Law Enforcement

Gang injunction granted in Echo Park
A Los Angeles County court granted a permanent injunction Thursday against six gangs in Echo Park and its surrounding neighborhoods, according to the city attorney's office. The injunction seeks to prohibit known members of the Big Top Locos, Crazys, Diamond Street Locos, Echo Park Locos, Frogtown and Head Hunters street gangs from associating with each other in public, possessing firearms or narcotics, or possessing alcohol in public, officials said. "We've got to be tough on violent gang activity, and gang injunctions such as this one ... are an important step," Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said in a statement.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD to brief private security on Nairobi attack
The Los Angeles Police Department's Counter-Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau will meet with private security leaders next month to discuss lessons learned from a Nairobi terrorist attack that left 67 people dead. Deputy Chief Michael Downing, who will lead the discussion, said the Oct. 15 meeting will include heads of private security representing some 45,000 security guards, including those who work at malls, hotels, clubs, sporting venues and high-rises.
Associated Press

Burglary victims recover stolen property at LAPD Topanga open house
Tears welled up in Christina Carr's eyes when she saw the tiny dog figurine in a numbered plastic bag on a table among hundreds of other items. The trinket - a gift from her grandfather, who died a few years ago - was one of many things stolen from her West Hills home when a burglary ring targeted the house in June. "It's just hard, because they were my grandfather's things," she said, struggling to regain her composure as she and fiancé Dezi Resznecky searched for their belongings at a viewing of stolen property hosted Thursday by the Los Angeles Police Department's Topanga Division.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD Leadership: African Americans in high-ranking positions is for the better
Is the Los Angeles Police Department changing for the better? The long and strained relationships between the department and the Black community is perhaps improving dramatically with the promotions of African Americans within the LAPD. It's a relationship that dates back to the notorious years of Chief Daryl Gates and throughout his many predecessors, but under the leadership of Chief Charlie Beck the LAPD has made improving history relations within the Black community a top priority.
Los Angeles Sentinel

Man faces homicide charge in Dodgers fan's slaying
Two people were taken into custody over the stabbing death of a man after a Dodgers-Giants game in San Francisco. Police now say that the incident began as a heated argument over a Dodgers-Giants rivalry before turning violent. The victim was identified as 24-year-old Jonathan Denver, who was said to be a Dodgers fan wearing Dodgers gear when the fight broke out.
KPCC

FBI arrests suspect in Miss Teen USA 'sextortion' case
The FBI has arrested a man who may be an acquaintance of newly crowned Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf in the "sextortion" case involving Wolf and at least seven other women. Jared James Abrahams, 19, of Temecula, Calif. is charged with extortion for allegedly using malicious software to control the computer webcams of victims and take nude photographs or videos, and then allegedly sending emails to the victims threatening to publish the photos or otherwise harm their reputations.
NBC News

New Law

Bill signed by Brown requires court order to shut cell service
Government agencies will have to get a court order before they can shut down cellphone service to a public location under a bill signed Thursday by the governor. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) introduced the measure in response to an August 2011 incident in which the Bay Area Rapid Transit District shut down wireless service for three hours at four of its stations in San Francisco to head off a planned demonstration. The action drew criticism from civil rights groups and others that it deprived thousands of BART riders of the ability to call 911 if things had gone awry.
Los Angeles Times

Teen Driving

Teen drivers with teen passengers more likely to die in accidents
When a novice teen driver dies in a crash, odds increasingly are that there is another teenager in the car, new research shows. For more than a decade, states have been imposing restrictions on teenage drivers that likely deserve credit for an overall decline in teenage traffic fatalities. But a study released Thursday shows that 15- to 17-year-old drivers are almost eight times more likely to get into a fatal accident while carrying two or more teenage passengers.
Washington Post

Prison Realignment

Los Angeles law enforcement tells state watchdog the struggles of prison realignment
A state watchdog agency visiting California's largest county got an earful on the state's prison realignment policy Thursday. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, L.A. Probation Chief Jerry Powers and a host of community advocates addressed the Little Hoover Commission during a hearing on Assembly Bill 109. Law enforcement's message was one of perseverance in the face of a massive onslaught of new responsibilities. In 2011, realignment brought thousands of ex-prisoners under the supervision of county probation departments and thousands of new offenders into L.A.'s jails.
KPCC

California state auditor sounds warning on prison realignment
New to the pantheon of multibillon-dollar worries since the last high-risk report in 2011 is prison realignment, which shifts responsibility for some lower-level offenders to the counties. According to State Auditor Elaine Howle's office,"the State does not currently have access to reliable and meaningful data concerning the realignment. As a result, the impact of realignment cannot be fully evaluated at this time. Even so, initial data indicate that local jails may not have adequate capacity and services to handle the influx of inmates caused by realignment."
Sacramento Bee

City Government

Mayor Eric Garcetti appoints Tom Sherak as L.A. film czar
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has appointed veteran Hollywood executive Tom Sherak to be his senior film advisor. Sherak, the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will lead Garcetti's efforts to support the local entertainment industry and increase local production, the mayor said in a statement. "The entertainment industry generates more than 500,000 local jobs. Protecting and expanding it is an absolute necessity," Garcetti said.
Los Angeles Times