2 Nov 2011

Reduced Police Forces Must Deal With More "One-Pot" Meth Labs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Police across the U.S. are struggling with a proliferation of busts for methamphetamine production, fueled by the rise dangerous "one pot" labs, the Wall Street Journal reports. The popular technique has largely replaced the kitchen-size meth lab with a single, two-liter soda bottle. Ingredients for a batch can easily be obtained on a single trip to a pharmacy and mixed almost anywhere. One-pot labs aren't new, but they are spreading as budget cuts are reducing police forces. In Christiansburg, Va., the police department is paying thousands of dollars to clean up toxic labs. Police in Tulsa, Ok., have handled 15 percent more meth-lab busts this year than all of last year, at a time when the department is down 70 officers. Nationally, incidents related to meth production rose above 11,000 last year, after falling sharply to around 6,000 in 2007, says the Drug Enforcement Administration. One-pot operations produce small quantities of meth at a time, but are toxic and highly explosive, occasionally resulting in fires and deaths. Their small scale makes them especially hard to find and stop, partly because they don't require enough pseudoephedrine-an essential meth ingredient found in some cold medications-to run afoul of federal purchasing limits. Wall Street Journal

Stanford Experts Draft Limited CA "Three Strikes" Sentencing Reform ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An effort to limit California's tough Three Strikes Law is gaining momentum, with a proposed ballot initiative that would reserve the toughest penalty -- 25 years to life -- for the baddest of the bad, including murderers, rapists, and child molesters, reports the San Jose Mercury News. The initiative, now under state legal review, was carefully crafted by a group of Stanford University law professors and stops far short of the extensive changes proposed under a previous reform measure that narrowly failed in 2004. The legislature and voters passed the law in 1994 after several high-profile murders committed by ex-felons sparked public outrage, including the kidnapping from her home and strangling of 12-year-old Polly Klaas. Since then, the courts have sent more than 80,000 "second-strikers" and 7,500 "third-strikers" to state prison. Though third-strikers make up just 6 percent of the prison population, they are responsible for a disproportionate share of the state's spiraling prison health care costs -- at least $100 million annually -- as they age and need more medical attention. The previous measure sought to restrict felonies that trigger a "third" strike to violent or serious crimes. Under the existing law, life sentences have been issued for such relatively minor crimes as stealing a pair of socks and attempting to break into a soup kitchen. In contrast, the new initiative allows certain hard-core criminals, including murderers, rapists and child molesters, to be put away for life for any felony, including shoplifting, while restricting the third strike to a serious or violent felony for everyone else. San Jose Mercury News

Police Leading Way On Eyewitness ID Reform: Expert Doyle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today, the Supreme Court revisits the issue of eyewitness identification for the first time in 34 years, hearing arguments in the case of Perry v. New Hampshire. It would be a mistake to see the case as a defining moment, Boston lawyer James Doyle writes on The Crime Report. Says Doyle: "It's true that the criminal justice system is absorbing the science of eyewitness evidence. But it is also true that different components of the system are reacting to the science in different ways and at different speeds." The police are leading the way on the issue, Doyle says. Judges are bringing up the rear. The real story that the Perry case may ultimately tell is that the courts are fighting a determined rearguard action aimed at holding off the full mobilization of the lessons of eyewitness science, he writes. The Crime Report

Chicago, In Marijuana Trade Terms, is "On the Mexican Border": DEA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chicago's new Scarface is a shadowy Mexican drug kingpin nicknamed Chapo - "Shorty" in Spanish, says the Chicago Sun-Times. His cash crop is marijuana, which his cartel sells by the ton and protects with horrific violence. If you thought Chicago's Italian mob was the worst of the worst in organized crime, think again, federal agents say. "Chapo Guzman would eat them alive," said Jack Riley, head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Chicago office. The 5-foot-6 Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman rules the Sinaloa Cartel, which allegedly smuggles marijuana and other narcotics in planes, trains, ships, trucks, cars, and even submarines. Most of Guzman's product comes from Mexico, but some is grown nearby - deep in Wisconsin's North Woods, whose pristine lakes and pine forests are a paradise for weekend campers, hunters, and anglers. Although Chicago is in the U.S. heartland, in the marijuana trade, "We are on the Mexican border," Riley said. Mexican marijuana dominates the Chicago market as local police and prosecutors are trying to devise a better way to deal with the tens of thousands of people arrested every year for possession of small amounts of pot. Most of those cases get dismissed in court, so several Chicago aldermen recently proposed an ordinance to allow officers to write tickets for minor marijuana possession. Chicago Sun-Times

Newspaper Questions Claims Of Increased Mexican Border Crime ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last month, two retired Army generals, flanked by state officials who had hired them, stood in the Texas Capitol and painted an alarming picture of escalating violence on the Texas-Mexico border. Their report, which relied less on crime statistics than anecdotal evidence, concluded that the Texas side of the border had become a "war zone." The Austin American-Statesman says a closer look at crime numbers in border counties since 2006 - the year Mexican violence began to spike in earnest - does not reveal evidence of out-of-control chaos. An analysis of all 14 counties that share a border with Mexico and two dozen border cities shows that violent crime along the Texas side of the Rio Grande fell 3.3 percent between 2006 and 2010. During the same period, the combined number of murders in the 14 counties fell 33 percent, to 73 in 2010 from 97 in 2006. Further, most counties and cities situated directly across from the worst of the Mexican violence also saw their crime rates decrease, even as thousands were slaughtered on the Mexican side. One reason for the gap between what state officials say and what the numbers show is that state agencies increasingly have moved away from using traditional statistics to describe the security situation along the border, and have instead begun using new categories of crime reporting that in some cases have raised questions about accuracy. Austin American-Statesman

"All Hands on Deck" Police Deployment in D.C. Gets Mixed Reviews ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Washington, D.C., Police Chief Cathy Lanier's All Hands on Deck program, which floods the streets with police during select weekends each year, is getting mixed public reviews, the Washington Post. reports. Martin Moulton says his neighborhood near the downtown convention center struggles with public urination, loitering, and other quality-of-life issues. Seeing police around is fine, Moulton says, but he doesn't think it impresses or intimidates criminals. "Even the most marginally intelligent criminal, when they see a police officer, will walk away." The police department has had every available officer work back-to-back shifts on designated weekends since 2007. Lanier describes the program as proactive policing that deters crime during times when it has historically spiked. That position has led to repeated clashes with Kristopher Baumann, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Department, who characterizes it as a public-relations stunt. Some rank-and-file officers say that the temporary reassignments affect their regular investigations. The matter has gone to court, with an arbitrator ruling that two 2009 All Hands deployments violated the police union contract and ordering the city to pay overtime expenses. That amount, which Lanier estimates is $300,000 to $400,00, is another point of contention. Washington Post

Tale of a Pointless New York City Trespassing Arrest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New York Times columnist Jim Dwyer writes about the "pointless arrest" of Samantha Zucker, 21, of Pittsburgh, for not having identification when she was in a public park after its 1 a.m. closing hour. Zucker was handcuffed, and during the next 36 hours, was moved from a cell in a station house in Manhattan's Harlem area to Lower Manhattan and then, because one officer was ending a shift before she could be photographed for her court appearance, was brought back to Harlem. There she waited in a cell until a pair of fresh police officers were rustled up to bring her back downtown for booking, where she spent a second night in custody. The judge proceeded to dismiss the ticket in less than a minute. Dwyer calls cases like this a "staggering waste of spirit, the squandering of public resources, the follies disguised as crime-fighting." Some 40,000 people each year - the vast majority young black and Latino men - are fed like widgets onto a conveyor belt of arrest, booking, and court, after being told to empty their pockets and thus commit the misdemeanor of "open display" of marijuana, Dwyer says, concluding that, "Such arrests are a drain on the human economy." New York Times

Some L.A. County Officials Skeptical of Sheriff Baca's Jail Reforms ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Los Angeles County supervisors pointedly questioned Sheriff Lee Baca's attempts to reform the county's troubled jails, reports the Los Angeles Times. Baca has been under criticism for his oversight of the nation's largest jail system following weeks of reports in the Times and other places outlining accusations of corruption and inmate abuse. The FBI is investigating accusations of jailer misconduct, and Baca has admitted he did a poor job of monitoring the situation. County supervisors approved an outside oversight committee last month and ordered Baca to give them periodic updates. Sheriff's officials have also begun implementing changes recommended almost a year ago by a county attorney. Yesterday, Baca reported progress in several areas, including installing more cameras in Men's Central Jail, prohibiting steel-toed shoes in jails, studying whether deputies should be able to strike inmates with flashlights, and developing a team of sheriff's supervisors to review severe deputy-use-of-force incidents within 30 days. Some supervisors seemed skeptical of the team's ability to quickly and fairly review incidents, given what they viewed as a slow pace of change. Los Angeles Times

Portland Chief Reese May Run for Mayor, Probably Not in 2012 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Portland Police Chief Mike Reese may run for mayor--sometime. After reports that he will run next year, Reese told The Oregonian, "No, I like being chief of police. I'm very happy doing what I'm doing. I'm very humble to have the opportunity to serve." He, left the door open for perhaps a future run, in say five years. The Willamette Week reported Reese told associates he's decided to run to replace Mayor Sam Adams, who is not seeking re-election. Reese, 54, a Portland native, has led the Police Bureau for 18 months, having been appointed chief by Mayor Sam Adams on May 12, 2010. Political consultants from The Gallatin Group have discussed with Reese a run for mayor, and also sought input from other community leaders about the chief's potential run. The Oregonian

Occupy Nashville Vows "Nicer Image" After Judge Halts Arrests ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now that a federal judge has ordered Tennessee to stop arresting and ousting Occupy Nashville protesters from their encampment every night for violating a state-imposed curfew, tents and protest signs have sprung up on Legislative Plaza once again, The Tennessean reports. "We definitely want to present a much nicer image than before," said Devin Pena, part of a team working on logistics and security for the group. State officials and civil rights attorneys are working on a compromise of their own that would let the Occupy Nashville protests continue even as Gov. Bill Haslam's administration insists that last week's 55 arrests - which included a reporter and a student journalist - were justified. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Haslam administration are trying to develop ground rules meant to maintain sanitary conditions and protect public safety on the plaza, where protesters first set up an encampment in early October. Before the state crackdown, Occupy Nashville was overrun by hordes of homeless, drawn to the plaza by the group's donated food and supplies. State officials cited safety and sanitation concerns when they imposed a nightly curfew and daily protest fees for large groups. The Tennessean

NYC Undercover Cop Who Started Ticket-Fixing Case Promoted Secretly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York City undercover officer whose work led to the investigation into the wide-ranging ticket-fixing scandal was promoted in secret yesterday, reports the Wall Street Journal. The detective, who is assigned to the Internal Affairs Bureau, was promoted up a rank by Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly at a private ceremony. In 2008, the bureau got a tip alleging that a police officer was taking part in "various illegal business activities with a reputed drug dealer," Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said last week. Jose Ramos, the officer named by the tipster, owned two barber shops named "Who's First." The undercover officer worked as a barber before joining the police department, and was able to get a job cutting hair at the salons. On Friday, 16 officers were indicted either on charges related to ticket fixing, trying to cover up an assault, or tipping off officers of the on-going investigation. In addition to the officers charged criminally Friday, Kelly said 300 or more officers might face departmental discipline after being tied to fixing tickets during the investigation. Wall Street Journal

White: Police-Community Relations Biggest Challenge in Denver ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Louisville Police Chief Robert White, who is leaving next month to become chief in Denver, said there are many good internal candidates the mayor could choose to replace him, reports the Louisville Courier-Journal. White said improving police-community relations and transparency in the department are his greatest achievements since taking over in 2003, when Mayor Jerry Abramson appointed him the first leader of a department that merged the old Louisville and Jefferson County police. White said improving the relationship with the police and community in Denver, which has paid out millions in lawsuits over excessive use of force, will be his greatest challenge in that city. White said he did not pursue the Denver position, but Denver officials approached him "rather aggressively." Denver has about 1,400 officers and a proposed budget next year of about $188 million. Louisville Metro Police has a budget of $143.8 million and 1,200 sworn officers. Louisville Courier-Journal