LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union is calling for sweeping changes at the Los Angeles County’s Men’s Central Jail.

Imagined it packed with inmates.

In a statement, the ACLU said that dangerous overcrowding at the jail causes or contributes to violence and mental illness.

Describing conditions at the facility as “nightmarish,” Margaret Winter, associate director of the ACLU National Prison Project, said that “Men’s Central Jail is so grossly overcrowded, dangerous and dungeon-like that it puts intolerable stress on the inmates, as well as the jailers.”

For more, go here.

LOS ANGELES - The current economic situation in Los Angeles is no joke: double-digit unemployment, a collapsed housing market and numerous business closures all contribute to an environment that should, according to experts, be ripe for an explosion of property crimes and violence.

Crime: Another casualty of Los Angeles's economic meltdown?

So far, it hasn’t happened.

Crimes such as burglary and auto theft are down 6.4% compared to the same time last year.

For more, and some theories as to why the experts were wrong, visit the Los Angeles Times.