reason," Holder planned to tell the American Bar Assn. meeting here, according to an advance text of his remarks.
Los Angeles Times

Guns

Gun-control bills could push California to top of firearm-restriction list
With summer recess behind them and the legislative session's five-week homestretch ahead, state lawmakers face a fusillade of gun-control bills that could move California far beyond what any other state has enacted -- including proposals to ban a wide range of semi-automatic rifles and impose strict new regulations on ammunition. And what happens in Sacramento might not stay in Sacramento.
Los Angeles Daily News

Prisons

Calif. asks US high court to halt inmate releases
Against growing odds, Gov. Jerry Brown formally asked the U.S. Supreme Court late Friday to intervene once again in California's years long battle with federal judges over control of the state's prison system. The Democratic governor filed his formal appeal asking the justices to overturn a lower court decision requiring the state to reduce its prison population by nearly 10,000 inmates by the end of the year to improve conditions.
Associated Press

City Government

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti calls for more contract concessions from DWP
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he wants more concessions from the Department of Water and Power in the new contract, saying past administrations had given away too many financial giveaways to the utility. Bucking public pressure from the DWP to approve a new employee contract by the end of the month, Garcetti said DWP leaders have never faced the prospect of "zeros or a giveback" on salary and pension contracts.
Los Angeles Daily News