Law Enforcement

L.A.'s long-declining violent crime total on pace to rise this year
For the first time in more than a decade, Los Angeles is on course to end the year with an increase in violent crime, police statistics show. The city's overall violent crime total is up 7.6% so far this year compared with the same time in 2013, according to figures released by the Los Angeles Police Department this week.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD plans to target street racing in the Valley
The Los Angeles Police Department Valley Traffic Division announced plans this week to target street racing in the San Fernando Valley. Capt. Maureen Ryan, commander of Valley Traffic, spoke at the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council meeting Wednesday about the creation of an aggressive driving task force. Sgt. Greg Fuqua, who has been in charge of the Valley's DUI enforcement efforts, was tasked with leading the team of four officers.
Post-Periodical

The rising toll of inattentive emergency vehicle drivers
Distracted drivers of emergency vehicles were to blame in collisions that killed three Southland residents and injured about 140 others in California over the last two years, according to a state database and local reporting. These drivers of police cars, fire trucks and ambulances caused at least 180 traffic collisions in the state last year - or about one every other day - up from 165 collisions in 2012, according to data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System that is run by the California Highway Patrol.
Los Angeles Daily News

Law enforcement agencies turn to technology to ease distractions
The Los Angeles Police Department is now working with equipment and vehicle manufacturers to integrate all the components inside its vehicles for similar reasons. Some of these systems are already out in the field, said Cmdr. Andrew Smith, an LAPD spokesman. Besides finding and using the right systems, public safety agencies can also reduce distraction by having fewer single-officer vehicles so that drivers aren't overloaded with technology, experts say.
Los Angeles Daily News

Police: South Los Angeles shooting possible road rage dispute
Road rage may have led to a shooting in South Los Angeles Sunday morning, a police sergeant said. The shooting was reported at 1:10 a.m. at Florence Avenue and Main Street, said Sgt. Gina Holmstrom of the Los Angeles Police Department's Newton Station. The victim was in his early 20s and was struck in his hip, Holmstrom said. He was transported to a hospital with stable vital signs.
City News Service

Dorner's autopsy report confirms suicide as cabin burned above him
Trapped and surrounded in a cabin in Big Bear at the end of an exhaustive and violent manhunt, ex-Los Angeles Police Officer Christopher Dorner shot himself in the basement as the building burned above him, an autopsy report confirmed Friday.
Los Angeles Times

Ballot Measure

California voters to decide on sending fewer criminals to prison
California voters appear poised to scale back the heavy reliance on incarceration they once embraced, with a measure that would transform several lower-level, nonviolent felonies into misdemeanors punishable by brief jail stays, if that, rather than time in a state penitentiary. The referendum on Nov. 4 is part of a national reappraisal of mass incarceration.
New York Times LAPPL Blog

City Government

Galperin reveals how L.A. spends its money
Did you ever wonder how much the city of Los Angeles spends on, say, frozen rats to feed the animals at the Los Angeles Zoo? Or the industrial grade lawn mowers used at parks? Or even how much it spends each year on mops for city buildings? Well, City Controller Ron Galperin is the kind of guy who worries about these things. Fortunately, in his job he can find out precisely how much L.A. lays out. Now, he wants to share that knowledge with the world.
Los Angeles Daily News