Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Westwood and 10 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 11 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Nine neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Westwood was the most unusual, recording three incidents compared with a weekly average of 0.6 over the last three months. Beverlywood topped the list of two neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD releases surveillance video in search for clerk's killer
Still searching for clues in the slaying a 99-cent store clerk who is the mother of five, Los Angeles police on Wednesday released surveillance video of the killer. Martha Sanchez was shot to death Sept. 17 during a robbery of the Happy Bargain 99-cent store in the 7400 block of Broadway in South Los Angeles. Sanchez, who commuted from East Los Angeles and supported five children, did not appear to resist the robber, police have said. But he shot her nonetheless.
KTLA

North Hollywood truck blast tied to cellphone and man huffing propane
The mystery of the exploding North Hollywood truck has been solved, police say. It was sparked when a man, trying to get high, plugged in his cellphone charger while huffing propane inside the cab. This, police say, is according to the man himself. According to police, on Tuesday night a man with a burned scalp and face walked into the Los Angeles Police Department's North Hollywood substation and explained what sparked an explosion earlier that morning in the 11300 block of Miranda Street.
Los Angeles Times

Ex-NY, LA chief Bratton launches BlueLine, a social media network just for law enforcement
A new social media network designed exclusively for law enforcement is up and running. Created by former high-profile New York City police commissioner and Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton, BlueLine is being touted as a site where officers can share their expertise and information securely through video, instant messaging and videoconferencing. Run by Bratton's New York-based venture capitalist-backed startup, Bratton Technologies, BlueLine had a weekend launch during the International Association of Police Chie
Associated Press

Get rid of those unwanted meds during LAPD-Kaiser 'Take Back Day'
The Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Kaiser Permanente will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs this weekend. Bring your medications for disposal on Saturday, Oct. 26 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to any of the following collection sites: Kaiser West LA, 6041 Cadillac Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034, Parking Lot #3.
Studio City Patch

LAPD issues alert about construction site burglaries in West L.A. area
The West L.A. LAPD Division has issued an alert for the area about a spike in burglaries from construction site. The following message is from Officer Maria Gray, the senior lead officer for the Brentwood area: "Construction site thefts are an under-reported type of crime because many construction site foremen are reluctant to report the thefts in an effort to avoid their insurance rates going up. So the thieves are pretty brazen about stealing from the sites since they know the odds of getting caught are none to slim."
Brentwood Patch

Prison Realignment

Officials: State not providing local jurisdictions with enough money for realignment
California is not providing counties enough funding to incarcerate and rehabilitate offenders it has sent to local jails and probation offices in the last two years, criminal justice advocates and officials said Wednesday. Under a 2011 state law known as realignment, lower-level offenders are being sentenced to county jail instead of state prison. County probation departments, rather than state parole agents, are charged with watching offenders after they have been released from prison.
Sacramento Bee

City Government

New L.A. website is opening the books on spending at City Hall
Los Angeles' new city controller moved Wednesday to open city finances to far deeper public scrutiny, unveiling a website that provides new details on how billions of dollars are collected and spent. The website, Control Panel L.A., gives users instant access to large volumes of data on the taxpayer expenditures for police, sanitation, street repairs and other services - information that previously would have taken weeks or months to obtain.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. council members call for big changes in sex harassment training
Two members of the Los Angeles City Council called Wednesday for major changes to the city's sexual harassment training, saying every employee should take the sessions, not just managers. Council President Herb Wesson and Councilwoman Nury Martinez -- the only female member -- also said in their proposal that sexual harassment training should be done in person, not through the two-hour online sessions currently required.
Los Angeles Times

City Council's vote to appeal ride-sharing regulations falls short
A sharply divided Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday failed to muster the votes needed to file an appeal challenging California's rules for ride-sharing services, capping months of debate about the city's role in regulating the new taxi competitors. The appeal motion, which failed 7 to 6, would have laid the groundwork for a lawsuit against the California Public Utilities Commission. The PUC last month created the nation's and the state's first regulations for firms such as Lyft, Uber X and Sidecar.
Los Angeles Times