Statistics released by local law enforcement agencies show that crime in Los Angeles and the county is on the decline — paralleling the nationwide declines in crime. more ›

William Bratton, the onetime Chief of Police in Los Angeles, has accepted a consulting gig in Britain that will have him helping deal with the nation's gang violence. The job is expected to begin shortly, says NBC Los Angeles, and was confirmed by Bratton with British PM David Cameron. more ›

The Dodgers have retained the services of former LAPD Chief William J. Bratton in response to increasing pressure from community and civic leaders to tighten security at Dodger Stadium in the aftermath of an Opening Day post-game beating which left one man critically injured. more ›

Some were hoping Los Angeles would see under 300 homicides this year, but by December 26th, 308 had occurred, according to the latest LAPD COMPSTAT report. That number is still considerably lower--18.1% lower to be exact--than the 376 homicides of 2008, which was considered low back then. Countywide, there had been 721 homicides through December 14th, according to the Homicide Report. The challenge of 2010 for the new LAPD Chief Charlie Beck will be continuing the downtrend in crime. Much of the credit goes toward former Chief William Bratton--a Mayor Jim Hahn hire--and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's aggressive stance on putting 10,000 officers on the street. That said, crime is trending down nationally--Los Angeles is still doing better than the average, says Beck--so it is yet to be seen if Los Angeles can buck any increase in national crime trends and keep heading towards more peace. more ›

Not the most humorous interview, but Stephen Colbert last night got Bratton to explain his "Broken Windows Theory," which was applied here in L.A., and how he's going to apply it to his new private security gig. more ›

Today is the big day. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will name our new Chief of Police. Per former Chief William Bratton's recommendation, the new LAPD leader is from within the department. The candidates are Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Charlie Beck, Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell and Deputy Chief Michel Moore. more ›

Yesterday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa met with all three of the finalists for the position of Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, to replace William Bratton, who surrendered his star this weekend and is moving back to New York to work in the private sector. The three candidates all come from within the LAPD, a consideration that the departed Bratton and many Angelenos felt was essential to the future success of the department. Sunday's meetings were the second of the week between the three and the Mayor; Villaraigosa's "request to see them again appeared to indicate that the choice was not an easy one," notes the LA Times. more ›

The Los Angeles Police Department's new home in Downtown is a state-of-the-art facility that has been the topic of much praise and scrutiny since construction began in 2007. Today, however, the building, which has yet to be graced with an official name, will be opened in a public ceremony helmed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and outgoing Chief William Bratton. "At the 10 a.m. ceremony, Bratton will welcome the public to tour the new building," notes abc7, which is thought to be the most expensive and modern police facility in the country. more ›

The LAPD has announced the creation of new program called iWatch, something which LAPD Chief William Bratton calls the "21st century version of Neighborhood Watch." Basically, the program encourages residents to identify and report suspicious behaviors and activities that have been known to be used by terrorists. more ›

William Bratton, the soon-to-be retired Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, was in Washington D.C. today, urging members of congress to make a wireless public safety broadband network a reality nationwide. In his testimony to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he talks how such a network could help the development of predictive policing: more ›

Good kitsch is hard to find these days. But not at Ghettogloss tonight because it’s the Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch Closing Karaoke Night from 7-11 pm. On display are hundreds of artifacts from her personal kitsch collection. There’s going to be a karaoke sing-off of Allee's classic Earth Wind & Fire hit, "September," at the party ("Do you remember...the 21st night of September...?") plus other surprises. more ›

How much of a difference can you make in who the city hires as our new police chief? “Public input is critical in this process,” said John Mack, president of the LA Police Commission, which is hosting a series of five meetings that begin tonight in the Los Feliz area. “The next Chief of Police will serve all of the diverse communities of Los Angeles, and it is extremely important that we hear from those communities and know what is important to them.” more ›

As this year's lower murder rate closes in on last year's and after an especially bloody weekend (and deadly July that left around 30 dead), Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief William Bratton will release a plan today that is supposed to put the damper on an increase in gang violence in central and South L.A. more ›

LAPD Chief Bratton is stepping down at the end of October, paving way for another to take his role at the famous department. As noted last week by the Personnel Department to City Councilmembers, the Police Commission will be hosting public meetings for input on the qualities of the next chief. “Public input is critical in this process,” said Police Commission President John Mack in a statement. “The next Chief of Police will serve all of the diverse communities of Los Angeles, and it is extremely important that we hear from those communities and know what is important to them.” Four meetings will be held in the Valley, South LA and Westside and near the Eastside. Meeting dates and times are listed below. more ›

If there were any fantasies about having the new LAPD Chief work side by side with Bratton as he transitioned out of the job, those were shot down today in City Council. An official from the Personnel Department said the timeline has selection occurring in November. "We're trying to expedite this as much as possible, but we want to make sure that we do not cut any corners and we have a very valid and transparent selection process," she said. more ›

As Chief William Bratton begins to step down--his official last day is October 31st--the question that keeps on getting ask is who will replace him? Many are speculating an internal search, one that has been "raised" under Bratton. He's been repeating his mantra, telling TIME Magazine that the search should take place internally: "With the crises that the city is facing at this time with this budget, an outsider no matter how qualified or skilled, it's going to take that person months to get up to speed. Why take that risk when there's no shortage of people in the department who know the city, who know the issues of the department." The word on the street, according to the magazine, is that "three assitant chiefs, Jim McDonnell, Sharon Papa and Earl Paysinger may be in the running along with the well-regarded head of detectives, Deputy Chief Charlie Beck." more ›

Citing the difficulties and the slow start an outsider can have when arriving to Los Angeles, LAPD Chief William Bratton recommends that the search for a new chief within the department in an interview with the LA Times. "Nobody understands what it's like to be an outsider better than me. I've done it many times," he said pointing the time it takes to "get up to speed" and understand political power structure. more ›

In a media availability session around noon today, LAPD Chief William Bratton officially announced his resignation, effective as of October 31st, so he can pursue a career in the private sector. He joined Los Angeles in October of 2002 and will soon join Altegrity Inc., a worldwide private security firm based in Falls Church, Virginia. more ›

With crime significantly down and the consent decree lifted, the man who said he likes to fix things and not maintain them is stepping down, according to sources to the Los Angeles Times. Although no official announcement has been made and aides to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa say they are not savvy to the announcement, the Times says. The 61-year-old who recently put his Los Feliz home on the market will next head up a private security firm. more ›

In the past LAPD Chief William Bratton was rumored to be a top candidate to take over Scotland Yard. He denied that and he's still here serving Los Angeles today. However, today Her Majesty awarded him with the honorary title Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his work to promote cooperation between the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) police, both before and during his service with LAPD. more ›

If you want good quotes, you go to LAPD Chief Bratton. He's always been one to be candid (remember his celebrity gossp/analysis?) Well yesterday, he joined Patt Morrision for her show on KPCC and when asked about LA Weekly's April 30th story refuting the LAPD's touted crime statistics, he dismissed it calling the report "voodoo journalism" said writer Patrick Range McDonald and cohorts must have "smoking a little weed when they wrote the article." That didn't sit well with Tina Dupuy at FishbowlLA: more ›

Come July 1st, there will be some new blood in city hall. After a nasty race, Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich tonight won the race for City Attorney, announced the LA Times in a breaking news alert. He faced current 5th District Councilman Jack Weiss. As of midnight, Trutanich had over 55% of the vote with 76% of precincts reporting, according to the LA County Recorder-Registrar/County Clerk. Trutanich had the endorsement of Sheriff Lee Baca, but not LAPD's Chief William Bratton, who he will closely work with on the job. more ›

It's frowned upon for police chiefs to endorse candidates during campaigns. But so far, Chief William Bratton has endorsed candidates appearing on next Tuesday's ballot, including City Attorney hopeful Jack Weiss. “If Weiss gets in, he is going to owe Bratton,” warned former Chief Daryl Gates in an LA Weekly story by Daniel Heimpel today. That would be a "real problem since one of the city attorney’s purported jobs is to rout out corrupt cops, including police brass," the Weekly notes. more ›

You know the saying, it goes something like this: "statistics speak for themselves." So when LA Weekly's Patrick Range McDonald got sick of hearing the Mayor and LAPD Chief William Bratton claim crime levels were down to 1956 levels year after year, he decided to do his own statistics gathering finding that no, Los Angeles is really not living in the 50s still. Here's some of what we learned: more ›

"While I fully support [marijuana's] use for medicinal purposes, why don't we regulate it like we do Lipitor or Viagra," Bratton said today at a media event unrelated to urging city council to expedite the new dispensary laws. "You can't buy those two without getting it through a legitimate pharmacy. If this drug is so important and so helpful, why is it not regulated like every other drug?" In September 2007, the city placed a year-long moratorium on new dispensaries while the city drafted new regulations on them. Twice, the city has extended the moratorium, which is still in effect. Clearly frustrated at the state law passed thirteen years ago by voters, Bratton exclaimed, "they pass a law, then they have no regulations as to how to enforce the darn thing and, as a result, we have hundreds of these locations selling drugs to every Tom, Dick and Harry." more ›

Well, it's not that literal, but here's what Chief Bratton said today at the press conference announcing a new gang unit: "If you engage in violence, if you stick your neck up in the air, we’re going to lop it off." He always has great quotes--remember him on Lindsay Lohan? more ›

No, he didn't get take a new job, but he can't guarantee he will be stolen away at some point. Chief William Bratton is traveling the world today starting off with a trip to Amman, Jordan where he will meet with King Abdullah II and law enforcement agencies to exchange ideas, he says. Along with the LAPD's Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence top cop, they'll be discussing law enforcement, security, counter-terrorism, criminal intelligence and community policing tactics and philosophies, to name a few. Then he'll be heading to Washington D.C. to attend two police conferences which will seem to focus on how departments should handle budget cuts while still reducing crime. more ›

LAPD Chief William Bratton won't set crime reduction goals for 2009 yet, but he did say crime will decline this next year at a press conference today about crime totals in 2008. Although there were a spate of murders in the first few days of 2009, the murder rate declined for the fifth year in a row, this year reaching a total of 386, a number last seen in the late 1960s. more ›

All has been quiet for the past month in the media regarding LA's current, but long-lasting (since 1985), serial killer, the Grim Sleeper. But not for long as America's Most Wanted will air an episode tomorrow night with the Grim Sleeper as the "featured fugitive." He's killed at least 11 people since 1985 and most recently in 2007, but one who woman escaped will be interviewed on the program along with LAPD Chief William Bratton. more ›

Following the shocking news, media pressure and community outrage of the 7,000 untested rape-kits sitting on LAPD shelves, the LAPD along with Mayor Villaraigosa and City Attorney hopeful Jack Weiss announced a plan to catch up on the DNA testing of rape-kits. Basically, political will and funding will be directed towards the crime lab. more ›