Law Enforcement

Times Investigation: LAPD misclassified nearly 1,200 violent crimes as minor offenses
The LAPD misclassified nearly 1,200 violent crimes during a one-year span ending in September 2013, including hundreds of stabbings, beatings and robberies, a Times investigation found. The incidents were recorded as minor offenses and as a result did not appear in the LAPD's published statistics on serious crime that officials and the public use to judge the department's performance.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck earns good reviews; tough challenges lie ahead
Buoyed by Mayor Eric Garcetti's clear endorsement, Beck is widely expected to be reappointed Tuesday for a second and final five-year term by the five-member civilian Police Commission. Garcetti and others have praised the LAPD veteran for overseeing continued declines in overall crime rates even as the department's budget was cut.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck needs to start earning our trust
I am almost certain that Charlie Beck will be granted a second five-year term as Los Angeles police chief by the Police Commission next week. Crime is continuing to ease, and there's no obvious successor waiting in the wings. But I hope Beck considers that less an endorsement than an opportunity to restore his image and actually earn the public's trust.
Sandy Banks/Los Angeles Times

USC students react to security measures being added after beating death
USC students on Friday welcomed the latest round of additional safety measures announced in reaction to the beating death of a graduate student near campus last month, but differed on whether it was too little, too late. The university said in a statement Friday it was increasing security staffing in and around the campus, upgrading camera systems and enhancing public safety training for students.
Los Angeles Times

USC medical student missing since Tuesday
Police are seeking the public's help in finding a USC medical student who has been missing since Tuesday. Derek Adam Seehausen, 26, of Los Angeles, was seen around 9 p.m. that night by a friend in the 400 block of W. Glenoaks Boulevard in Glendale, police said, and was then seen withdrawing money from an ATM in Los Angeles about an hour and a half later.
Los Angeles Times

Tourist vans at the Hollywood sign finding obstacles on the itinerary
Six LAPD officers and two from the Culver City Police Department formed the impromptu Beachwood Drive task force on a recent weekday morning, the latest response to growing complaints from residents who say their neighborhoods are being overrun by tourist vans and rental cars drawn to the sign. Despite the heavy traffic that usually rolls in, only two commercial tourist vans were cited.
Los Angeles Times

Three people shot at family party; gunman remains at large
Three men were shot early Sunday morning after a gunman crashed a family party and began shooting, Los Angeles police said. The incident happened about 2:45 a.m. on the 900th block of East Adams Avenue, said Officer Liliana Preciado of the Los Angeles Police Department. "It's not clear what the motive was," Preciado said. "But it was not gang-related." Three men, two in the mid-20s and one in his late 20s, were wounded, authorities said. One man was shot in the neck.
Los Angeles Times

Northridge hit-and-run critically injures woman
A woman in her 40s was hospitalized in critical condition after a hit-and-run collision in Northridge, police said Saturday. The woman was struck in the 18400 block of Chase Street at 11:30 p.m. Friday, Los Angeles Police Officer Robert Carter said. There was no description for the suspect vehicle, Carter said.
City News Service

City Government

Looking at how to reform L.A.'s parking ticket system
One of life's major annoyances is quite simply a parking ticket. There are 24 municipal regulations for which a person can be cited, with fines ranging from $58 into the hundreds of dollars. Collectively, the fines generate some $196 million for the City of Los Angeles. But the tickets can be bad for business, keeping customers away because of the threat of fines.
Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles may pay $26 million to sanitation workers
The Los Angeles City Council is expected to finalize an agreement to pay $26 million to city sanitation employees who accused the city of failing to offer meal breaks as required by state law, according to a motion introduced Friday. The amount would a settle a lawsuit, Jose Gravina, et. al. v. City of Los Angeles, brought against the city by 1,074 current and former Bureau of Sanitation drivers.
City News Service

L.A. Councilman Huizar asks for 'czar' to oversee city homeless plans
Citing an opening to get longtime homeless people off the streets, L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar on Friday asked staff to draw up proposals for a full-time coordinator or "czar" to oversee homeless programs in the city. In a motion filed Friday, Huizar said he saw an opportunity to better manage placement of homeless individuals into housing programs the city has funded to the tune of millions of dollars.
Los Angeles Times

Kevin James, once a political outsider, now defends City Hall turf
Stumping for votes as a mayoral candidate last year, Kevin James forged a reputation as a City Hall outsider sharply critical of what he saw as L.A.'s bumbling bureaucracy. But now, as the head of its powerful Board of Public Works, the former conservative talk-radio host is filling a new and unexpected role: defender of one of its most criticized agencies, the Bureau of Street Services.
Los Angeles Times