Law Enforcement

LAPD seeks to bolster the ranks as applicant numbers slide
Facing a decline in the ranks, the Los Angeles Police Department is looking to step up efforts to recruit more qualified candidates, Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday. Earlier this year, the department reached its long sought 10,000-officer goal after years of concerted advertising and recruitment strategies. But in recent months, that upward trend has reversed, with fewer applicants entering the academy. Currently, there are about 9,930 officers, about 1 percent short of the goal, Beck said, stressing it isn't the current number that's troubling but the overall trend.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD chief asks for public's help in 7-year-old's 'horrific' death
Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck asked Thursday for the public's help in finding those responsible for the shooting death of a 7-year-old boy, which he called a "horrific crime." Beck said detectives have been "working around the clock" since Taalib Pecantte was shot shortly before 9 p.m. Monday. Taalib was sitting in a car in the 1900 block of South Corning Street with his mother and her boyfriend when four men in a white car drove up and opened fire, the LAPD said.
Los Angeles Times

Rapper The Game raises money for family of boy shot dead in Mid-City
Rapper The Game said he's raised $17,000 for the family of a 7-year-old boy who died in a Mid-City drive-by shooting and is calling for a cease-fire to gang violence over the holidays. Taalib Pecannte, a second-grader, died Tuesday after being shot in the back the night before. The Compton youth football player was in a car with his mother and her 31-year-old boyfriend in the 1900 block of South Corning Street when a white vehicle drove up alongside and as many as four men unleashed a barrage of gunfire about 9 p.m.
Los Angeles Times

William Bratton 'exactly' what New York needs, LAPD chief says
Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck said he called his "good friend" and "mentor" William J. Bratton to congratulate him on his appointment for the second time as New York City police commissioner. New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio made the announcement at a news conference in Brooklyn on Thursday morning. "The fact is that over an extraordinary career, Bill Bratton has proven you can fight crime effectively and bring a community together," de Blasio said.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. wants your guns, will trade for grocery cards, at buybacks across the city
Los Angeles will continue the semiannual gun buyback that has resulted in more than 11,000 weapons being taken off the street, it was announced Thursday. This year, for the first time, the effort is conjunction with a statewide buyback program. Mayor Eric Garcetti said this year's event - to be held Dec. 14 at three locations throughout the city - will offer up to $200 in Ralphs grocery cards to those who turn in guns to the Los Angeles Police Department gun unit, with no questions asked.
Los Angeles Daily News

Video captures alleged hit-and-run driver who struck LAPD officer
Gas station surveillance video captured the alleged hit-and-run driver who struck a Los Angeles police motorcycle on Pacific Coast Highway Wednesday night, police said. A person of interest was taken into custody Thursday in connection with a caught-on-camera hit-and-run crash involving police officer in Pacific Palisades the night before, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
NBC4

Jewelry made by assemblyman's slain father sought by LAPD
Police were asking for the public's help Thursday finding pieces of jewelry that may have been made by Joseph Gatto, the father of a state assemblyman, who had been found shot to death last month in his Silver Lake home. The 78-year-old Gatto was discovered having been shot in the abdomen on Nov. 13 at his home in the 2800 block of Bright Lane, in an affluent area of Los Angeles with a low rate of violent crime. His death was ruled a homicide.
KTLA

4 brothers are all members of Los Angeles Police Department
Four local brothers are all members of the Los Angeles Police Department. It's believed to be a department first. Police Chief Charlie Beck introduced the Secor brothers today: Ryan is with the Van Nuys Division; Joel is at Newton; Seth is at Rampart, and the youngest, 21-year-old Micah, has just been assigned to the 77th Division. "This agency, it's top notch...I couldn't be happier being here. You know, this world, it's a world full of injustice but we're here to fight for justice," said Officer Micah Secor. The brothers' father, Jeff, has worked for the city of Los Angeles for decades.
ABC7

Economy

Nearly 1 in 5 live in poverty in Southern California, study finds
More than 3 million people in the six-county Southern California region lived in poverty in 2012, 18% of the total population, officials said Wednesday. The figure represents a 69% increase since 1990, which is nearly three times the rate of population growth in the same period, said economists with the Southern California Assn. of Governments, a regional planning agency. One in four children were living below the federal poverty line.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Court panel appears skeptical of L.A. ban on homeless living in cars
A federal appeals court on Thursday appeared to be leaning toward striking down a Los Angeles city ban on homeless people living in their cars or recreational vehicles on public streets and in parking lots. "It's very hard to figure out what you're talking about," Judge Marsha Berzon told the lawyer for the city. The city's ordinance dates back to 1983, but came under fire in 2010 when a special Los Angeles police task force, responding to neighborhood complaints, began aggressive enforcement in Venice.
Los Angeles Times