27 Jan 2012

Jan. 27, 2012 Today's Stories

CIA Pulls Its Agent From Unusual Long Assignment With NYPD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A CIA operative's unusual assignment inside the New York Police Department is being cut short after an internal investigation that criticized how the agency established its unprecedented collaboration with city police, The Associated Press reports. In its investigation, the CIA's inspector general faulted the agency for sending an officer to New York with little oversight after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and then leaving him there too long, according to officials who have read or been briefed on the inquiry. The CIA said last month that the inspector general cleared the agency of any wrongdoing. The inspector general opened its investigation after a series of AP articles that revealed how the NYPD, working in close collaboration with the CIA, set up spying operations that put Muslim communities under scrutiny. Plainclothes officers known as "rakers" eavesdropped in businesses, and Muslims not suspected of any wrongdoing were put in intelligence databases. Associated Press

Review of Incident 'Memos' Casts Doubt on Crime Drop in Memphis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Memphis Police Department officials believe thousands of crimes over a five-year period were described in "memos" but never included in official crime statistics, reports the city's Commercial Appeal. Police Director Toney Armstrong said MPD officials discovered 79,000 memos written by officers from January 2006 through July 2011, many of which could have been criminal reports or investigations. He said the discrepancy was "brought to my attention" after he took the job in April 2011. Armstrong said officers can write memos when there isn't enough information at the time of an initial investigation, but a review of the memos showed hundreds, possibly thousands, should have been upgraded. He said a sample of 20,000 memos from 2010 indicated that about one in every 15 should have been upgraded to a crime report, which would have then been included in crime statistics. The discovery could cast doubt on the crime-reduction numbers the department claimed under former police director Larry Godwin. Memphis Commercial Appeal

Spate of Shootings Reported Under Missouri 'Castle Doctrine' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Law enforcers in St. Louis are trying to navigate their way through the state "castle doctrine" law after several cases in which homeowners have shot and killed intruders, reports the Post-Dispatch. Supporters say the law is working, but not all cases are clear-cut, and authorities have struggled with the evolving law. Within 72 hours in September, two burglars were fatally shot in homes on opposite ends of St. Louis. Police said both homeowners were justified. And in early December, an off-duty Beverly Hills detective who lives in St. Louis shot a burglar to death under nearly identical circumstances. In total, there were seven fatal shootings that involved the castle doctrine or other self-defense laws in St. Louis last year, compared with two in 2010. St. Louis police are changing how they handle apparent justifiable homicide cases in response to the spate of such shootings. In the past, detectives and supervisors in the St. Louis Police Department's homicide unit who thought a homicide was justified would call prosecutors to run it by them, to make sure they agreed. Now every case will undergo a more formal review by the St. Louis circuit attorney's office. St. Louis Post-Dispach

New Orleans Police Turn to Private Security Cams for Evidence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although New Orleans has scrapped its oft-ridiculed public crime camera system, police detectives are increasingly turning to private security cameras to catch images of villains in the act, reports the Times-Picayune. Since last summer, the nonprofit ProjectNOLA has donated 75 high-definition cameras to homeowners in high-crime areas, on the condition that they be aimed at the street. The nonprofit group's volunteers already monitor crime scanners, but now they can link remotely to any camera in the area and send fresh footage via cell phone to detectives. ProjectNOLA founder Bryan Lagarde, a former police officer and district attorney's office employee, started ProjectNOLA because he "got sick of telling crime victims, 'Sorry, we have no evidence.'"Other cities, such as Chicago and Atlanta, combine public-private systems more formally, by compiling maps of all private surveillance systems or creating integrated systems that allow police departments, under certain conditions, to view live footage from thousands of private systems. New Orleans Times-Picayune

Amid Budget Crunch, Washington Scrutinizes Sex Offender Finances ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A little-known state agency says it can save the state $1 million a year by overseeing defense costs for Washington's troubled civil-commitment program that locks up the most dangerous sex offenders, reports the Seattle Times in its "Price of Protection" series. The state Office of Public Defense said providing centralized financial oversight and eliminating hourly billing by defense attorneys would lead to the savings. The Times found the state has little control over its $12 million a year in legal bills spent to keep sex offenders detained beyond prison. Offenders facing civil commitment routinely postpone their trials for years, driving up costs and wasting state money. State lawmakers, pressed to close a $1.5 billion budget shortfall, will consider OPD's proposals during the legislative session. Seattle Times

Federal Gun Law Proposal Raises Debate in Tennessee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Tennessean reports on Tennessee's gun laws--"or the lack thereof." It is one of 34 states that don't require any background checks for private sales of firearms, even if the sale is handled by an online site. But now, the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns is calling for the federal government to mandate background checks in all gun sales. It's sparked an emotional debate that even divides gun-rights advocates. Opponents decry the idea as an affront to individual freedoms and say citizens should be able to sell private property without government interference. But supporters argue that guns sales should require more accountability on the part of the seller and the buyer to reduce the chances that a gun will fall into the wrong hands. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who helped organize the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, recently released a report criticizing Tennessee, among other states, for having buyers willing to sell guns to people they knew could not pass a background check. Tennessean

Times Columnist Questions NYPD Commissioner's 'Trust Me' Policy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Writing in the New York Times, columnist Jim Dwyer says that the NYPD's explanation of its involvement in a controversial film about Muslims "has been contaminated with official falsehoods." The police first said that only a few officers were shown the film and that the department had not cooperated with the filmmakers; it turned out that 1,400 officers saw it and that Police Commission Raymond Kelly gave a 90-minute interview for the project. Dwyer writes, "No one has given a straight, plausible story to explain how a piece of agitprop wound up being screened in a police training facility for months." He notes that since 9/11 police have enjoyed vastly expanded powers to conduct surveillance. "In effect, a federal court was asked to trust the police not to abuse that power or infringe on people's rights," Dwyer writes. "In opinion polls, Mr. Kelly has proven to be among the city's most popular public officials, and he seemed to enjoy the confidence of a majority of New Yorkers. Yet Mr. Kelly is not going to be police commissioner forever, and 'trust me' is not a policy that can work forever." New York Times

Two Cases Illustrate the 'Defying Logic' of Heroin Addiction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tells two stories of heroin addiction. Based on the drug's low prices, high potency and widespread availability -- from the inner city to tony suburbs -- the threat has never been more manifest. "The power of addiction is very strong," said Neil Capretto, medical director at Gateway Rehabilitation Center. "It happens to good people but the drug doesn't care." In one case, a young white woman originally from an affluent suburb of Austin, Texas, now living in Pennsylvania. Her sister died of a heroin overdose, she herself almost died three times, and now has sworn off the drug. In another case, a 59-year-old black former steel worker with a long criminal record is trying to stop using heroin for the fifth time. Says Dr. Capretto, "He's a good guy, he's a smart guy but he's a human. This drug gets ahold of you and it defies logic. It sends signals to your brain that override your survival mechanism and say 'You need this drug.' " Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Baltimore Warrant Sweep Leads to 2,200 Violent-Offender Arrests ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A coordinated state and local initiative in the Baltimore area to arrest violent offenders wanted on warrants has led to apprehension of 2,200 people since last summer, reports the city's Sun. The operation was funded with $500,000 in federal grants from the Governor's Office of Crime Control & Prevention. Homicides declined in Baltimore by about 7 percent in 2011. e if new information is produced on suspicious deaths in 2011. No one argues a cause-and-effect link can be made between the arrests and the drop in homicides, and no list has been compiled showing how long these offenders were in jail after their arrests. But Kristen Mahoney, the agency's executive director, said that arresting violent offenders helps reduce violent crime and that she wants to use the approach again. "If you remove 2,100 violent offenders off the street in a seven-month period, you're going to have a pretty big sea change" in violent crime, Mahoney said. Baltimore Sun

California Speed-Trap Town Dissolves Its Police Department ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Faced with crushing bills, a tiny California town that became infamous for aggressive law enforcement has eliminated its police department, reports the Los Angeles Times. "Maricopa just does not have the money to run a professional department," said Eric Ziegler, a retired city manager who advises the City Council. "It wasn't because of any particular feeling that there had been wrongdoing." Officials in the town of 1,200 are considering the sale of the department's last remnants: four patrol vehicles - all bought used years ago - and two motorcycles. The department had two full-time employees and about 20 uniformed volunteers - mostly veterans of other departments or younger people looking to land their first law enforcement jobs. Over the last couple of years, the oil town 40 miles southwest of Bakersfield became known as a speed trap. Officers pulled drivers over for infractions such as cracked windshields and unlighted license plates. In a scathing report last June, the Kern County grand jury accused police of targeting Latino motorists in hopes of seizing vehicles from unlicensed, undocumented immigrants. The panel urged the 100-year-old city to pull the plug on its police department. Earlier this month, Maricopa decided to contract out its law enforcement responsibilities to the Kern County Sheriff's Department. Los Angeles Times

WA Senator Targets Death Penalty, Though Prospects Seem Dim ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Legislative hearings are usually not matters of life and death. But such was the case Wednesday in Olympia, when Washington legislators heard testimony on a bill to abolish the death penalty, reports the Oregonian. Dozens of people showed up for a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting to speak or listen to testimony on Sen. Debbie Regala's bill. If the bill passes, Washington will follow in the steps of Oregon, where Gov. John Kitzhaber recently put a moratorium on the death penalty. The legislators heard testimony from attorneys, professors, religious leaders and even a man who sat on death row for 23 years before Gov. Chris Gregoire granted him clemency. No one spoke against Regala's bill. However, the prospects for Regala's proposal seem dim this year, especially in a key House committee. Tacoma Rep. Steve Kirby says he will withhold his vote, effectively blocking it unless his fellow Democrats can persuade a Republican to join them. Oregonian

America's Aging Prison Population an Approaching 'Silver Tsunami' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The aging prison population in the U.S. is a "silver tsunami" heading our way, according to a new Human Rights Watch report. The fastest-growing population in federal and state prisons are those 55 and older, a trend that is forcing cash-strapped local governments to wrestle with the growing cost of caring for the aging inmates. Some experts are pushing states to take the controversial step of releasing certain older prisoners before their sentences are up. The report says the number of state and federal prisoners 55 or over nearly quadrupled to 124,400 between 1995 and 2010, while the prison population as a whole grew by only 42%. Some legal experts cite the drug wars of the 1980s and 1990s, which sent away thousands of young men to decades-long prison sentences. In addition, tougher sentencing laws, including the abolition of parole in many states and the advent of three-strikes-you're-out laws in others, have fueled the growth in the overall prison population. At current rates, a third of all prisoners will be 50 or older by 2030, according to a study to be released next month by the American Civil Liberties Union. The Crime Report