Homicides Plummet in San Francisco:  San Francisco Chronicle writer Jaxon Van Derbeken reports on the largest one-year drop in the city's homicides on record.  The local police have logged 45 homicides in the city this year, a decline of more than 50 percent from both 2007 and 2008, when the city recorded 98 and 97 homicides, respectively.  Police Chief George Gascón believes that some of the decline, particularly the decline of ethnic homicides, can be attributed to the Police Department's decision to target areas of gang activity for tougher enforcement.  The zone enforcement strategy deploys officers to hot spots and targets offenders thought to be likely to commit more crimes.  Another longtime activist in the city, Marie Harrison, believes that the explanations for the decline in homicides do not add up.  She would give more credit to parents in countering violence and changing community attitudes.  Yesterday, New York Times writer Al Baker reported on a similar decline in New York City's homicides. 

Federal Court Restricts Police Use of Tasers:  L.A. Times writers Joel Rubin and Richard Winton report on the Ninth Circuit's ruling that allows officers to be held liable for injuries an individual suffers after being tasered.  The decision, Carl Bryan v. B. McPherson, if allowed to stand, would set a rigorous legal precedent for when police are permitted to use the weapons and would force some law enforcement agencies throughout the state to tighten their own policies governing the use of tasers.  In the opinion, Judges Pregerson, Reinhardt and Wardlaw established legally binding standards about where tasers fall on the spectrum of force available to police officers.  The opinion lays out clear guidelines for when an officer should be allowed to use the weapon.  Michael Gennaco, who conducted internal reviews of Taser use for the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, believes that the ruling limits Taser use to situations where an individual poses an obvious danger.