This Contest Can Be Won

Pasadena's police headquarters is a dramatic building, with high arches and fancy scroll work that would fit right in on the Walt Disney Studios lot. But there's no funny business here. Whether you like the Pasadena cops or not, they're serious about what they do. Mess with the law in Pasadena and they don't just send a squad car, they send helicopters.

Call it overkill, but it seems to be working. I was able to find a few statistics on the web that show a dramatic drop in crime in Pasadena from 2005 to 2006. I'd like to know how we've been doing since then but wasn't able to find statistics for 2007. Could be it takes a while to compile them. PIO? Anyone?*

Pasadena's finest are featured along with their headquarters in The First Cut, a novel by Pasadena novelist and crime writer Dianne Emley. I introduced the soft-looking but tough-as-nails author here on PDP November 1st. Emley's Nan Vining Trilogy is finished. The First Cut comes out in paperback December 30th, to be followed in rapid succession by Cut to the Quick and The Deepest Cut.

So heads up, book lovers, especially those who love a scary, gritty, down and dirty read. Get ready to get your copy of The First Cut, because we're going to have a contest here on Pasadena Daily Photo. Watch for the official announcement here on December 30th.

*Vanda contributed three crime maps including this one from Realtor.com, with a 2008 copyright on it. (Click her links in the comments.)

There's now an ongoing art exhibit in the lobby of the building.

A .pdf about the building's design and architects here.