Simple things, they say, such as remembering to lock vehicle doors and storing packages in the trunk can go a long way.  Persons who leave packages and gifts in plain sight have a higher likelihood of having their cars broken into and their items stolen.

The message being relayed is relatively simple:
• Lock It: Lock your vehicle every time you leave it unattended and always lock your valuables in the trunk.
• Hide It: If you don’t have a trunk, hide valuables under the seats, in the glove box, or other compartments within the   vehicle.
• Keep It: Personal responsibility is the best prevention to safeguard personal property and to prevent becoming a victim

CBS Los Angeles has reported that owners of American-made sport utility vehicles should be  aware that a “spat of thefts of removable third row seats” have become increasingly frequent.

The “Lock It, Hide It, Keep It” campaign was first kicked off at the Los Angeles Police Department Nuys station in Aug. 2010.  Then Deputy LAPD Chief Kirk Albanese said statistics showed that by taking an extra few seconds to stow belongings, that the crime of burglary and theft from motor vehicles could be eliminated.  Albanese has since been promoted to commanding officer of the Detective Bureau.

Described as a “tough cop and a class act” by some of his colleagues, Capt. Snell has served in various departments within the LAPD, including traffic and vice, as well as working patrol for the Newton Community as a lieutenant. He worked as assistant to former Chief William Bratton for three and a half years and has also worked for the Inspector General. His last assignment was with the Criminal Gang Homicide Division.

Capt. Snell is a family man, being a father of four and grandfather to seven children. A graduate of Occidental College, Snell attended the same school as President Obama. Throughout his time as an officer of the LAPD, Snell has encountered many other notable people as well, such as Sir Elton John, John Walsh (America’s Most Wanted), Arsenio Hall, and Harry Morgan (MASH, Dragnet).

The new captain says he is enjoying his new role as captain, and that he loves the Van Nuys area he oversees. Having served in South LA, Snell has noted the differences between the two areas. The most significant difference being that the property crime rate versus violent crimes in the Sherman Oaks-Van Nuys community is much higher, whereas in South LA violent crimes outnumber property crime.

Capt. Snell feels that he has been embraced by the community and its groups. Meeting with members of the Sherman Oaks-Van Nuys community, there are questions of whether the Department is planning to pay more attention to the community than it has in the past.

Snell acknowledges that in the past, with only 6,000 officers on staff, the main focus was to get from one radio call to the next. Not much effort was put into community focus. It is hoped that now, with around 10,000 LAPD officers at hand, the long-standing goal of a partnership between the community and the LAPD will at last be fulfilled.

Chief Beck has made it a goal to move community policing to another level, now that the necessary time and resources are becoming available and Captain Paul Snell is looking forward to a strong partnership between the Van Nuys Division and the people of the community.

Source: ShermanOaksPatch

On February 3^rd, Johnson was taken into arrested by the California Department of Insurance and taken to the Lynwood Jail, Los Angeles County’s women’s jail.  If convicted, is facing a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Apparently, Ms. Johnson was allowed to post bail and was released. Johnson’s arraignment is scheduled for March 4th at the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.

State Insurance Commissioner, Dave Jones said, “A bail bond agent who steals from clients in order to use these funds personally is committing a breach of fiduciary duty. Individuals who perpetrate such acts will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

According to the Department of Insurance, Johnson executed 13 American Surety Co. bail bonds in Los Angeles County between February and April of 2009.

Johnson is being accused of collecting, from 12 of the 13 defendants that she supplied bail for, approximately $34,000 in gross premiums and also failed to remit $5,070 in net premiums. According to Jones, Johnson has kept those funds for her own personal use.

This investigation has also lead to revealing that Johnson also failed to return to court for another 11 bail bonds that totaled to $250,000 with a $3,250 premium.  Those bail bonds have not been located and Johnson has not accounted for them.

Jones said, “Based on past experience, bail bonds that have not been returned by bail agents could have been executed to release suspects from jail and issued to courts without reporting to the surety company, exposing the surety company to losses equal to the bond value, as well a loss of premium.”

Last May is when investigators first learned of the scheme. Johnson met with investigators the following month and surrendered her bail license. Johnson’s case is being prosecuted by the Public Integrity Division of the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.

Originally, those who criticized the disclosure rule feared that existing and new officers wouldn’t join in. However, Beck has stated that the department hasn’t experienced any major setbacks and that 21 gang units are stable. The criticisms include a requirement for officers that deal with gangs and narcotics to reveal their own personal financial assets i.e. real estate, bonds, stocks, bank accounts, in order to prevent further corruption.

A total of 16 officers from the Van Nuys and Devonshire areas declined to sign. Other areas, such as Mission, had some officers refuse to sign, but not all. Beck stated that resources were being shifted around and the police were recruiting to fill the open units.

LAPD officers have been given until the month of March to disclose their personal financial information. Beck said, “We did it this time of year because we plan to [rebuild the units] by summer.”

Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese, head of the Valley Bureau, said that the units were expected to be in full-force before summer time and he said, “We need to reconstitute as quickly as possible. We don’t want to give up any ground.” Albanese was referring to the 15.6 percent decrease in gang-related crimes in 2010.

The criticized disclosure agreement stems from the Rampart Corruption Scandal of the late 1990s and is in compliant with a federal consent decree to reform the LAPD.  According to Paul Weber, President of the Police Protective League, some officers feel that the information isn’t any more revealing than paying an Internet search to perform the task, however, it is a matter of principle.

Weber stated, “For police officers, this isn’t about checking a box. We’re not willing to do things just because the consent decree says it has to happen. It has to make sense. It doesn’t work. No one says it’s going to work.”

Those who are criticizing the disclosure think that it singles out narcotics and gang officers in an unfair way. Some also say that with the result of experienced officers declining to sign and therefore not working, that the new replacements are too inexperienced to handle gang crimes.

The LAPD remains positive upon the years of experience that will be passed on to those incoming officers, specifically by ex-gang officers who will be assigned to the same areas.

Klein was arrested on June 16th just after 3:15 AM on an alleged DUI.  He was driving on the 101 Freeway with his dog. He was later bailed out of the Van Nuys Jail. It’s reported his blood alcohol level was just about 3 times legal limit in California, which is .08 percent. 

If found guilty this time, Chris could be facing a minimum of four days behind bars. He was also arrested in 2004, where he was charged with two counts of DUI. He pleaded guilty and was fined $1,800 and performed community service.

With new laws that take effect this year in July, a multiple DUI offender may have to use an “ignition interlock system,” before they can get behind the wheel of a car.

The new device would be installed directly on the person’s vehicle. When they want to drive, they’d have to take a breathalyzer test right then and there. The device will read if they have been drinking.  If they were, the car just won’t start. Pretty darn smart for a device, and good for public safety too. Maybe it will make a difference.

According to a family member, he accidently tripped off a silent alarm in his own home which sent the Los Angeles Police Department to his location.

When the LAPD arrived on the scene, Cameron asked who they were. When they responded “who are you?” Cameron reached for his I.D.  That’s when officers reportedly tackled and arrested him believing he may be going for a gun.

In an interview with CNN, Cameron’s father Michael Reagan, (President Reagan’s son and a conservative commentator), asked, “Where is the American Civil Liberties Union when Cameron Reagan is tackled in his own driveway?” He also stated, “there was a lot of misunderstanding at 1 a.m.”

Cameron Reagan was released on $10,000 bail bond from the Van Nuys Jail.

Stephanie attended  Holly Montag’s 26th birthday party at one of Hollywood’s trendy night clubs. Allegedly, she was driving home at 3:45 am when she was apprehended.

For those of you who keep up with our celebrity arrest blogs, you’ll recall  that Jason Wahler, another star from “The Hills” was arrested earlier this month in Yakima County for assault and drinking charges.

Recently, I had a call from a woman who’s brother was arrested and was at the Van Nuys Jail. He had been in an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. His bail was $30,000 and their mother agreed to bail him out. As our bail agent arrived at Van Nuys (and was illegally approached by street solicitors looking to cut him a 5% deal on a bond – also illegal, but that’s another post), he went into the jail with bond in hand and the jailer told him, “Sorry, the guy just had an O.R. approved.”

My guy tells the jailer, “Well, I have a bond, wouldn’t that be better for everyone?”

“Sorry, gotta O.R. him,” the agent was told. (Note that I recognize that the officer was doing what he’s told to do.)

You might be thinking, that’s great for the defendant and his family; they don’t have to pay. Well, not so fast. What are the facts about O.R. versus bail when it comes to appearance in court?

Cheif Walters of the Santa Ana Police Department cited it well when he met with bondsmen in October 2008. He told us:

The Santa Ana experience was that 95 to 98% of bailees returned to court to address the charges compared with only 25% of defendants who were cited out.

Walters went on to say that when someone doesn’t appear for court, a warrant is issued and police are supposed to go out looking for the individual, at additional cost to the public and taking time away from the officers’ other duties. In my experience that doesn’t happen; police departments just don’t have the resources. If, however, a defendant on bond doesn’t show up, the bondsman will find him. That’s our job as an agent for the court.

Day in and day out we deal with nice families and people who have had bad judgement and, yes, some criminals. The purpose of the bail system is to ensure appearance at court – and that’s a good thing! It lets people who are potentially innocent get out of jail and continue their lives; it also keeps down the over-crowding in the jails, making them safer and potentially less costly to society at large. Bail bondsmen additionally provide - at no cost to the public - oversight for the defendant: a set of eyes from the bondsman and the indemnitor (the person signing the bail bond contract), which provides a service that cite and release or release on Own Recognizance (“O.R.”) does not.

When a jailer has the ability to accept a bond or release on O.R., it costs nothing to help ensure the individual will return to court. Who pays? The defendant or their family… but isn’t a safer public worth it?

More on Benefits of Bail Bonds.

As a bail bondsman, my job is to help people get out of jail. It’s not my job to give advice. Sometimes, that’s hard to do. Today was a good example, the phone rang around 6:00 am, I looked at the caller i.d. before answering, as is my habit. “Global Tel Link“ - tells me it’s a call from a Los Angeles County Jail. “Bail Bonds, may I help you?” I answer.

The caller is a male who tells me that he is in the Van Nuys Jail. He immediately tells me that his bail $10,000, he had $3000 in cash when he was arrested and would like to pay for the $1000 bond fee himself with that money. Before I even ask the usual bail questions, my warning signals are twitching. He seems to know the bail bond process, he sounds young and he has a large sum of cash.

I ask various questions and he tells me that he lives in the area with his grandparents and grew up in Southern California; he is 21, has bad credit and works under the table. I ask if his grandparents might be willing to take responsibility for him. “No,” he tells me, he doesn’t want them involved. Without asking about his charges, I tell him that I cannot help him unless he has a homeowner or someone with excellent credit to sign for him. I wish him luck and hang up.

Sure enough, within a minute, the phone rings again, “Global Tel Link” reveals the caller i.d. “Bail Bonds, may I help you?” I answer again. It’s the same guy; he wants to know what he needs to bail himself out. I ask him why was he arrested. Heroin possession, he answers and he goes right on to tell me that he’s been arrested before and bailed himself out with no problem. No, doubt, I thought, but instead told him that I was sure he wouldn’t have trouble getting someone else to bail him out, but with our company he would need someone else to take responsibility to make sure he takes care of the case.

I resisted the temptation to tell him that had his family been made aware of his prior arrests maybe he wouldn’t be back in jail. Some may look at a bail bondman as dealing with criminals, but I see it differently. Yes, we get people out of jail, but there’s more to the bail industry that that. When people hit a bump in the road in life I hope they learn a lesson, get the support they need to put things back on course. As a bondsman, my role in that is quite minimal, but I know that we have very few repeat clients.