California Border Sheriffs Meet to Discuss Crime Trends and Solutions
from KSWT
Law enforcement representatives from more than 30 border communities gathered in Winterhaven, Calif. to discuss crime problems and crime solutions. It was all part of an annual meeting for the Southwestern Border Sheriff's Coalition. "We are concerned with the border violence that may be spilling over into the U.S. so there are quite a few issues there," says Imperial County Sheriff Ray Loera who hosted the event at the Quechan Casino and Resort. Just last month, law enforcement agences in his area busted a drug ring linked to the Sinaloa drug cartel. Officers seized weapons and hundreds of pounds of drugs. More

Police Raid Alleged Dogfighting Ring at Day Care Home
from Chicago Sun-Times
Cook County Sheriff’s police have arrested three people allegedly involved in a dogfighting ring based at a home that also serves as a daycare facility in west suburban Maywood. The gruesome scene at three Maywood homes was made even more harrowing by the presence of a licensed daycare operation, Sheriff Tom Dart said in the release. Charges are pending against the three alleged ringleaders, one of whom is related to the daycare operator. More

Boost Your Credibility in Court
from Officer.com
Credibility in court is the degree to which the Judge or jurors believe a witness. For a testifying officer to be effective, she must be found credible. The linked article gives a summary of past articles on improving courtroom credibility for the testifying officer. More

Major Police Raid Targets L.A.'s Notorious Avenues Gang
from The Los Angeles Times
Hundreds of police officers and federal law enforcement agents launched a major assault on the Avenues gang, hoping to deal a blow to an elusive group they say is responsible for some of Los Angeles' most notorious street crime. Under the cover of darkness around 3 a.m. on Sept. 22, roughly 1,200 heavily armed officers from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and several other agencies dispersed from a command post near the LAPD’s training academy in Elysian Park. Warrants in hand, they descended on dozens of homes in search of 53 alleged members or associates of the Avenues gang wanted on an array of federal charges related to extensive drug dealing, unsolved murders and other crimes. More

Stadiums, Hotels Warned to Watch for Terrorists
from The Associated Press
Counterterrorism officials have issued security bulletins to police around the nation about terrorist interest in attacking stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels -- the latest in a flurry of such internal warnings as investigators chase a possible bomb plot in Denver and New York. In the two bulletins, officials said they know of no specific plots against such sites, but urged law enforcement and private companies to be vigilant. These two bulletins followed on the heels of a similar warning about the vulnerabilities of mass transit systems. More

1,000 Prisoners to Go Free as Illinois Looks to Save Money
from the Chicago Tribune
Illinois’s Governor Pat Quinn is planning to release 1,000 inmates from prisons across Illinois in the next several months in an effort to save money. An Illinois Department of Corrections prisons spokeswoman said that only “low-level, non-violent” offenders who are in the last year of their sentence will qualify for early release and will be fitted with electronic monitoring devices. Officials with the corrections agency and the Quinn administration declined to provide specifics, however. More

Texas Hospital Prison’s Security to Be Reviewed
from The Galveston County Daily News
Texas prison officials plan an extensive review of how Joshua Duane Barnes escaped from the seventh floor of a prison hospital on the University of Texas Medical Branch campus, a prison spokeswoman said Monday. City of Galveston officials also are reviewing notification policies after a communication breakdown that thwarted a public alert, a city spokeswoman said. More

Prisoner Transport Fleet Upgrade Sought
from The Chicago Tribune
After a manhunt for a fugitive who escaped from two Cook County, Illinois state's attorney's office investigators, officials said Friday they want to acquire more cars with a cage separating the back from the front seat. Robert Maday fled from a car that wasn't equipped with such a separator. Both escorts, contrary to office policy, were in the front. More

Inmates Turn Canes, Walkers into Weapons
from The Associated Press via KSBW
A California prison was recently under lockdown as administrators investigated a riot involving rival Latino gangs that sent 24 inmates to hospitals, one in serious condition. Inmates at Avenal State Prison used canes, walkers and foot rests from wheelchairs to beat each other on the night of Sept. 21. The most seriously injured inmates suffered puncture and slash wounds, none of which were life-threatening. More