Attempted Kidnapping Video May Lead To Arrest The recent release of a video may lead to the arrest of an attempted kidnapping suspect. A 17-year-old girl from Northern California was grabbed while walking to school, and while being forced into a man’s car, screamed and fought him off. The suspect…
OFFICER MISCONDUCT AND THE PITCHESS MOTION You are driving late at night and your eye catches flashing red lights in your rearview mirror. Your mind races—you were driving at the speed limit, didn’t run any stop signs or the like—why was the officer stopping you? You pull over and the…
DOES CRIME INCREASE WHEN THE WEATHER IS HOT? With the seemingly endless summer in Southern California and a very hot autumn this year, should we be more concerned about crime? Everyone knows that crime increases in hot weather, right? Well, not so fast. Several studies have disputed that oft cited…
A bill recently signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown requires California’s public alert system to help in the effort to track down hit-and-run drivers. The new law uses emergency “yellow alerts” to broadcast the key details of fleeing hit-and-run vehicles. On digital freeway signs, the car’s color, make, model…
CALIFORNIA ENDS GRAND JURY HEARINGS IN FATAL POLICE SHOOTINGS California is the first state to announce that it will ban grand juries in the preliminary determination on whether a law enforcement office should face criminal charges after killing someone in the line of duty. The reasoning behind the ban, which…
The Sex Predator Next Door In 1996, with the federal enactment of “Megan’s Law”, California began disseminating identifying information about sex offenders on CD-ROM on a monthly basis to all sheriff and police departments throughout the state. This information was made available to the public. Since then, the information available…
Facebook, Instagram, selfies—we live in an age of instantaneous electronic communication. The teens of today share the details of their lives via social media; they seem to spend much of their time snapping photos to share and conversing by text message. But some teens go beyond sharing the everyday…
A California arrest warrant authorizes law enforcement to arrest and apprehend you if you are suspected of committing a crime outside of the presence of an officer. Judges issue arrest warrants based upon the evidence presented to them by an officer or District Attorney. Also, an arrest warrant can be…
What is Embezzlement? Embezzlement is what is considered a “White Collar Crime” which occurs when someone steals property or money from another who has entrusted that person to manage or monitor his or her money or property. One element of the crime is that the defendant had legal access but…
When a juvenile is arrested and charged with a crime, the effects can last a lifetime. Just being questioned by a police officer is intimidating; imagine being taken into custody as a child or teenager. When a child, under the age of 18 years is facing serious charges, it can…