Crime

Exposure to lead in the environment may contribute significantly to criminal behavior, a possibility that might help explain the high rates of crime in America's inner cities, researchers said Tuesday. A study released today suggests that even nominal doses of lead, well below those associated with poisoning, can lead to the antisocial behavior and delinquency in young boys that is routinely considered a foreshadowing of violent adult criminality.

Graduate students in Pepperdine University's business school will present tonight the results of a study on the correlation between crime and alcohol outlets in Sunland-Tujunga. The study, to be presented at a public meeting, echoes some of the findings presented in a groundbreaking report published last year by USC researchers Richard A. Scribner, David P. MacKinnon and James H. Dwyer.

Crimes committed by America's youth lead the list of problems that are becoming increasingly acute for cities across the country, according to a nationwide survey released Thursday by the National League of Cities. Of more than 400 city officials participating in the survey, 62% said that youth crime became more severe in 1995, placing it at the top of 26 issues of concern to municipal leaders. Youth crime also was cited as the problem that has worsened most over the last five years.

The automobile, long considered the ticket to freedom in suburbia, is instead turning suburban life into a territory of destruction more dangerous than urban communities, according to a study released today. The study of the long-reaching impact of cars, trucks and suburban sprawl on the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest found that the prevalence of automobiles and auto accidents has led to more deaths and injuries in suburbs than have guns and drugs in urban settings.

It is a Wednesday ritual. A hot topic at parties. The object of an ever-growing cult following. It is the Crime Blotter of the Los Angeles Independent, a free weekly community newspaper with a circulation of 180,000 that tells readers in the Los Angeles Basin all the gory details about what is going on in their neighborhoods. The crimes are as banal as the theft of a cellular phone from a Westwood Volvo. As heinous as the man stabbed and left for dead in the L.A.

The Senate overwhelmingly approved two anti-crime bills, voting to establish a national registry of convicted sex offenders and to make it a federal crime to cross state lines to harass or threaten someone. By voice vote, senators approved a measure by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) making it a felony to travel to another state to intimidate people or their immediate family. Also approved was a bill by Sens. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) and Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.

Afraid to run in the dark, Maria Fattal used to clutch her keys and grab a whistle before heading out the door for her regular jog. But the Seal Beach mother found a faithful running partner a few years back, and now things are different. Panting eagerly at her side is King Charlemagne, her 120-pound Rottweiler. "I tried not to be paranoid, but I used to find people along the way to run with . . . anything I had to do to be safe," she says, reaching over to give Charlemagne a pat.

The saleswoman couldn't have asked for a better spot in the entire hotel. From her table adjacent to the dining room, Ines Bond had ample opportunity to pitch her company's crime-scene cleanup services to convention goers as they milled around waiting for lunch.

New Century City, an ethnically mixed city of 150,000, is afflicted by many of the same problems as Southern California cities--gangs, racial tensions, rising murder rates--plus one more: It doesn't exist. New Century is the fictional backdrop for a role-playing game that allows its players--police chiefs, community activists, politicians--to explore strategies for curbing drugs and violence. Created by Rand Corp.