Saturday, February 11, 2012
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The LAPD is fighting crime from a high-tech war room that gives it eyes all over the city. The surveillance hub is now a model for police forces around the world and KCAL9 got an exclusive tour inside from Chief Charlie Beck.
“We are targets on our own soil,” says Beck. “We have to be ready.”
What began as a grass roots idea following the 9/11 terrorist attacks is now a state-of-the-art real-time analysis critical response center. It’s called RACR, and it’s located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.
“This is a system that cuts through the red tape, that gets information to the people that need it,” says Chief Beck. He calls it “the brains of the department, twenty-four/seven.”
Police in the activity center monitor live feeds of city and traffic cameras, counter-terrorism information, and real-time crime mapping, with cutting edge software...[Full Article]
Labels: LAPD, Los Angeles
Friday, January 27, 2012
TG Daily
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) teamed up with US Special Forces troops Wednesday evening for a night of "multi-agency" counter-terrorism tactical exercises.
Residents of the sprawling city observed a Black Hawk helicopter and four OH-6 choppers flying over Los Angeles, with the fleet hovering above the US Bank building downtown and flying low over the Staples
Center.
Meanwhile, LA news station CBS KCAL9 managed to identify a Black Hawk making what appeared to be a practice drop off in a local park before flying off.
The LAPD issued an official statement explaining that the training exercises would help ensure the military’s ability to safely and effectively operate within urban environments.
Chief Warrant Officer David Duran told KCAL9 the Los Angeles training exercises could be a dry run for a future mission.
"They do a lot of mockup training... But it’s always best to get the closest terrain layout to what the objective is," he explained.
"If it’s a mountainous terrain, they go to the mountains; if it’s a desert terrain, they use the desert; if they’re in a coastal terrain, they use the coast. If it’s an urban terrain, you know, whatever’s needed."
Similar exercises - which were held in NYC, Miami and Boston - have prompted concern over what appears to be the rapid militarization of local police departments. Indeed, since 9/11, the DHS has shelled out more than $34 billion in federal grants arming precincts with military grade equipment and advanced tech.
For example, the New York Police Department (NYPD) and US Department of Defense (DoD) are currently testing a new system that uses terahertz imaging to detect hidden weapons.
Unsurprisingly, the use of such invasive technology has prompted a slew of concerned statements from privacy advocates who believe the arbitrary use of terahertz imaging violates human rights. To be sure, the system is capable of measuring energy radiating from an individual up to 16-feet away, while detecting anomalies like a firearm.
..[Full Article]
Labels: LAPD, Los Angeles, Special Forces, terahertz imaging
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The Los Angeles Police Department teamed with military special operation forces Wednesday evening to conduct multi-agency tactical exercises in the skies above downtown LA.
Many questioned what was going on Wednesday night as a Black Hawk helicopter and four OH-6 choppers – or “Little Birds” – flew over the city, at one point hovering just above the US Bank building downtown and later flying low over the Staples Center as the Lakers played inside.
Someone could be seen sitting inside an open chopper with his legs hanging off the side.
Sky9 spotted the Black Hawk in the dark, making what appeared to be a drop off at a park before quickly ascending back into the air.
Throughout the exercise, the five rotorcrafts were staged at Dodgers Stadium.
The LAPD said the purpose of the training was in part to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban environments...[Full Article]
Labels: exercises, LAPD, Los Angeles, military drills, Special Forces
Saturday, May 28, 2011
(credit: translogic.aolautos.com)
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — If you thought the patrol car in the 1987 action movie “Robocop” was high-tech, wait until you see what L.A.’s finest will be soon be driving.
AOL’s Translogic caught a sneak peek of the new squad car of choice for the Los Angeles Police Department: the Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV).
Billed as the “sum total of all the law enforcement community has learned about patrol cars to date” by the report, the PPV boasts a 6.0L V-8 engine with 355 horsepower, 18-inch steel wheels, and a host of gadgets that puts any Hollywood squad car to shame.
The Caprice, which replaces the long-used Ford Crown Victoria, is equipped with an infrared night vision camera, automated license plate scanner, and a touch-screen center console that replaces the older computers traditionally used by officers.
In addition to horsepower and firepower, the cruiser is also outfitted with the latest in information technology, with ethernet, Wi-Fi and an experimental wireless-mesh network in the trunk.
Even the bad guys can ride in comfort: cut-outs in the back seat are custom-made to accommodate any handcuffed suspect.
LAPD officials say vehicle wrapping was used on all-black sedans instead of traditional paint to minimize repair expenses and protect resale value. This brings the expected taxpayer cost to be about $20,000.
Drivers can expect to see the new 2012 Chevrolet Caprice PPV cruising city streets as early as mid-2011.
Labels: LAPD, Los Angeles, police
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Three Los Angeles-area reporters who said they were physically assaulted by LAPD officers at a 2007 rally have won their day in court.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury has awarded one of the journalists, Fox camerawoman Patricia Ballaz, $1.7 million for lost earnings and medical expenses. Another reporter, NPR journalist Patricia Nazario, won $39,000 for medical and other expenses. The jury deadlocked on the award for a third reporter, Fox reporter Christina Gonzalez.
During court testimony, Ballaz testified that police "threw [Gonzalez] around like a rag doll" as they pushed through a crowd of reporters and protesters during an immigration rally near L.A.'s MacArthur Park on May 1, 2007...
[Full Article]Labels: LAPD, Los Angeles, police brutality
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