Obama’s Stimulus Plan Includes Billions for Law Enforcement
from The Associated Press
President Barack Obama wants the government back in the policing business, big time. Obama's huge stimulus plan includes about $4 billion to resurrect grants that put tens of thousands of police on the streets during the 1990s. The programs were all but eliminated during the Bush administration amid criticism that their results didn't justify the hefty price tags. More

911 "Swatting" Puts Law Enforcement in Danger
from The Associated Press via MSNBC
A new kind of telephone fraud exploits a weakness in the way the 911 system handles calls from Internet-based phone services. The attacks -- called "swatting" because armed police SWAT teams usually respond -- are virtually unstoppable, and an Associated Press investigation found that budget-strapped 911 centers are essentially defenseless without an overhaul of their computer systems. More

ICE Arrests 1,970 in Central, Southern California
from the Orange County Register
Immigration enforcement officials arrested 1,970 people they thought were gang members in central and Southern California last year in the anti-gang effort Operation Community Shield, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced Friday. Officials made more than 20 percent of the arrests in Orange County, ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said. More

Auburn, Maine, Cops Join Facebook
from the Sun Journal
In an effort to connect and communicate with citizens, the Auburn, Maine, Police Department has joined one of the most popular online social networks. It is first police department in New England to reach out to the online community this way. "We are hoping to enhance citizen participation and input with this Facebook page," Deputy Chief Jason Moen said. "We'll even be posting photos and video footage in the hope that citizens will be able to help us solve various crimes by identifying the offenders." More

Gaston County, N.C., Deputies Pick Up $1 Million Jackpot
from The News & Observer
The quintet that would call themselves "The Enforcer Five" started the day with a big breakfast at the Gastonia IHOP. Then they headed down the interstate to Raleigh to pick up their 1 million bucks. Five Gaston County, N.C., sheriff's deputies who won the Powerball jackpot made the trip together Wednesday to claim the prize: $136,000 each, after taxes. More

FBI: Burgeoning Gangs Behind up to 80 Percent of U.S. Crime
from USA Today
Criminal gangs in the U.S. have swelled to an estimated 1 million members responsible for up to 80 percent of crimes in communities across the nation, according to a gang threat assessment compiled by federal officials. The major findings in a report by the Justice Department's National Gang Intelligence Center. More

Effectiveness of Police Sketches Debated
from The Times-Picayune
Several studies have shown police sketches are unreliable when it comes to identifying suspects, and many academics have decried their use. But most police departments and law enforcement agencies, still see them as a valuable tool. And in some instances the portraits seem to work. More

Mental Health Money Sought
from the Denver Post
Mental-health advocates in Colorado hope to find out today that they secured federal financing for a new system aimed at keeping the mentally ill from stacking up in local emergency hospital rooms and jails. They hope to get $2.6 million in federal funds to set up their first crisis-care facility. The financing would be the first concrete step toward creating a coordinated 24-hour mental-health crisis network and call centers across a seven-county metro area. More

Skirmish Over California Prison Yoga Rooms Intensifies
from the Los Angeles Times
The battle over California prison inmates' constitutional rights has come down to this: finger-pointing over who dreamed up the idea of giving convicted criminals taxpayer-funded bingo and yoga rooms. More

Group Backs College for Prisoners
from the Times Union
A report calling for up to $10 million in funding for college programs in state prisons couldn't come at a tougher time, given the historic budget deficit. But an advocacy group promoting more access to higher education for inmates believes the cost of doing nothing will be even higher in the long run. "All the evidence shows that college programs in prisons have important and lasting benefits," said Robert Gangi, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, which released a report last week calling for restoring state funding for in-prison college courses. More