Law Enforcement

South Los Angeles deadly shooting: Surveillance video released
The Los Angeles Police Department has released surveillance video in the murder of a young man who was shot while driving in South L.A. Monday evening. Police hope it will help them find the killer. Jarret Crump, 21, was killed around 6:30 p.m. on busy Century Boulevard near Vermont Avenue. From a distance, the video shows the gunman got out of a dark-colored SUV while stopped at a red traffic light, walked through lanes of traffic and shot at Crump's car.
ABC7

Harbor Area auto crimes detective says unlocked vehicles pose major problem
The recent arrest of a 22-year-old man who preyed on unlocked cars in San Pedro frustrates a veteran auto crimes detective, who says vehicle owners aren't heeding police warnings to be less trusting and remember to lock their cars. Los Angeles police Detective Helen Papietro, who heads the Harbor Division's auto crimes unit, said residents sometimes are shocked when they become victims, and are stunned to learn thieves will do almost no jail time for breaking into an unlocked vehicle.
Torrance Daily Breeze

How to keep your car, belongings secure this holiday season
It happened in seconds. The man wearing black warm-up pants, black gloves and a black hoodie casually approached the white car in a strip-mall parking lot, smashed the passenger window with a punch tool, grabbed a package off the seat and strolled away. He made little noise, his moves were precise, and he did not look out of place in the Woodland Hills shopping area on the south side of Victory Boulevard at Owensmouth Avenue. The half a dozen cops on scene made no attempt to collar him.
Los Angeles Daily News

Grim Sleeper's defense attorney asks to photograph nearly 900 pieces of evidence
Court delays for the accused serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper could drag on even longer after a defense attorney asked a judge Monday for permission to photograph nearly 900 pieces of evidence, some of which date back more than 28 years. Prosecutors say it will be a "herculean task" to inventory and open every evidence package in the case against Lonnie David Franklin Jr., who has been charged with killing 10 women between 1985 and 2007. The remains of the women were found dumped in alleys and trash bins in and near South Los Angeles.
CBS LA

LAPD accident investigator witnesses collision at Eagle Blvd. and York
The driver of a Lexus attempted to make a U-turn in front of a tow truck on an Eagle Rock street, causing a noisy crash that trapped the car's female passenger and sent her to a hospital for treatment of injuries, all in front of a Los Angeles police accident investigator. The accident occurred at 9:55 p.m. Sunday at York and Eagle Rock boulevards, said Officer William Brown of the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Traffic Division.
City News Service

In naming top police official, New York's De Blasio may signal change
Bill de Blasio, now the mayor-elect of New York, is expected to choose a successor to Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, and William J. Bratton, who held the post in the mid-1990s, appears to be the leading candidate for what is arguably the most important appointment any mayor makes. It is all the more so for Mr. de Blasio, whose forceful criticism of police tactics became a centerpiece of his mayoral campaign this year. He must now ready himself to oversee a department that has chafed at his faultfinding but that he will want, and perhaps need, at his side.
New York Times

The Courts

9th Circuit to allow live video of hearings in major cases
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced Monday that this month it will become the first federal appeals court in the country to use its technology to provide live video coverage of hearings on major cases. "The 9th Circuit has a long history of using advances in technology to make the court more accessible and transparent," Chief Judge Alex Kozinski said. "Video streaming is a way to open the court's doors even wider so that more people can see and hear what transpires in the courtroom, particularly in regard to some of our most important cases."
Los Angeles Times

Health

Dealing with burnout, which doesn't always stem from overwork
It's the end of the year, and lots of us are feeling a little overwhelmed. Tired, unfocused and ready to take a nice break with our families (or away from our families in some cases). We may be feeling garden-variety stress. Or more ominously, we may be burned out. Although most of us tend to use those phrases interchangeably, researchers say stress is to burnout as feeling a little blue is to clinical depression - a much more serious and long-term problem that doesn't get the attention it should, but can affect all aspects of our lives and workplace.
New York Times