Police News Roundup.
Commissioner Kelly will appear on News Forum on Sunday. (Hey, this could be a new addition to the Shoutfest). He will reportedly speak about increased security in anticipation of the Republican National Convention.

In related news, the city is banning all street fairs during the convention, blaming the lack of law enforcement resources while the convention is going on. Base10 will sure be upset when he can't get that $8 sausage and pepper sandwich that week.

A Times article examines enforcement of proposed rules by the MTA banning picture-taking and filming on the subway system. While at first this may seem draconian, there is a certain logic to the proposal, allowing police to arrest a suspicious person in the system taking pictures. The Mayor has come out against the ban.

In an unrelated item, the Mayor also announced a video system deployed in Police helicopters allowing firefighters to have a bird's eye view of fires during FDNY responses.

FDNY DWI Watch. The arrest of Lt. August Orlando brings to 25 the number of firefighters arrested for DWI so far this year.

Celebrity Crime Watch. New Jersey prosecutors have announced that they will retry Jayson Williams for reckless manslaughter. A government witness in the Martha Stewart trial has pleaded guilty to perjury based on statements he made during the trial. Defense attorneys look at this as an opportunity to mount an appeal, but prosecutors downplay the effect of the statements on the convictions.

Speaking of celebrity crime, for once a celebrity is a witness not a perpetrator. Actresses Lorraine Bracco and Candice Bergen were among the first to respond to the murder scene of Eduard Nektalov, a midtown jeweler. The plot is certainly getting thicker here. Nektalov was facing federal charges for money laundering. Can anyone say Russian Mob?

Oh and Ms. Bergen et al, were doing a police ride along to prepare for their roles in a new "Law and Order" series. Base10 is trying to think of a title. "Law and Order: Traffic Control Division" tells the story of the dramatic life of a cop engaging in directing traffic. It's a jungle out there on the city streets, and our traffic cops are the lion tamers. Or, how about "Law and Order: Summons Enforcement Unit." L&O:SEU tells the story of the exciting world of summons writing. Detectives may be arresting murderers, but do you think they can bring them to jail if the streets are filled with double parked cars?

Self-style police beat reporter Lenny Levitt had a Friday story about Commissioner Kelly. Well maybe story isn't a good description. It's more of a rant. Among other things, Levitt states Kelly hates: (1) Giuliani, for firing him, (2) Bratton, for replacing him, (3) Kerik, for some unspecified reason, and (4) the FBI, because Levitt says Kelly thinks they're incompetent. Levitt also blamed Kelly for (1) inactivity regarding use of "no-knock" warrants following the death of Alberta Spruill, and (2) lax security causing the death of City Councilman James Davis. Base10 particularly likes the last suggestion, since the security guidelines in place were created by the direction of the Council itself.

WABC is reporting that railroads are coming under increased security scrutiny. They note that three trains were stopped and searched last night. The heightened security began when workers discovered a commercially available motion detector in a Pennsylvania rail yard. Trains aren't the only things to be concerned about however. NY1 believes the focus should be on trucks.

And finally, in the "thank god for federal grant money" department, officials in the Kansas city of Blue Springs returned $132,000 of $273,000 in grant money awarded the town to combat the "Goth" phenomenon. Officials cited an overstated problem and a lack of interest in the community. Base10 is wondering exactly how the other $141,000 was spent. Base10 knows there is a Grant Wood pun in here somewhere but is just too tired to think of it.

- posted by Base10 @ 9:08 AM