Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Larchmont, Fairfax, three other L.A. areas
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in five 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. Larchmont, with a weekly average over the last three months of 0.6 but four incidents reported in the last week, and Fairfax, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 1.1 over the last three months, were the most unusual.
Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles police body cameras tested soon by officers in downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Angelenos may be the first to encounter a Los Angeles police officer equipped with a new on-body camera. Police Commission President Steve Soboroff said Tuesday that 30 Los Angeles Police Department officers in Central Area, which covers downtown, have volunteered for field tests. They patrol major sections of the area by walking. Sgt. Dan Gomez said the cameras will be used as soon as the department has drafted policies governing their use. According to a memo from Soboroff, those details will be decided in a January meeting.
Associated Press

LAPD chief: 'Very thorough' inquiry into fatal shooting underway
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said again Tuesday it was too early to say what led his officers to fatally shoot an unarmed car chase suspect, saying a "very thorough" investigation was underway. Beck told reporters it would be "unfair" for him to comment until he had heard the officers' accounts of the incident, seen evidence and consulted others involved in the use-of-force investigation, including the Los Angeles Police Commission's independent inspector general and the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
Los Angeles Times

Speed a factor in deadly seven-vehicle Tarzana crash, police say
Speed was a factor in a seven-vehicle crash in Tarzana late Monday night that left one woman dead, police said Tuesday. The crash occurred about 11 p.m. on Ventura Boulevard east of Corbin Avenue near the border dividing Tarzana and Reseda. A Ford Taurus moving eastbound slammed into several vehicles waiting at the intersection of Ventura Boulevard and the southbound onramp to the Ventura Freeway, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Los Angeles Times

Photo of getaway car in reality TV director killing is released
Police on Tuesday released a surveillance photo of a green Mustang convertible believed to be involved in the Glassell Park killing of a reality television director and production manager. Investigators are looking for witnesses and tips in the Nov. 27 home invasion shooting, in which James Marcus Howe was gunned down on his front porch, said Los Angeles police Officer Ryan Watterson of the Northeast Homicide Division.
Los Angeles Times

Weekend DUI crackdown nets 495 arrests in L.A. County
Nearly 500 drivers in L.A. County were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, authorities said Tuesday. The 495 arrests were made during the Avoid the 100 winter holiday crackdown, during which officers from 100 law enforcement agencies carried out checkpoints and roving patrols to catch inebriated drivers. The DUI arrests occurred between 12:01 a.m. Friday and midnight Sunday, and the number was up from the 456 made during the same time period last year, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.
Los Angeles Times

Does your valet-parking operator have a permit? LAPD wants to know and is ready to write tickets
Valet operators and attendants who have not signed up for the city's new permits regulating their industry may soon be fined for failing to comply, officials said. The new regulations, which affect all valet businesses that operate on public property, went into effect Nov. 1, though the police commission granted a 90-day grace period to give people time to complete the lengthy application process. Beginning Feb. 1, Los Angeles Police Department officers will begin citing violators, and infractions can lead to a $2,500 fine or even a shutdown of the operation.
Los Angeles Daily News

High-speed police chase in Northridge ends in crash; 2 injured
LAPD officers responded to a report of a man with a knife at a nearby Target. Two suspects initiated a pursuit, KABC reports. At least two people, including a suspect, were injured in a multi-car crash during a high-speed police pursuit in Northridge Monday afternoon, KABC reported. According to KABC, Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to a report of a man with a knife at a nearby Target at 3:15 p.m. When the police arrived, two suspects fled the scene in a car and initiated a high-speed chase.
Northridge-Chatsworth Patch

Hollywood Hills burglary suspects seen on video
Los Angeles police detectives today disseminated video of two suspects who may be responsible for a rash of burglaries in the Hollywood Hills. The detectives are hoping that someone can identify them. The most recent break-in occurred on Dec. 8 around 6:30 p.m. Police were called to a residence on Mound Street to investigate a robbery that had just occurred. Surveillance video captured the suspects entering the property, then smashing a large window door at the rear of the home, walking in and ransacking the residence.
Fox LA

LAPD burglary arrests save wedding proposal
The arrest of two burglary suspects by LAPD officers helped save a wedding proposal in West Los Angeles. When thieves targeted Andrew Johnson's car on Sunday, they got away with more than a GPS or sunglasses. "I saw my car with both doors wide open and papers spread everywhere," said Johnson. Inside the glove compartment was an engagement ring. He was hiding it there from his girlfriend, Kate Kodet, in the hours before he planned to pop the question during their holiday party. As guests were arriving, they saw police outside.
ABC7

Holder claims FBI prevented 148 mass shootings in 2013
The FBI says it has helped to disrupt or prevent nearly 150 shootings and violent attacks this year, in part by steering potential gunmen toward mental health professionals. It's an achievement that stands out during a year when President Barack Obama made curbing gun violence a priority, yet has had little success in getting new restrictions enacted. There have been hundreds of these disruptions since 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder recently told an audience of police chiefs, touting the behind-the-scenes work of a small FBI unit based out of Quantico, Va.
Associated Press

Prisons

L.A. County plans push for more state prison realignment money
Los Angeles County officials agreed Tuesday to keep lobbying the Legislature for more money to jail and care for lower-level felons who became the responsibility of counties under state prison realignment. The law, implemented two years ago, was intended to reduce state prison populations. But it also has ended up saving the state a substantial amount of money, county Chief Executive William T Fujioka said.
Los Angeles Times