“Ambulance” Review
National Night Out in the San Fernando Valley
The small town of San Fernando came out to the Civic Center in Downtown San Fernando for the National Night Out. There were free hot dogs, cupcakes and sodas for all as residents got to know their neighbors as well as members of the San Fernando LAPD, who were there in uniform.
The event lasted from 6-9 and was sponsored by local businesses and public officials including Farm Johns, Sweetness Cupcakes & Cakes as well as Go Country 105.1.
National Night out was original started nearly 33 years ago with a Neighborhood watch in Philadelphia, PA as a day to bridge the barriers between the community and the police department and today is celebrated the first Tuesday of August for most states nationwide (Texas is one of the exceptions in which National Night Out is celebrated the first Tuesday in October).
For more information and to find out how to volunteer or support National Night Out, visit, natw.org.
Automatic License Plate Readers: ‘Invasion of Privacy’ or ‘For our protection’?
The recent addition of License Plate Scanners to Law Enforcement cars in roughly 38 States is raising concern amongst residents.
Photography by: Julie White
In San Diego, Calif, the cameras have been in use for four months and the Sheriff’s Department Spokeswoman, Jan Caldwell, confirms that the cameras have helped recover a “stolen car within the first ten minutes” of deployment.
But groups like the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa (ACLU) argue that the cameras “represent a potential threat to the privacy of Innocent (people)”.
In California, there are distinct laws regarding invasion of privacy—
- If a person “knowingly enters onto a land of another person without permission.”
- And If they “attempts to capture, in a manner that is offensive to a reasonable person, any type of visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression” of person
The scanners are meant to help law enforcement fight crime and terrorism, but in a report from
Photography by: Julie White
“ACLU says, their biggest concern is figuring out ‘how long the location and movements of people are being kept on file’ after the pictures are taken by cameras mounted on police cars.In a question posted on Facebook that asked if “License plate scanners should be used to curb crime or if they are an invasion of privacy”, Manuel Vasquez of San Fernando, Calif. answered, “Invasion of Privacy”.
Thus far in Los Angeles County, according to a the July 2012 report in the Police Chief Magazine, there are only “12 cars fully installed with the systems, 8 in the Compton area and 4 in the La Habra Heights area.”
Autism Awareness And The LAPD
One out of 88 children have autism as the number consistently grows each year. As part of Autism Awareness Month this April, the Autism Society of Los Angeles teamed with the Los Angeles Police Department to accomplish two missions for the officers as well as for the children.
Watch now, to see just how the children and the police officers are being educated to deal with each other in Los Angeles County.
Life After College- A look into the professional life of a recent college graduate in California
Twenty four year old Jovi Hinojosa says his ultimate dream job is to be a crime scene investigator. Graduating from Cal State University Los Angeles nearly two years ago, he tells of his inspiration behind pursuing this career path despite the obstacles in his way.