In that same speech, he also advocated for greatly expanding the DNA database, so anyone convicted of petty misdemeanors would have to submit a humanly sample. So what kind of low level crimes are we talking about? Here’s a nice list to get you started:

• Fortune telling
• Public lewdness
• Possession of graffiti instruments
• Loitering
• Unlawful assembly
• Possession of weed
• Invalid motor vehicle insurance
• Operating a motor vehicle while registration is suspended

The governor reasons that these types of misdemeanors are a “gateway” to more serious crimes.

A few days later, the parcels were returned with an apology note, all of which was also caught on video, although this time the guy was sure to not show his face.

However, the bandit’s newfound moral beacon isn’t totally on course, there’s one Christmas present still missing.

Although law enforcement types and politicians love to tout how great surveillance cameras are at preventing crime, they apparently didn’t deter what is believed to be a single idiot from firebombing several locations with molotov cocktails made from Starbucks Frappuccino® bottles.

Here’s the footage that was captured from one of the residences and released by the NYPD. One thing that can be confirmed from the tape is that the arsonist was definitely a human. Otherwise, good luck making out his facial features.

Luckily, officers still have access to ancient tools like pencils and sketchpads, so that a workable rendition of the suspect could be released to the public. Cops say they are talking to a “person of interest,” again utilizing another time-tested tool that used to be called police work.

The International Center of Photography’s upcoming Weegee exhibit shall be bountiful with lurid highlights from the photojournalist’s career capturing crime scenes, murder victims, homicide trials and other film noir fodder, minus the glitz. A storied New York newspaper freelancer of the 1930s and 1940s, Weegee had a brief and productively miserable time as a Hollywood paparazzi, but soon returned home “to civilization,” corpses and cops. The exhibit will include “environmental recreations of Weegee’s apartment and exhibitions.” Ooh, time warp. “Weegee: Murder Is My Business,” Jan 20–Sep 2, International Center of Photography, NYC

The highly designed prison yard-looking space that is the 9/11 Memorial site announced that it has processed over one million visitors since its grand opening in September. The most recent notable attendee was a woman from Tennessee who brought along a loaded .32-caliber handgun in her purse.

Meredith Graves, who is somehow a fourth-year medical student, did a have permit to carry the weapon, just not in New York. While navigating through the multiple security points, she saw a sign that said “No guns Allowed.” Graves assumed that was her cue to ask a security guard if she could check the sidearm, you know, like a coat. Instead, she was arrested and charged with felony gun posession.

As you can imagine, the 9/11 Memorial has a strict policy and only first responders on designated days are allowed to walk around the memorial strapped.

(Photos: ANIMALNewYork)

“[The guy working with police] never said it was a stolen phone, he said that he bought it from an Apple store the day before, but now he needed the money for his wife,” said a newsstand clerk in the area who backed up the teenager’s story after witnessing a similar arrest.

Tester’s father is furious over the tactics used and said he plans on suing the city. Brooklyn Councilman Vincent Gentile is also peeved about the incident and wrote a letter to Commissioner Ray Kelly:

Trying to root out merchants who are known dealers in stolen electronics is one matter. Luring unsuspecting and otherwise law-abiding teenagers to ‘buy’ goods from undercover officers is another matter entirely.

The pol was referring to the NYPD’s citywide crackdown dubbed Operation Take Back, which used iPhones and iPads to ensnare over 140 people since it launched several weeks ago, including an old man who works at a bodega in my neighborhood.

He’s from Yemen and doesn’t speak English very well, but explained that cops busted him after he bought an iPad for $140. Similarly, he says the undercover officer never uttered the word “stolen,” but since he was an immigrant, was too scared to fight the charges and accepted an acquittal in contemplation of dismissal.

The State Court of Appeals asserted that the practice while unlawful, does not constitute a larceny, because the fare was never MTA property.

This ruling symbolically overturns the conviction of a New Jersey man from 2009, who served one day in jail. His defense attorney, Adrienne Hale, of the Legal Aid Society appealed the case and explains why it was so important:

“You are allowed to hand it around to your girlfriend; you are allowed to even swipe strangers in” at no charge, she added. “They allow certain sharing of the card, and then to pull back a certain subset of this, and call it petit larceny, is wrong.”

Imagine if all public defenders were this thorough.

Similarly, officers were advised against making illegal weed busts a few months ago, creating a noticeable decrease in those type of arrests, so well done. Forcing the NYPD to follow the law is good policy. (Photo: ANIMALNewYork)

After a long period of steady decreases, the wholesale price of good weed is rising. In addition to stepped up enforcement, bouts of crappy weather have forced the costs up and heady strains are now considered expensive, but only by West Coast standards. We long for the day Sour Diesel costs $2500 a pound in NYC. (Photo: Joey Angerone/Flickr)

She smartly remained inside and the police were called, but when two officers responded and tried to make an arrest, they were overpowered and knocked to the ground. One of the cops put a call out on the radio and firefighters from a stationhouse only a few doors down responded in the best way they could: a water cannon. More police and a helicopter eventually arrived, leading to several well deserved busts. (Photo: Michael Oates/SIlive)