Sheriff Crime Blotter

LAAG asked the city and LASD for a up to date "Sheriff Blotter" which is done in many cities. It can also be combined with a daily updated crime map like this

The Sheriff and the City's response to LAAG's request below? complete silence. No response. Nice.

Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:52:44 -0700
To: "Todd Rogers, City Council" , , "Joe Esquivel, City Council" , , "Larry Van Nostran, city council" , , "Steve Croft, city council" , , "Diane DuBois, City Council" , "Howard Chambers, City Mgr" , "Sandi Ruyle, Deputy City Mgr" ,
From: "www.LAAG.us | Lakewood Accountability Action Group"
Subject: good question
Cc: "Capt. Dave L. Fender" , "Lt. Terry W. Benjestorf" , "Dep. Scott Scally" , "LBReport.com" , "LBReport.com" , karen.robes@presstelegram.com, "The Bellflower Bulletin" , "Carla Collado" , "Pose, Elizabeth" ,

Why dont we have a log/blotter like those below in Lakewood? LAAG would be glad to post/host it if we could get the feed. If we already do where/when is it posted on the internet and who edits it.? Maybe some of the 23 million being spent on the Substation could be spent on disseminating some information which costs nothing really..just a little time...and I think the Sheriff's have enough time to do it if other departments do.

LAPD does not have a blotter (it appears) but they have weekly crime maps which is almost better. LASD has nether. LAPD also has weekly crime stats.

http://www.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/2007_crime_summary.pdf

Lots of examples here..some better than others..some third party..some direct from the dept

http://www.city.waltham.ma.us/wpdweb/WalthamPDWeb/PoliceBlotter/policeblotter.htm

http://www.ci.brisbane.ca.us/html/cityDept/police/policeBlotter.asp

http://www.arcataeye.com/index.php?module=pagesetter&tid=2&topic=7

http://www.carmelpinecone.com/070622-8.html

http://cityofdavis.org/police/log/

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/lagunaniguel/article_1746216.php
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Sheriff's log
By LOIS EVEZICH
STAFF WRITER

Monday, June 25

Avila Road/Moulton Parkway, disturbance, 1:18 p.m. Juveniles were throwing debris onto the street.

Alicia Parkway, 27200 block, petty theft, 4:24 p.m. Two female juveniles were seen taking items from Mervyn's. They were taken into custody and released to their parents.

Golden lantern/Crown Valley Parkway, suspicious person in vehicle with arrest, 6:06 p.m. A man at the Shell Station had shortness of breath. Deputies called paramedics then took the 27-year-old male subject into custody. He's being held on $20,000 bail.

Port Street, disturbance, 7:31 p.m. Someone reported juveniles throwing rocks at vehicles.

Paseo de la Valle, suspicious persons, 7:29 p.m. A man came home and found his front door open. He also saw four men hiding in the bushes around the driveway next door. He called deputies because he thought there might be items missing from his home.

Sunday, June 24

Yosemite Road/Big Bend Drive, suspicious vehicle, 10:19 a.m. A silver Honda Prelude looked like its windows had been shot out.

Cascades Drive neighborhood, vandalism report, 10:35 a.m. A woman said duct tape was placed in front of her residence and it caused damage to her vehicle.

Crown Valley Parkway, 28200 block, grand theft report, 11 a.m. The manager at Ralphs suspected a former employee of theft.

Cape Drive, 26000 block suspicious person in vehicle, 5:43 p.m. A caller said a couple at Rock's Bar were acting suspiciously and letting other people buy them drinks, etc. When a male patron left the bar the woman, wearing a strapless dress, followed them out. The bartender was watching. The male part of the couple stayed in the bar. He was described as wearing a tan shirt, shorts and hiking shoes, and was missing teeth.

Saturday, June 23

Marina Hills Drive/Niguel Road, disturbance, 3:22 a.m. An unknown subject was throwing eggs at vehicles.

Avenida de la Plata, 27200 block, burglary report, 5:30 a.m. Someone took items from a residence.

Alicia Parkway, 27200 block, petty theft with arrest, 12:14 p.m. A woman with a baby was picked up for taking things at Mervyn's. While in the office she was semi-cooperative, so she was taken into custody, cited and released.

Aloma Avenue, 28800 block, battery, 1:54 p.m. A woman said her husband was hit in the face by a softball thrown from Niguel Hills Middle School. He didn't need medical aid, but went out to find who threw the ball.

Augusta Drive, 31000 block, burglary report, 3:52 p.m. Someone took items from a vehicle.

Alicia/Crown Valley parkways, traffic stop with arrest, 4:07 p.m. A 29-year-old male subject was taken into custody at a traffic stop, made bail and was released.

Alicia Parkway/Pacific Island Drive, suspicious person in vehicle with arrest, 4:44 p.m. A male subject, 24, was arrested when someone reported he had kicked in the door of the gym in the complex. He is held on narcotics violations for $50,000.

Jarrett Circle, 29700 block, assisting an outside agency, 7:15 p.m. Paramedics were called when a male subject, 94, was not breathing. They did CPR on him and took him to Mission Hospital.

Friday, June 22

Camino Capistrano, vandalism report, 9:54 a.m. Someone at Crown Valley Business Park reported damage to a cell phone.

Beacon Hill Way/Sentry Hill, fireworks violation, 1:59 p.m. Male juveniles were shooting off rockets.

Crown Valley Parkway/ Niguel Road, traffic accident, unknown injuries, 4:44 p.m. Someone on a bicycle was hit by a truck and complained of pain as well as abrasions on his or her arms and legs.

Niguel Road, 29700 block, unknown trouble, 6:44 p.m. A deputy asked for back up for a house search. A juvenile was uncooperative about letting him the house. A search was made and deputies took the boy to Juvenile Hall.

Niguel Ranch Road/Marina Hills Drive, disturbance, 11:09 p.m. Deputies picked up five juveniles who were suspected of throwing things from the Camden Court complex. They were hiding on the greenbelt between Marina Hills Drive and Hidden Hills Park. A deputy threw a flare to see them and they were taken into custody.

Mirandela Lane, 30500 block, citizen assist, 11:28 p.m. A woman reported sticky stuff was thrown onto her vehicle.

Thursday, June 21

Briones Drive, vandalism report, 12:47 a.m. Someone inflicted damage to a vehicle.

Crown Valley Parkway/Hillhurst Drive, traffic accident, 1:30 a.m. Two vehicles collided and one rolled over and may have hit a pole. A witness said one of the drivers tried to run away.

Crested Butte Circle, vandalism report, 7:55 a.m. Someone damaged property.

Pacific Island Drive, 30200 Pacific Island Drive, 8:39 a.m. Someone damaged a white Toyota 4Runner.

Crown Valley Parkway/Niguel Road, welfare check, 8:56 a.m. Someone reported an elderly woman driving in the parking lot with sparks coming from her tires. Deputies arrived and found the woman had a flat tire.

Hidden Hills Road, 24800 block, burglary report, 12:15 p.m.

Rancho Grande, 28400 block, burglary report, 12:20 p.m.

Highlands Avenue/Niguel Road, assisting an outside agency, 3:27 p.m. Three Sheriff's vehicles were asked to block off streets due to a brush fire.

Golden Lantern/Camino del Avion, pedestrian check with arrest, 4:04 p.m. A male subject was taken into custody, cited and released.

La Paz Road/Crown Valley Parkway, traffic accident, 5:51 p.m. Three vehicles collided at an intersection. One subject complained of pain.

Crown Ridge, family dispute with arrest, 10:14 p.m. The child of a couple reported that his mother and father were fighting. He called deputies who arrested a 56-year-old female subject. She was cited and released.

Wednesday, June 20

Camino del Avion/Peak Drive, welfare check, 8:19 a.m. Two men picked up an elderly man who was disoriented and had fallen down, but didn't know where to take him. Deputies took him to San Rafael in Dana Point.

Camino Los Padres, 25500 block, medical aid, 9:49 a.m. A woman lost control in an office and was throwing things around. The caller tried to keep her calm until deputies arrived. Turned out the woman was recently arrested and was being evicted from her apartment. Deputies took her to Mission Hospital.

Niguel Road/Beacon Hill Way, traffic stop with arrest, 3:30 p.m. Deputies arrested a male subject, 31, at a traffic stop. He was cited and released.

Pacific Park Drive, 24500 block, vandalism report, 6:21 p.m. Someone inflicted damage on property at the Aliso Laguna Villa.

Tuesday, June 19

Seafare, vandalism report, 9:58 a.m. Someone damaged a vehicle.

Niguel Heights Boulevard/Avila Road, stolen vehicle located, 1:16 p.m. Deputies found a black Saturn inside a storage unit that had been reported stolen. They held it for fingerprints.

Rancho del Sol, 28500 block, resisting arrest, 2:59 p.m. Deputies took a woman into custody at Patsy's Bar after her friend said she had threatened to overdose on pills.

Greenfield/Rancho Niguel Road, disturbance, 3:56 p.m. An irate customer at Café Car Wash blocked the entrance with a vehicle.

The Laguna Niguel Sheriff's Blotter was compiled by Lois Evezich from Internet reports posted by the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Contact the writer: levezich@ocregister.com or 949-454-7323
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Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™
>

The "Regulators" and the "Vikings"

Is this the same "professional organization" that Baca touts he is the head of and has managed so well? Reference this editorial by Sheriff Baca.

Deputy's lawsuit alleges Sheriff's Department racism
The Regulators say they are an elite cadre. Their critics compare them to the Mexican Mafia.
By Stuart Pfeifer
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

September 5, 2007

They call themselves the Regulators.

They wear tattoos of a skull-faced man holding a shotgun, fire screaming from its barrels. They refuse to testify against their buddies. They've been accused of extorting and intimidating those outside their ranks.

No, they're not members of a street gang. They're Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies at the Century station in Lynwood. And their "club" is part of a culture that's dogged the nation's largest sheriff's department for years.

A decade after the county paid $9 million to resolve a series of brutality lawsuits involving a different group of Lynwood deputies known as the Vikings, the Regulators are the focus of litigation alleging racism in the department and involving accusations that a group of deputies is behaving like a gang.

This time the lawsuit was filed by a deputy, Angel Jaimes, a Regulators member who alleges that black administrators in the department unfairly stalled his career by referring to him and other Latino deputies as the Mexican Mafia, a notorious prison gang.

Jaimes, a beefy 43-year-old who joined the department in 1989, said the Regulators are nothing more than a close-knit group of deputies, not exclusively Latinos, who support one another and promote aggressive, ethical policing that keeps communities safe. Only deputies who work hard and follow policy are encouraged to join, Jaimes said.

"It's like the all-stars of a baseball team. You get the best," he said.

Jaimes would not disclose how many deputies belong to the group, but he says he was the 63rd to join when he signed up years ago. They don't all still work at the Century station, which is staffed by more than 100 deputies.

Allegations of misconduct by Regulators have simmered for more than four years. Anonymous letters, purportedly drafted by deputies not in the group, have accused members of extorting money from other deputies, acting like gang members and heavily influencing shift scheduling and administration at the Century station. But no allegations have been proved, Sheriff's Department officials say.

Concern about the Regulators is reminiscent of one of the department's darkest chapters: allegations in the early 1990s that Lynwood station deputies -- many of them members of a group dubbed the Vikings -- brutalized minorities, falsely arrested suspects and engaged in wrongful shootings.

A federal judge referred to the Vikings as a "neo-Nazi white supremacist gang," and the county agreed as part of a 1996 settlement to spend $1.5 million retraining deputies to prevent such abuses and $7.5 million to compensate victims of alleged abuses by Lynwood deputies.

Since then, Sheriff Lee Baca has tried unsuccessfully to discourage deputies from forming cliques. But the club culture is deeply rooted in the department, and clubs exist at virtually every station, officials say. Even one of Baca's top managers, Assistant Sheriff Paul Tanaka, got a Vikings tattoo while assigned to the Lynwood station in the 1980s. Tanaka has said that the tattoos are harmless and that he didn't know of any inappropriate behavior by deputies who had them.

Baca declined to comment for this report, citing concerns about interfering with the pending lawsuit. But his office issued a statement that said he opposes "any clique, organization or club that does not embrace the core values of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department."

In 2003, the first of two anonymous letters was sent to Sheriff's Department executives about the Regulators. The letter referred to the group as the Mexican Mafia and accused Jaimes and another member of "strong-arming" deputies to contribute money for deputies in need.

"They don't ask for a contribution, rather they demand and enforce the payment of a set price," according to the letter, which was signed by "a concerned deputy." A second letter, mailed in 2004, said, "Something has to be done immediately, maybe a cleaning of the station to get rid of the gang mentality of the Mexican Mafia."

Members of the Regulators acknowledge that they raise money for deputies in need, including some who have been suspended without pay for violating department policy. But they deny ever pressuring fellow deputies to contribute.

Jaimes' lawsuit, which seeks to overturn his 2004 transfer from the Century station, has led to allegations of racial tension within the department and has shed new light on the culture of groups like the Regulators.

One of Jaimes' potential witnesses is Lt. Terri Williams , who has testified previously that two black Sheriff's Department executives told her they were concerned that Century station "was run by Mexicans and they were going to change that."

But many of the group's activities and members remain cloaked in secrecy. Deputy James Grubb, a longtime member of the Regulators, refused under questioning from Los Angeles County attorneys to confirm whether some deputies were members of the group.

"You want me to talk to you about somebody else that may not want their business known. I can't do that for you," Grubb said while under oath in a deposition for Jaimes' lawsuit. "It's not up to me to bring somebody else out."

Grubb would not answer many questions from Christy L. O'Donnell, a lawyer representing the county in the lawsuit:

"Are you the leader of the Regulators?"

"There's no such thing as the leader," Grubb replied.

"How do decisions get made, then, by the Regulators?"

"I won't discuss that. It's not something that's public knowledge," Grubb said.

"You do understand, though, that when you refuse to answer questions . . . it has the negative inference of the code of silence?"

"As does a lot of things in general life," Grubb said.

Grubb confirmed that deceased Deputy Jerry Ortiz, slain by a gang member in 2005, was once a member of the Regulators. Grubb said he drove Ortiz to a Huntington Beach tattoo shop to get his Regulators tattoo in 2000 or 2001.

Ortiz's killer, Jose Luis Orozco, was sentenced to death in May. In a recent interview, defense attorney Stan Perlo said he was unaware of Ortiz's membership in the Regulators. Had he known about it, he might have presented it as evidence during the penalty phase of the trial, which focused largely on Ortiz's character and Orozco's history of gang membership.

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Lowell Anger, who prosecuted the case, also said he didn't know Ortiz was once a Regulators member.

Perlo said the Sheriff's Department should have told prosecutors about Ortiz's membership in the Regulators. He said it could become an issue in his client's appeal.

Baca said he did not consider the issue relevant.

"The murderer was convicted of his cowardly act of gunning down a deputy sheriff in cold blood. Justice was most assuredly served," Baca said.

Michael Gennaco, chief attorney for the sheriff's Office of Independent Review, which monitors internal affairs investigations, said he was concerned that groups like the Regulators hurt morale and divide deputies.

He said that the name itself, the Regulators, is a cause for concern. In jail culture, regulators are inmates who control other inmates' behavior.

In 1994, rapper Warren G's hit single "Regulate," began: "Regulators we regulate any stealing of his property and we damn good too. But you can't be any geek off the street. Gotta be handy with the steel, if you know what I mean."

"The name and connotation and symbol they have selected can cause sinister perceptions, even if in reality nothing sinister is going on," Gennaco said.

Jaimes said Regulators' members have done nothing inappropriate. No deputy has ever been disciplined for activity related to the group, he said. Rather, he said, department administrators wronged him by referring to the group as the Mexican Mafia, a gang implicated in murders, drug dealing and extortion.

"Everybody in the Sheriff's Department knows the name Mexican Mafia, because we work the jails," he said. "You're talking to a Mexican Mafia expert. I testified against the Mexican Mafia. So having them call me this hurts me."

Sheriff's Sgt. Arthur Scott, one of Jaimes' former supervisors, testified at a deposition in the lawsuit that he once saw Latino deputies gathered in a room at the Century station and said, "This looks like a meeting of the Mexican Mafia." Scott said he made the statement "in a joking fashion."

It was a confrontation with Scott that ultimately led Jaimes to sue the department that has employed him for 18 years. Jaimes said he confronted Scott at a briefing and used profanity while criticizing the sergeant's management style and for failing to apologize for using the Mexican Mafia term.

As a result of that incident, Jaimes was suspended for 25 days and transferred out of the Century station. His lawsuit against the department seeks to overturn the discipline and the transfer. A hearing on the county's efforts to have the lawsuit dismissed is scheduled for Monday.

stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-deputies22sep22,1,3251609.story
From the Los Angeles Times
Deputy is allowed to pursue his bias suit The member of the Regulators claims he was transferred from a station because he is Latino.
By Stuart Pfeifer
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

September 22, 2007

A sheriff's deputy can move forward with a lawsuit that alleges the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department unfairly transferred him out of its Century station because he is Latino, a judge ruled Friday.

Deputy Angel Jaimes alleges that African American supervising officers transferred him in 2004 to rid the Century station of experienced Latinos who were admired by other deputies.

The lawsuit has brought attention to a group of deputies in the Century station -- Jaimes among them -- who got matching tattoos and called themselves the Regulators. A series of anonymous letters, purportedly written by fellow deputies, claimed that Jaimes and other Regulators intimidated those who were not part of their clique, extorted money from them and had undue influence over the running of the Century station.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green ruled that the case can proceed to trial, despite sheriff's officials' claims that the transfer was related to defamatory statements the deputy made to a supervisor, not to ethnicity.

Green said he based the decision in part on a lieutenant's testimony that Cmdr. Willie Miller and division Chief Ronnie Williams told her the Century station was "was run by Mexicans and they were going to change that."

Jaimes has alleged in the lawsuit that supervisors, including Sgt. Arthur Scott, openly referred to him and other Latino deputies at the Century station as the Mexican Mafia, the name of a prison gang linked to violent crimes throughout the country.

Jaimes confronted Scott in a meeting at the Lynwood station and used profanity while criticizing the sergeant's management style and for failing to apologize for using the Mexican Mafia term. The department later suspended Jaimes for 25 days for those comments and transferred him from Century to the department's Transit Services Bureau.

Jaimes' lawsuit seeks to overturn the transfer and suspension and seeks monetary damages. Green said allegations that the department was motivated to transfer Latino deputies out of the Century station was enough to allow the case to go to trial.

stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™r>

Public Safety Committee is reviewing a "arrest competition" organized by LASD

Lakewood, California - Council Recap
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Issue 103 Council Recap
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 103

In other actions, the city council Announced that the Public Safety Committee is reviewing a highly publicized "arrest competition" organized by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's lieutenant. The competition was terminated by Sheriff Lee Baca after its first day as a "well-intentioned but poorly conceived" activity.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

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Crime stats take 6 months to come out and are still questionable

What is most interesting about all this was that LAAG pressed LASD for crime statistics shortly after they were "unofficially" leaked to the city no doubt as fodder in support of the $20 million in funds just expended [blown] on a new Lakewood Sheriff's substation. Of course the statistics were never provided to LAAG. We had to wait for the 2006 stats to get posted in April 2007. click here to read related article

After the article below came out then Fender of course comes out with the following:

Lakewood, California - Topping the News

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Issue 101 - Council Recap

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 101

Statistics verified

Responding to a local news media report, Captain Dave Fender of

the Lakewood Sheriff's Station reported to council members that

serious crimes in Lakewood (called Part I crimes in FBI reports)

were down about 16 percent in 2006 while "violent crimes" (a

component of the serious crimes in FBI reports) was up 10

percent. Putting the numbers in perspective, Fender said

"violent crimes" exceeded previous year's total by 36 crime

incidents, while the category of serious crime was down overall

by more than 500 incidents.

All the 2005-2006 numbers from the FBI site (As of Oct 2007):

City Lakewood Population 81192

Violent crime 2006 407
Violent Crime 2005 371
% Change up 9.70

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter 2006 4
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter 2005 0
% Change up 400.00

Forcible rape 2006 11
Forcible rape 2005 13
% Change - 15.38

Robbery 2006 220
Robbery 2005 193
% Change up 13.99

Aggravated assault 2006 172
Aggravated assault 2005 165
% Change up 4.24

Property crime 2006 2255
Property crime 2005 2788
% Change - 19.12

Burglary 2006 394
Burglary 2005 418
% Change - 5.74

Larcenytheft 2006 1427
Larceny/theft 2005 1880
% Change - 24.10

Motor vehicle theft 2006 434
Motor vehicle theft 2005 490
% Change - 11.43

Arson 2006 11
Arson 2005 16
% Change - 31.25


FBI, local crime stats don't always match
Lakewood, L.B. both reported better numbers.
By Tracy Manzer, Staff writer
Article Launched: 09/24/2007 10:41:49 PM PDT

Conflicting results were found in comparisons of local and federal crime statistics for two cities - Lakewood and Long Beach - with the release of a federal crime report on Monday.

According to the FBI's 2006 Crimes in the United States report, violent crimes have increased by more than 9 percent in Lakewood - due in part to a 400-percent jump in murders, with zero reported in 2005, compared with 4 in 2006.

Long Beach saw an increase of less than 1 percent, according to the FBI.

But those numbers do not match crime statistics released by both cities earlier this year.

Lakewood listed an impressive 16-percent plummet in violent crimes and Long Beach boasted a 4-percent drop, and its fourth consecutive year of decrease in violent crimes for 2006, at the beginning of the year.

The federal crime report is put together each year with information provided by regional, state and local law enforcement agencies, said Federal Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

Minor differences can occur with changes to data released earlier in the year by local agencies, Eimiller said.

Some data may be corrected, some statistics require updates and typos are possible, she said. Long Beach Deputy Police Chief J.J. Craig said crimes listed in the federal report under violent crimes - murder and manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault - make up only a portion of all Part I crimes.

Not all Part I crimes are violent crimes, but all violent crimes are in the Part I category, he explained.

"It's almost a sub-category," Craig added, noting at least eight other crime classifications that fall within the entire Part I crimes category and could be included in the local statistics released last March.

Lakewood spokesman Donald Waldie said Monday that the violent crimes statistics released by then-Mayor Larry Van Nostran at the state of the city address in January came straight from the Lakewood Sheriff's Station.

Van Nostran referred to the crimes as serious in the address. Waldie said the term is one the city prefers to violent crimes, but the classification remains the same.

Sheriff's authorities in charge of tracking statistics for Lakewood could not be reached for comment.

Perhaps more puzzling was the exact match for property crime statistics between the two cities and the federal report; Long Beach saw a 5-percent decrease and Lakewood a sizable 19-percent dive.

According to the federal crime report, violent crimes were up 1.9 percent nationwide, while property crimes across the country fell by nearly the same margin, dropping to their lowest level since 1987.

While the rate of violent crimes - calculated at roughly 473.5 per 100,000 inhabitants - rose for the second straight year, it is the third lowest total in the past two decades, according to the report.

Some local cities - like Artesia, Bellflower and Paramount - bucked the national increase while cities such as Avalon, Carson and Downey followed the trend to varying degrees.

Most of the local jurisdictions released their crime statistics in January and attributed positive gains to better community policing and community involvement.

Craig noted Monday that many of the decreases that occurred in Long Beach in 2006 have continued into this year, including further reductions in aggravated assaults - a category within violent crimes that covers a range of violations including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and battery.

Tracy Manzer can be reached at tracy.manzer@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1261.

On the Net: Crime Statistics.


Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

A Power Grab or a ploy?

I guess the taxpayers have no say in this even though this is likely a just an attempt to give an immediate pay raise to hundreds of "officers". This tactic/ploy has been used again and again. Municipal court judges all became "superior court" judges a few years back and of course in the process boosted their pay significantly up to the superior court level. The government efficiency wizards made all kinds of promises as to how things would be better once the transition was made. Result? What do you think? Nothing. No change in how fast courts process cases or the quality of the results. Also given all the stories on LAAG about Baca's mismanagement, from the jails to Paris Hilton to "arrest contests" how could anybody in their right mind claim he is a good manager? The only good idea comes from the Sheriff's department themselves (not Baca of course): just outsource these glorified security guards to the private sector and save a few hundred million in salary, health and pension costs so we could pour it into the bottomless pit that is Martin Luther "killer King" hospital. Dont forget how much better airport security got once we "federalized" (i.e. boosted pay and pensions) for luggage screeners. Oh man dont get me going...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-takeover8oct08,1,2078875.story
From the Los Angeles Times
Baca may try to expand department
The L.A. County sheriff, whose agency is already the largest in the nation, assigns a team to explore taking over the Office of Public Safety.
By Stuart Pfeifer
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

October 8, 2007

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who already leads the largest sheriff's department in the nation, may soon try to make his agency even bigger.

At the request of the county's top administrator, Baca has assigned a team to explore taking over the county Office of Public Safety, a police force that patrols parks, hospitals and government buildings.

Although relatively obscure, it is the fourth-largest police department in the county, with more than 460 sworn officers. It is led by a high-profile chief, Margaret York, a former top-ranking Los Angeles Police Department executive whose work as an LAPD detective was the inspiration for the television series "Cagney and Lacey." She's married to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lance Ito.

York's department has been under pressure. It has struggled to keep officers on the force in part because it pays far less than other agencies, including the Sheriff's Department. Veteran county police officers draw base salaries of about $52,000 compared with $76,000 for sheriff's deputies. County police officers recently lost a lawsuit that sought to bring their pay in line with that of sheriff's deputies.

Also, a sergeant filed a federal lawsuit against the department last year, alleging that he was denied promotion because he annoyed supervisors by reporting misconduct by fellow officers.

Among Sgt. Richard Robinson's allegations: that an officer worked security for the Los Angeles Clippers while on the clock as a county police officer, that police executives drove county cars to a bar and drank while on duty and that officers covered up instances of excessive force against suspects.

A sergeant assigned to work for York reportedly said that Robinson was a top employee but "would never be promoted because he reports too much misconduct," according to a declaration in the lawsuit. The case has not yet gone to trial.

Neither Robinson nor York would discuss the lawsuit -- or the outcome of internal affairs investigations into the alleged misconduct he reported. "We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously," York said.

County Chief Executive Officer William T Fujioka said a Sheriff's Department takeover is one of several options he's considering. The county police currently report to the CEO's office, an arrangement that Fujioka finds uncomfortable.

"I'm not a law enforcement person," Fujioka said. "The sheriff is our chief law enforcement officer. He knows how to supervise a law enforcement or security function. It seems to me it would be appropriate to look at that as one of the options."

For the last few weeks, sheriff's employees have been visiting facilities that the county police supervise to determine how much a merger would cost. The Board of Supervisors would ultimately decide whether a merger was appropriate.

Sheriff's Capt. Edward Rogner said the department could save money if it had security guards perform some of the functions now handled by sworn officers. He said he expects to complete a report by early November.

If a merger took place, it would be one of the largest in Sheriff's Department history -- and the third since Baca took office in 1998. He also supervised takeovers of the Compton Police Department and the community college police force, adding a combined 200 deputy positions. The Sheriff's Department has more than 9,100 sworn deputies.

York said she believes her department is performing well, but she is not opposed to a merger.

"I'm very proud of the officers we have," she said. "We have officers who are educated. We have officers who are bright. We have officers who are very committed to public service.

"Whether we become deputies or remain as a separate department, I'd be willing to put my officers up against any officers in the country."

stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com



Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

Another Sheriff debacle in taxpayers laps

The Lakewood Sheriff's must have known this contest was going to get exposed/leaked at some point and given the general mistrust of law enforcement in general (post OJ) did they not think that the people arrested would try to use any angle to get out of the arrests? I guess now the the sheriffs will be busy once again re opening all these cases and responding to subpoenas from defense attorneys. May even get some taxpayer paid overtime out of it. Brilliant foresight on the part of Sheriff leadership. "The sheriff has never been shy about having anybody review anything," Steve Whitmore said. "These are good, solid arrests." Uh not the point Mr. Whitmore. The point is that they all now have to be opened up and re-investigated as people have lost faith in law enforcements objectivity (no help from Atty Gen. Alberto Gonzales either). This is why law enforcement's good works is constantly challenged. This is why the ACLU gets lots of donations. Thats the point. These guys dont get it. Screw up after screw up and this is just the stuff the media CATCHES! Imagine what we dont see? This is why the inability to terminate government employees is a very bad thing. At the end of the day they just shrug their shoulders and say "hey not our problem".


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-game5oct05,0,209184.story?coll=la-home-local
From the Los Angeles Times
Sheriff's Department's arrest contests to be investigated
Public defender's office plans challenges to cases stemming from a contest Aug. 15 at the Lakewood station geared to boost deputies' productivity.
By Matt Lait and Scott Glover
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

October 5, 2007

The Los Angeles County public defender's office on Thursday launched an investigation into arrests made two months ago by sheriff's deputies participating in a five-city competition to book as many suspects as possible during a 24-hour period.

Public Defender Michael P. Judge said his office would review all the arrests made Aug. 15 -- the day of one of the competitions -- and challenge the merits of the cases in court.

"Our contention is that the activities of the deputies may not have been prompted by what they saw but rather by the pressure of producing greater arrest numbers for the competition," Judge said.

The competition in question was dubbed "Operation Any Booking" and was initiated by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department lieutenant who said he wanted to increase the productivity and boost the morale of some deputies in the Lakewood station, which serves the southeast Los Angeles County cities of Lakewood, Bellflower, Paramount, Artesia and Hawaiian Gardens.

The deputies making the most arrests in those cities won "bragging rights," Lt. James Tatreau told The Times earlier this week.

Tatreau said he helped organize that and other monthly competitions, including a contest to see how many vehicles deputies could impound in a single night, as well as how many "field interviews" of gang members and other suspected criminals deputies could conduct during a 24-hour period.

Sheriff Lee Baca called for an end to the competitions after learning about them from Times reporters Wednesday. A spokesman for Baca said Thursday that the sheriff was not concerned about the public defender's inquiry.

"The sheriff has never been shy about having anybody review anything," Steve Whitmore said. "These are good, solid arrests."

According to statistics produced by the Sheriff's Department as part of a public records request, there were 28 arrests on the night of Operation Any Booking. That figure matched the average number of arrests made throughout the month.

However, department officials acknowledged that the other contests regarding vehicle impounds and field interviews resulted in dramatic increases in those activities. For example, the five cities in which deputies ordered vehicles impounded had 37 vehicles towed during the day of the competition, compared to an average daily total of 4.7 vehicles.

Judge said that even though the statistics did not show an increase in the arrest numbers during the competition, that did not necessarily mean the figures weren't inflated.

"It could have been a really slow night," Judge said.

Judge said he did not know how many of the cases from Aug. 15 were still pending or how many involved clients of the public defender's office.

"That's what we're trying to ascertain," he said. If there still are active cases, Judge said he believed the revelations of the contest would be "ripe material for cross-examination" of the arresting deputies.

Loyola law professor Laurie Levenson said she was not surprised Judge had launched an investigation.

"The sheriff basically handed him this opportunity," she said.

But Levenson said she thought the public defender would be fighting an uphill battle to have any cases overturned absent solid evidence that the deputies had done something wrong.

"Officers can have all the wrong motives, but they're still legal stops as long as there were objective facts to support reasonable suspicion or probable cause," said Levenson, a former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles.

She said Judge and his colleagues could also try to argue that they would have been better able to defend their clients had they known about the contests and used them to challenge officers' credibility in court.

Getting information out of the Sheriff's Department absent a court order may also be a problem, Levenson predicted.

"It's not easy to get somebody to go back and reopen an investigation," she said.

The story about the contest, published Wednesday and also posted on www.latimes.com generated more than 200 e-mails from around Southern California and across the country. Many people condemned the contests and the Sheriff's Department. But many others supported the competitions and praised Tatreau by name, some saying that he should be promoted for his innovative approach to policing.

matt.lait@latimes.com
scott.glover@latimes.com

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

"Why isn't there any oversight..."

Thats a good question and it comes from a teachers union president no less! The point is that we as taxpayers expect government to be the "overseers" yet the government is the one that needs the oversight. Remember this is not private corporate money its your tax dollars they are stealing and misusing. Someday taxpayers will learn to stand up and ask for some accountability from government leaders at all levels of government. The fraud is just as bad if not worse at the local level as no one watches it like at the state and national level. Yes the dollars involved in the fraud are a little smaller but so are the local budgets. Oh and dont expect "oversight" from local elected politicians. They are pals with the govt bureaucrats doing the cheating. Politicians only pander to votes and getting re-elected (esp. in cities where there are no term limits). You dont vote they could care less what you say. Now if you have a lot of votes, well then maybe they will say "you make a good point".


Oct 5, 2007 12:00 am US/Pacific
Follow-Up: LAUSD Credit Card Paper Trail

David Goldstein
Reporting

(CBS) LOS ANGELES This report is a follow-up to David Goldstein's riveting report from last week in which he exposed a myriad of abuses of procurement cards being used by LAUSD officials...including a $500 coffee maker.

"Did you have any idea they were spending upwards of $5 million a month on procurement cards?"

No, no!

Teachers Union President A.J. Duffy had no idea.

NAT SOT: Of Papers

We uncovered millions of dollars in charges on credit card statements from LAUSD administrators.

"My question is, why isn't there any oversight in the district?"

In our investigation we combed through seven months of statements from more than 1700 administrator's credit cards.

Most of the administrators word at schools. The cards are supposed to be used for low-level items like paper, toner and emergency supplies.

But we found a lot more.

$995 for a mattress. Another $995 for a company that produces video games. $995 for flowers. We found charges for fishing tackle...stuffed animals...purchases at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Smart & Final and Trader Joes...Linens and Things. Millions and millions of dollars in charges.

"So your reaction to the money being spent? So let me get this straight...they don't pay their teachers enough money, they don't pay them on time. And we have administrators who are involved in fraud. My question is -- why isn't there any oversight in this district?"

The district's inspector general DID conduct an audit earlier this year -- and estimated $4-5 million in fraud and misuse.

He says, "Often we couldn't find the merchandise when we went to look for it." It wasn't in the schools, I asked.

"No," he said, "It wasn't in the schools."

Which leads you to believe what? "That the person bought these things for their own personal use."

The audit specifically states that prohibited purchases are food and beverage -- and conference, workshop or seminar registration fees.

But we found a $221 charge for the Restaurant Depot -- a restaurant in Torrance. $330 for Gen Con, LLC...they held a "Star Wars" convention in LA earlier this year.

(Stand up) Since we first aired this investigation last week, we've been flooded with E mails from people expressing outrage. And it's become a hot topic for LA Talk Radio. But, the district still stands behind its practices.

Every item we questions, they defended. Or stated the charges are being disputed because the credit card was stolen. And they claim expenses are reviewed.

"Is it foolproof? No. And that's what the review mechanisms help us take a look at."

But the Union Chief says it may be time for a hard look.

"I dar say if they started combing through those records going back 3, 4, 5, 7 years they would find millions of dollars in fraud."

So far, two people have been charged and convicted. Another dozen are being investigated. And the inspector general says there are hundreds of other credit card charges that need better explanations.


Sep 28, 2007 10:17 am US/Pacific
EXCLUSIVE: LAUSD Money Spent On Shopping Sprees?
ARCHIVE: Live Chat With David Goldstein
Image

David Goldstein
Reporting

LAUSD credit card statements are raising questions about what taxpayers' money is being used for. David Goldstein has the story.

While your children go to school, we got an education in math by going through their administrators' LAUSD credit card statements. We found they were spending money. Lots and lots of money. Sometimes, $5 million a month, raising some serious questions.

''Does that raise a red flag?''

''Well, of course it does.''

Just think of your one- or two-page credit card statement at home, then multiply that by 1,700! That’s how many credit cards there are at LAUSD. Administrators spend it on computers, coffee, flowers, just about anything. We went through all these reports and found some interesting items.

$451 at the Sharper Image. $796 in yoga classes. $320 at this day spa in Valley Village. Over $1,600 on a company that sells U.S. Postal Service clothes and accessories. All taxpayers money. All questionable charges, according to the district’s inspector general.

''All of those would be violations of the procurement card use, some of them fraudulent.''

Administrators in almost every school have at least one of the procurement cards. They’re supposed to be used for low-valued items like office supplies. But the inspector general's conducted an audit earlier this year and estimated $4 to 5 million dollars in fraud of misuse, including charges for electronics and computers that couldn’t be justified.

Often we couldn't find the merchandise when we went to look for it.

''It wasn’t in the schools?''

''It wasn’t in the schools.''

''Which leads you to believe what?''

''That the person bought that for their own use.''

But we found even more!

$500 for a company that sells coffee makers. There were charges to collection agencies. Money transfers to Mexico. Even a cruise to San Francisco. Plus thousands of dollars in movie tickets and sporting events. Even if it was used for students, it's misuse of the card.

''That's the first I've heard about the movie tickets. Even my staff hasn’t told me about that. No, that would absolutely raise a red flag.''

And parents we talked to were also upset.

''That’s sad. Disgustingly so.''

''I'm shocked and saddened.''

''Isn't it just a blank check for people to charge anything they want?''

But the district’s business manager defends the program.

“There is abuse in any system and we take a look at where we can find abuses and we correct policy as it needs to be corrected.”

He says they're already had to block hundreds of merchants – like Nordstroms – because charges appeared on the statements. But he admits they can't stop everything.

''We always sample audit. Do we catch everyone? No, I can’t say we do.''

Federal Workers Accused
Of Abusing Business Class
Aversion to Coach
Cost $146 Million
In 12-Month Period
By CHRISTOPHER CONKEY
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 3, 2007; Page A10

WASHINGTON -- Most business-class and first-class travel by federal bureaucrats is improper and unwarranted, costing taxpayers an extra $146 million in a recent 12-month period, congressional investigators said.


The most common abuse by federal employees is the overuse of business-class fares, which receive less scrutiny than first-class tickets but cost several times more than coach prices. Even though business-class travel accounts for 96% of all premium-class travel at federal agencies, many departments don't monitor it, according to a Government Accountability Office study being released today.

In the 12 months that ended June 30, the GAO found, at least $146 million, or 67%, of the money federal agencies spent on premium-class travel was not properly authorized or justified, the report said. Senior executives and presidential appointees, who comprise less than 0.5% of the federal work force, accounted for 15% of the tab, it said.

"The abuse of business-class travel is particularly troubling, as it usually costs more than five times the price of coach-class travel," Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, ranking member on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said in a statement. He has introduced legislation that would require agencies to track and report their use of business-class travel, as they do for first-class travel.

The report lists several instances in which "breakdowns" and a "weak control environment" permitted needless or unauthorized premium travel.

A senior executive at the Foreign Agricultural Service, a division of the Agriculture Department focused on foreign markets, took 10 premium-class trips to Europe from Washington, D.C., with a subordinate approving the trips, which the GAO said was tantamount to self-approval. An Agriculture Department spokesperson said Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner yesterday sent a memo to employees saying any exceptions to coach travel must be approved by the office of the chief financial officer.

A Defense Department official took 15 premium flights between July 2005 and September 2006 because of a "medical condition," but the claim was backed by a letter from another department employee citing a nonlife-changing surgery that occurred in 2001. The Defense Department declined to comment but was singled out elsewhere in the report for improving its travel oversight since a 2003 GAO audit.

The study also showed wide disparities among agencies in deciding in which cases their employees are allowed to fly premium, such as when a nonstop international flight exceeds 14 hours.

Department of Homeland Security employees took 6,600 such flights to Europe, Africa or the Middle East during the 12-month period examined. About 3% bought first-class or business-class tickets. By contrast, 83% of the 540 such trips taken by representatives from the Millennium Challenge Corp., a public corporation that channels development aid, paid premium fares.

An MCC spokesman called the spending legal and justified. It said the corporation "tightened controls on travel" in 2005 and "earlier this year put in place additional procedures to monitor and reduce costs."

Most agencies are guided by uniform regulations, but some federal entities, including Congress, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Postal Service, have their own rules. A spokesperson for President Bush said she hadn't seen the GAO report and couldn't comment on it, but noted that White House employees other than the president follow the general travel regulations adhered to by other federal agencies.

A spokesman for Sen. Coleman said Senate rules prohibit senators and staffers from flying first class. A spokesman for the House's chief administrative officer said members can choose which class to fly, but the amount is taken out of their office's annual operation budgets.

The Postal Service allows the 11 members on its Board of Governors to travel first class to any destination. A spokesman said the perk is intended to offset the fact that 9 of the 11 members are paid an annual salary of $30,000 and hold other jobs.

The Federal Reserve allows its seven governors to travel business class for all international flights and on domestic flights exceeding five hours. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his security detail can travel first class.

In December 2005, then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and his guards flew from Washington to London for a conference at a round-trip cost of $25,000, according to a Fed spokesperson. The GAO said the total cost for coach tickets would have been $1,500.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

Busy Work competition at LASD Lakewood station

Apparently the LASD Lakewood substation officers dont have enough to do? Well how about writing a few parking tickets after the useless city parking staff goes home at 5pm (just when most of the parking violations start occurring in Lakewood). Well you know the saying in Lakewood, "write a parking citation loose a vote".

So if they cant find enough to do and dont want to write parking tickets (as that is too far beneath them) then perhaps we should transfer some of the officers to other LASD areas that have a use for them and save a few million dollars of the city budget. I think the LASD contract is the largest portion of the city service budget for "contractors"

City Councilman Todd Rogers, who coincidentally is commander of the Carson Sheriff's Station, was quoted below stating: "But I do want my officers to be proactive. That's what really characterizes the Sheriff's Department, in my opinion, and we've been historically proactive in terms of seeking out law violators."

Given the parking problems in the city and the council stating over and over again that it is a complaint driven system, and not forgetting about the whole Brian Miller explosion debacle, LAAG finds it hard to believe that LASD is proactive. Maybe in "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" (Carson) but we have not see proactiveness in Lakewood. And this after rewarding the Sheriff's with a new 20 million plus station?

Lakewood Sheriff's Station capt. apologizes for quotas
Sheriff Baca emphasizes `quality over quantity.'
By Karen Robes, Staff writer
Article Launched: 10/04/2007 09:15:48 PM PDT

LAKEWOOD - The commander of the Los Angeles County Lakewood Sheriff's Station said Thursday he was wrong in permitting competitions that pushed deputies to achieve the most arrests, net the most impound vehicles and interrogate the most gang members.

Capt. David Fender said he made an error in judgment and will stop conducting the contests, a practice not condoned by Sheriff Lee Baca.

"As the sheriff puts it, `Quality over quantity,"' Fender said. "I erred because I gave the ultimate approval to go out there and try to make the arrests on this given day. But it was all for the right reasons - to impact crime and bring up productivity and morale.

"We weren't promoting any quotas or attaching any rewards to the arrests," Fender said.

Baca said the competitions were a well-meaning but poorly conceived idea that promoted "the wrong values."

"We're not into numbers, we're into quality," Baca said. "I don't think it will occur again."

Fender's apology comes after reports of an internal e-mail by sheriff's Lt. James Tatreau to patrol deputies to make them aware of the contests, said Fender.

Some Lakewood city officials - including City Councilman Todd Rogers, who is commander of the Carson Sheriff's Station - said they were not aware of the competitions.

Rogers said he knows Fender and Tatreau, whom he described as "an outstanding guy who did it with all the best intentions, which was to motivate deputies and increase productivity."

"There was no malicious intent," Rogers said.

Rogers said the line between motivating deputies and falling into a situation such as Lakewood's is a blurry one.

"You don't want to establish quotas, obviously and you don't want to go out and say this is the standard by which you'll be judged," he said. "But I do want my officers to be proactive. That's what really characterizes the Sheriff's Department, in my opinion, and we've been historically proactive in terms of seeking out law violators. But there has to be a purpose, part of a larger law enforcement mission."

Rogers said the city will monitor the issue.


Los Angeles County Deputies Criticized Over Competition
Updated: October 4th, 2007 10:20 PM EDT
Story by knbc.com
http://www.officer.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=38213

The Sheriff's Department was under fire from law enforcement experts Thursday over contests to see which Lakewood station deputies could make the most arrests, impound the most vehicles and question the most gang members in a 24-hour period. Video

An e-mail written Aug. 15 and obtained by the Los Angeles Times described one recent competition -- "Operation Any Booking" -- designed to arrest as many people as possible within a specific 24-hour period, according to the newspaper.

Lakewood-based sheriff's Lt. James Tatreau, the e-mail's author, told The Times the intent was motivational and said the only prize was "bragging rights."

"No way, no how did anyone encourage officers to falsify a report or an arrest," he said.

Another competition, dubbed "Operation Vehicle Impound," aimed at seizing as many cars as possible, according to the Times. It took place July 11 and dramatically increased the number of vehicles seized.

A third competition challenged deputies to see how many gang members and other suspected criminals could be stopped and questioned, according to the Times. That produced a spike in such interviews.

Some police accountability experts, civil libertarians and defense attorneys condemned the competitions, saying they trivialized traumatic encounters such as arrests and having a car impounded, The Times reported.

"It's crazy," Jane White, the associate director of the National Center for Community Policing, told the Times. "I'm at a loss for words. I've never heard of anything like this before."

Hubert Williams, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Police Foundation, which promotes innovative policing strategies, told The Times that the competitions were "highly problematic and inappropriate."

Sheriff Lee Baca told The Times the competitions were well-meaning but ill-conceived.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-games4oct04,1,2655896.story
From the Los Angeles Times
Deputies compete in arrest contests
Southeast L.A. competitions were meant to boost morale, official says. Baca calls them a well-meaning but ill-conceived idea.
By Scott Glover and Matt Lait
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

October 4, 2007

Participating in sports such as football, weightlifting and boxing has long been part of the culture within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. But deputies have recently been playing some new games -- on-duty enforcement competitions that have police watchers across the country crying foul.

One recent competition, described in an internal Sheriff's Department e-mail obtained by The Times, was called "Operation Any Booking." The object was to arrest as many people as possible within a specific 24-hour period.

Other one-day competitions have included "Operation Vehicle Impound," a contest aimed at seizing as many cars as possible. And another challenged deputies to see how many gang members and other suspected criminals could be stopped and questioned.

The prize for winning was nothing more than "bragging rights," said Lt. James Tatreau, who helped organize the events that involved teams of deputies patrolling the southeast Los Angeles cities of Lakewood, Bellflower, Paramount, Artesia and Hawaiian Gardens. The station is one of 23 that make up the nation's largest sheriff's department.

"It's just a friendly competition to have a little fun out here," Tatreau said. It was Tatreau who sent the e-mail about the booking contest Aug. 15. Tatreau said he viewed the games, which began in July, as a morale booster for overworked deputies who, because of staffing shortages, are required to work four overtime shifts a month.

But police accountability experts, civil libertarians and defense attorneys condemned the practice, saying that it trivialized traumatic encounters such as arrests and having a car impounded, and raised questions about deputies' motives in taking such actions.

Hubert Williams, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Police Foundation, which promotes innovative policing strategies, called the competitions "highly problematic and inappropriate."

"The arrest is one of the most potent tools in the possession of law enforcement and should be used with great thought," Williams said. "It's not a competition or a game."

Others, including Los Angeles County Public Defender Michael P. Judge, worried that the games might also prompt deputies to make illegitimate arrests to boost their statistics.

"Certainly, it calls into question whether there was a legitimate reason to book any of the people who were booked during the time of the competition," Judge said.

"It's crazy," said Jane White, the associate director of the National Center for Community Policing. "I'm at a loss for words. I've never heard of anything like this before."

After being called for comment by The Times on Wednesday, Sheriff Lee Baca said he spoke with the Lakewood station lieutenant. Baca called the competitions a well-meaning but ill-conceived idea that promoted "the wrong values."

"We train deputies to be independent thinkers and leaders," Baca said. "The lesson learned here is that -- whether it's for morale purposes or to increase productivity -- law enforcement is not the kind of service where you can dictate the activity.

"We're not into numbers, we're into quality," he said. "I don't think it will occur again."

Operation Any Booking did not result in an increase in arrests on the day of the contest, according to records provided to The Times in response to a public records request. The cities reported a combined total of 28 arrests, which was equal to the daily average that month.

The impound competition, however, appears to have dramatically increased the number of vehicles seized, records show. On average, deputies in the five-city area hauled away 4.7 cars a day in July. On the day of the contest, July 11, they impounded 37 vehicles -- which owners could not recover until they paid a towing fee.

Deputies in Lakewood seized 18 vehicles that day, half the total they would impound over the course of the month.

The number of field interviews with gang members and other suspected criminals also soared during the contest to increase that particular enforcement activity. Tatreau said the spike occurred because some deputies had fallen out of the habit of doing that intelligence gathering.

Before he was contacted by Baca, Tatreau said he stood by the idea to encourage deputies' productivity and had been encouraged by deputies who liked the competition.

"They were pumped and excited," Tatreau said. "I've never got any negative feedback. It's not a quota or review system. It's a morale booster."

Like every station, Tatreau said, there are "good, hardworking deputies and there are the lazy guys." He said he was trying to encourage the less motivated deputies to get more involved in proactive police work.

Tatreau said he joined the Lakewood station about 18 months ago and noticed that some deputies weren't pulling their weight. Some patrol deputies made 15 to 20 arrests a month, while others made seven arrests in an entire year, he said.

"It frustrates me that people are so against doing work and cry foul," he said.

Tatreau said he was "almost certain" that he was the one who came up with the original idea to have deputies compete, but that he did so with the approval of his captain.

On the day of the contests, a sheet of paper was posted in the watch commander's office where deputies reported their activity. At the end of the 24-hour period, the team results were tallied.

"We're not doing anything wrong," Tatreau said. "No way, no how did anyone encourage officers to falsify a report or an arrest."

scott.glover@latimes.com

matt.lait@latimes.com


Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

The big snow (or fire) job

LAAG feels sorry for the city of Pacifica. If they are anything like Lakewood they don't stand a chance against the "smoke and fire" [our phrase for "safe and sane"] peddlers. The vast PR machine of the fireworks industry has lots of money and people as this is a very profitable industry. Sort of like the pharmaceutical industry lobby. The smoke and fire peddlers basically have taken over the state fire Marshall's office.

Our LAAG site is replete with statistics from the fire dept themselves showing that cities that allow "legal" fireworks have a greater problem with illegal firework damage and likely, illegal use. This is likely due to legal fireworks creating a "permissive" environment for other mayhem and illegal firework use and also creating a one upsmanship situation ("our illegal fireworks are better than your legal ones). The legal fireworks also help to mask illegal use. And of course there is always "illegal" use of "legal" fireworks (ie modifying them so they explode or shoot in the air) This is the way legal fireworks start fires.

The marketing guru for one of the smoke and fire peddlers notes that the problem with firework use has gotten worse in the last 10 years. That is likely due to the fact that sports clubs and fraternal benefit societies have now become addicted to selling smoke and fire and that the problem has become acute in the last 10 years as the fireworks companies see linking with these organizations as a way to entrench themselves and use the clubs fund raising mantra as impenetrable political cover. It really is like getting addicted to selling drugs. The money is great and the clubs are conned into the notion that there is nothing else out there that can compete fundraising wise. These organizations have been drawn into the same trap as the medical marijuana "clinics". Yeah were selling pot to help sick people. Right. Well at least 5% of their customers are sick.

The smoke and fire peddlers have burrowed into Sacramento politics like termites and tried to stir up some watered down increased penalty legislation which again is just political cover. The penalties are not the issue. The cases never get to the penalty stage as enforcement is impossible. Deterrence is based on the likelihood of getting caught and the likelihood of getting convicted. And right now those percentages benefit the offenders due to the nature of the laws and difficulty of enforcement. Law enforcement benefits from all this increased enforcement with hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on overtime. What is so ironic is that the the money spent on over time is likely greater than the small percentage of money the clubs make on the fireworks that cause the overtime. The city would be better off pay the overtime money to the clubs.

Putting a cap on an explosive problem
City seeking strict fireworks sanctions
By Elaine Larsen
http://www.pacificatribune.com/localnews/ci_7073495
Article Launched: 10/03/2007 01:21:20 PM PDT

It's an explosive problem in Pacifica to be sure -- putting a cap on the illegal bottle rockets and M-80s that cause mayhem in neighborhoods, yet not penalize those who enjoy safe and sane fireworks that are a tradition and help fund programs for thousands of kids.

Such has been the conundrum of Pacifica officials for several decades and the issue has been before the community in at least two public votes.

"Pacifica is not alone in this problem," Dennis Revell, president of Revell Communication which represents the safe and sane supplier [what a cute phrase], TNT Fireworks, told the council last month. "This has been a growing problem in communities throughout California for the last 10 years."

But more productive — and perhaps permanent — solutions might well be in the offing.

Senate Bill 839, which is headed to the governor's desk for signature, would throw more manpower and resources [resources is "Sacramento speak" for tax dollars; laag editor] toward stopping suppliers of illegal fireworks from bringing them over the border into California or selling them on the Internet in the first place.

It would also put more teeth in local law enforcement efforts to curtail illegal fireworks, giving them the authority to impose stiffer fines on violators and giving them a way to dispose of the confiscated pyrotechnics safely. [no problem here as the cops can take them home to their kids; laag editor]

And if Pacifica Police Chief Jim Saunders has his way, the San Mateo County District Attorney will declare illegal fireworks a felony. That would mean that violators who insist on shooting off fireworks that have the explosive power of dynamite would not just walk away with a citation as they do now, but face being booked into county jail. [really this is already the law and felony prosecutions will mean even less likelihood of enforcement; laag editor]

These and other potential solutions were tossed around at a recent Pacifica City Council meeting, setting the stage for the council s eventual decision to put together a special task force to further study the problem and make recommendations. [oh and by all means invite the fireworks sellers to propose a "solution" what a joke; laag editor]

"I'm quite concerned about the fourth of July being on a Friday next year," said Saunders, who appeared before council discussing the fireworks once before, a discussion that was publicized in the Tribune.

The matter was postponed for council discussion so all members could be present. Since the local newspaper publicity, Saunders said he heard even more troubling stories from residents.

Saunders official report about this past July 4 described a night of chaos. A night where police were run ragged trying to track down illegal fireworks shooters who took refuge in the cover of darkness, smoke or neighborhood spotters who warned them when cops were on the way. [what did we just say about enforcement?; laag editor] In a few areas it got so bad officers had to be taken off the street to stand watch over unruly neighborhoods where drunk residents got into fights.

"Being on a Friday could be good or bad. People could leave town or even more folks could pile in. We're going to hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Saunders said, nothing the problem doesn't seem to be going away despite years of public education programs. He said added patrols at beaches focused on out-of-town violators seems to have just driven the problem into the neighborhoods.

Which means the enemy is us.

"Pacifica is out of control," agreed Deborah Jones of Montezuma Avenue in Linda Mar, among the citizens who spoke before Council Sept. 10 urging further sanctions be taken. "Many residents are both distraught over the pyrotechnic barrage and resigned that nothing can be done. But we must not allow others to hold us hostage to reckless and unlawful behavior. Other cities have this problem but it is not on the same scale." [wrong; laag editor]

Because Pacifica has such a liberal stance on fireworks, many Pacifica residents think they have implicit permission to shoot off illegal fireworks, she said.

Council listened both to speakers who are unhappy about illegal fireworks and many others who do not want to see "bad apples" force the council ban safe and sane fireworks which, admittedly, funnels thousands of dollars into the coffers of well-deserved youth and booster organizations benefiting literally thousands of children. [ahh the children; hey if they burn their fingers off at least the get new uniforms; laag editor]

To demonstrate just how much money is earned in just one short week of parental involvement in staffing the booths, one fireworks booth representative presented the council with a check for $33,000 to cover the city's police and fire overtime costs for this past July holiday sales. [well not in Lakewood., we'd like to see how long this lasts; conflict of interest? cops making OT of fireworks?; laag editor] That money is collected as the result of an 8 percent surcharge the city imposed on the 15 permitted booths.

Several speakers spoke about the numerous benefits of the safe and sane sales and even pointed out research involving the city of Fremont they say demonstrates that banning them not only had no effect on the illegal fireworks problem, [back that up with statistics please; laag editor] but also meant no fee income to the municipality for dealing with the problem.

"I am confident that if there wasn't so much good that comes of the sale of safe and sane fireworks we wouldn't have them. We're not considering a ban on the legal fireworks at this time," said Councilmember Cal Hinton, himself a former Pacifica fire chief and licensed pyrotechnics expert. [again is this not a conflict?; laag editor]

He and other council members agreed that the real solution to curtailing illegal fireworks is to stop them from being sold in the state in the first place, which would require both state and federal legislative intervention. [heresy; laag editor]

Hinton said he reread the Senate bill several times and believes it has real promise of helping solve the problem. [dream on; facts please? statistics?; laag editor]

"If a person is convicted, the judge cannot impose just probation or suspend a sentence" under terms of the bill, Hinton said. "That means if you're found guilty, you're had. The best way to stop illegal fireworks is at the state level. [with the smoke and fire peddlers army of lobbyist fat chance; laag editor] And we also need the support of the federal government. We need to stop the sales at the source," he said.

Pacifica and San Bruno are the only two remaining cities in San Mateo County that allow the sale of safe and sane fireworks. The California cities of Palmdale and Chino dealt with their problem of illegal fireworks violators by imposing strict fines, up to $10,000.

Other potential solutions that came up were appointing citizen monitors at block parties and letting police into neighbors backyards to help view and single out the offenders who normally hide in the dark away from scrutiny.

Several safe and sane proponents said they'd be more than happy to invite police officers into their homes and backyards to get a better on-view look at violators.

Outspoken Linda Mar resident Deborah Jones, who said flying pyrotechnics shot into her yard narrowly missed her children, said she'd go so far as to videotape violators in her neighborhood, post signs warning people that neighbors were cooperating with the police or form citizen "evidence gathering" coalitions. It was also suggested the city put stricter regulations into block parties, requiring a "monitor" for illegal fireworks who would be held accountable, for example.

"A lot of money may be made, but was is the cost of the loss of an eye or a limb," Jones and others said.

Bernie Sifry suggested a compromise. He suggested the city of Pacifica ban fireworks in residential neighborhoods and confine the use of safe and sane to the city owned portion of Pacifica State Beach in Linda Mar.

He said that way police could control fireworks use and confiscate illegal pyrotechnics.

"How do you control it? Take it out of residential neighborhoods where it's impossible to enforce. [not a bad idea; laag editor] It s dark and officers get fireworks thrown at them. It's a dangerous situation," he said.

"This would mean better control, less litter and noise. And residents could make citizen arrests with officers making out the complaints. This would be a civic duty. Residents would know who the violators were and testify against their neighbors," Sifry said. [that is not going to happen folks; sort of like a do it yourself police force? Then what do we need the cops on OT for?; laag editor]

Lynn Adams, president of the Pacifica Beach Coalition, politely noted that fireworks debris is not healthy for the marine environment. However, even as it stands, legal fireworks are already allowed to be set off at the local state beach. And in fact, although police post officers at all local beaches, Linda Mar is the most preferred so much so it has often been referred to as a "war zone."

Nonprofit groups not only pay the city a surcharge for overtime costs, [Hey Lakewood city council are you reading this?; laag editor] but are also commissioned to provide volunteer cleanup crews the next day, most particularly the popular beach in Linda Mar.

"I want to thank the public for all their suggestions. People are thinking about this and trying to solve this dilemma," said Councilmember Julie Lancelle. "I think we should consider as many of these ideas as possible in some kind of combination so we can begin to work on this problem."

Mayor Pro Tem Jim Vreeland noted that just as community groups came together last year to find an equitable annual distribution of the limited number of permits which was an issue at the time, they are now trying to find a solution to the illegal fireworks problem which he commended.

He suggested that the council set up a task force that include the city's two North County Fire Authority liaisons, Hinton and Sue Digre, as well as citizens to study the potential solutions and make recommendations to the council by Jan. 1 -- a good six months before the next July 4 holiday.

"I'm hoping that the passion we saw here tonight could be channeled into the task force to find solutions. We're certainly starting early enough," Vreeland said.

The council voted unanimously for a future agenda item, perhaps Oct. 10, for formation of a task force. Council also directed staff to write letters of support for increased sanctions for illegal fireworks to state and federal legislators immediately in support of pending legislation, and to send further correspondence later, taking into account the local task force's recommendations.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™

The slobs will now cost you...

Well thanks to cities not street sweeping the streets as they should (cleared of parked vehicles) and ticketing cars that leak oil on the street and driveways and failing to take care of rampant litter problems the rest of us will have to pay for the slobs. Typical.

A parcel fee for clean water?
County may charge property owners to raise $30B to clear runoff
By Alison Hewitt Staff Writer
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_7019912

County officials are considering a plan to raise money for clean water by adding a fee to the tax bills sent to property owners.

Almost every aspect of the proposal is still being developed - whether or not to go forward with a campaign, how much money county residents might be assessed, or what form an assessment would take.

Approximately $30 billion is needed over the next 20 years to clean up the county's storm water runoff, which regularly pollutes rivers and the coastline, said Donald Wolfe, the head of Public Works.

If the county fails to act, it could face expensive lawsuits from environmental groups for failing to comply with state and federal clean water acts, warned William Fujioka, the county's CEO.

The supervisors put $3.5 million aside for a study and campaign, and other uses. The study would explore whether voters might approve a ballot measure asking for the tax money.

A portion of the funds would go to support a possible campaign in favor of the initiative.

Another portion of the money could go toward engineering studies and consultant fees.

Supervisors Michael Antonovich and Don Knabe opposed the move.

"We've asked for a lot of information,and we've yet to receive any," Knabe said.

Antonovich said the county shouldn't be picking up the bill for clean-water requirements mandated by the federal government.

"Let's not let our (congressional) delegation off the hook," Antonovich said. "The county of Los Angeles, like other counties, does not have the ability to implement all of the mandates from the federal government. When the federal government imposes these types of mandates ... they have a responsibility of funding those."

Although only three votes were required to set aside the $3.5 million and give the go-ahead to Fujioka, four votes will be required if the supervisors decide to put the issue to voters in a countywide election, noted Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

However, there is a way to do it with three votes, said Judith Fries, principal deputy county counsel.

Fujioka's office is considering a mail ballot to property owners instead of a countywide vote. Mail ballots must be authorized under a specific statute, Fries said.

The flood-control act and the health and safety code are two avenues being explored as linchpins for such a ballot, Fries said. Using flood-control statutes would require three supervisor votes for a mail ballot, while health and safety would require four votes, according to Fries.

Whatever form the ballot takes, Yaroslavsky said the fee could help clean up county beaches that are frequently closed due to pollution after a rainstorm.

After last weekend's showers, he had to explain to visiting relatives that it wasn't safe to go in the water, he said. "We're not the Third World," Yaroslavsky said.

Fujioka was careful to point out that the supervisors' vote does not mean the county will move forward with a parcel fee.

"A decision has not been made to do it," Fujioka said. "It will take a significant effort to even determine - if we do a parcel tax - what one person's share would be, and it will take a huge amount of support from the community."

The $3.5 million will give his office a chance to "explore an appropriate funding method," he said.

"I don't want to say property tax ... the primary focus right now is a parcel fee."

A parcel fee would show up on property tax bills and be based on how much each parcel contributed to the region's pollution, said Wolfe. The fee would be calculated based on the size of the parcel, how the property is used (residential or industrial, for example), and runoff amounts.

Runoff would be determined based on whether the property had large amounts of open ground where water could seep in, or large amounts of paved surfaces that water would rush off, Wolfe said.

"The beaches get closed every time there's a storm because of the pollution ... the urban slobber ... that we as citizens are continually dumping into the storm drain," Wolfe said.

Early polls indicate that people would be willing to pay $20-$40 per parcel, enough to raise $100 million annually but still far short of what is needed, Wolfe said.

"The board would have to make a decision," he added, "as to whether or not they are going to give the voters an option to say yes or no."

alison.hewitt@sgvn.com

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2730

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA
A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™