Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Del Rey and 11 other L.A. neighborhoods
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. Five neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Del Rey was the most unusual, recording four reports compared with a weekly average of 0.7 over the last three months. Beverly Crest topped the list of seven neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. city attorney moves to shut down illegal pot shops
Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said his office is moving to shut down 38 medical marijuana dispensaries operating outside the requirements of a voter-approved May ballot measure intended to reduce their number. An additional 42 dispensaries have closed on their own since Measure D took effect in July, Feuer told reporters at a Friday press gathering. That's a small portion of the roughly 850 dispensaries believed to be operating illegally.
Los Angeles Times

3 arrested during home invasion after suspect unwittingly answers front door for responding LAPD officer
Three suspects were arrested Monday after a woman, who was home alone with her baby and was being terrorized during a home-invasion robbery, dialed 911. The mother woke up around 9 a.m. when a sound at a side window of her home in the 8100 block of Wakefield Avenue made her realize something was amiss, according to Los Angeles Police Lt. Paul Vernon. She soon discovered a man pacing in her front yard and asked him through a window what he wanted.
CBS LA

LAPD officers shoot woman wielding knife in downtown L.A.
A woman wielding a knife was shot by police in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, not far from the Ronald Reagan State Building, authorities say. The shooting in the St. George Hotel, in the 300 block of East 3rd Street, occurred after LAPD officers responded to a call about 12:45 p.m. of a woman who was causing a disturbance, according to witnesses and police. The woman's condition and her identity were not known. She was described as being in her 50s.
Los Angeles Times

USC strengthens security with more cameras, closer ties with LAPD
A sign at one of the entrances at the University of Southern California reminds people they'll be asked for their IDs after dark. It's just one of the many layers of security added about a year ago in reaction to gunfire that erupted at a Halloween party on campus. The closing of the campus perimeter gates at night followed the extra policing that was ordered in spring 2012 because of the shocking deaths of two graduate students shot to death in a nearby neighborhood.
Southern California Public Radio

LAPD SWAT chooses laser devices
Los Angeles Police Department Metro Division's D-Platoon (SWAT) has announced the selection of the Laser Devices (LDI) DBAL-A2 with high power green laser for all assaulter carbines. After a comprehensive testing and evaluation process involving several competitive tactical laser aiming systems, the LDI DBAL-A2 has been adopted as part of LAPD SWAT integrated night capability system. This integrated system also includes BNVD night vision goggles, Wilcox mounts, and FF equipment.
Laser Devices News Release

Legislation

Gov. Jerry Brown wraps up action on bills for the year
Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday wrapped up action on bills for the year by approving a measure aimed at protecting against false confessions by minors in homicide cases and giving some non-violent felons the ability to have their records expunged. In all, Brown acted by Sunday's deadline on 896 regular-session bills sent him by the Legislature this year, down from the nearly 1,000 bills that landed on his desk last year. He vetoed 10.7% of the bills, the lowest rejection rate for any of his three years this term.
Los Angeles Times

New law creates minimum sentence for ankle bracelet violators
A bill signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday will put convicted sex offenders back in jail for a minimum of 180 days if they cut off court-ordered GPS ankle bracelets. The new law requires that offenders who remove their monitoring devices to serve the additional felony sentence in county jail before returning to parole. Paroled sex offenders have received lighter sentences for cutting off the devices since the implementation of prison realignment.
Los Angeles Daily News

Privacy

Google to change terms to use your identity in ads
Google wants your permission to use your name, photo and product reviews in ads that it sells to businesses. The Internet search giant is changing its terms of service starting Nov. 11. Your reviews of restaurants, shops and products, as well as songs and other content bought on the Google Play store could show up in ads that are displayed to your friends, connections and the broader public when they search on Google. The company calls that feature "shared endorsements."
Associated Press

Public Safety

Many L.A. buildings could topple in an earthquake
More than 1,000 old concrete buildings in Los Angeles and hundreds more throughout the county may be at risk of collapsing in a major earthquake, according to a Times analysis. By the most conservative estimate, as many as 50 of these buildings in the city alone would be destroyed, exposing thousands to injury or death. Despite their sturdy appearance, many older concrete buildings are vulnerable to the sideways movement of a major earthquake because they don't have enough steel reinforcing bars to hold columns in place.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Fight Van Nuys and Sun Valley prostitution with new methods, says Councilwoman Nury Martinez
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez said Friday she wants city officials to come up with better methods for curbing prostitution, beyond arresting sex workers who end up returning to the streets after a brief stint in jail. Martinez said there is a "long history" of police and community members working together to tackle prostitution, but she is "exasperated by the reality that despite these best efforts over the years, it just isn't working."
City News Service