CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES

A Long Beach police detective and a state correctional officer were recognized Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League in Los Angeles for their efforts in “combating hate and bigotry.”

Det. Ebrahim Ashabi was honored for developing a four-day course on Islam designed to help authorities better understand the religion in a post-Sept. 11 world. Ashabi presented the course to hundreds of fellow officers across the country.

Eric Kraus, a parole agent with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, was recognized for developing the Skinhead Information Network, which event organizers called “the single most important clearinghouse for current, actionable intelligence on white racist gangs in Southern California.”

Both men received the Sherwood Prize for Combating Hate at a luncheon at the Skirball Cultural Center. The awards were given as part of a domestic terrorism conference attended by more than 200 local, state and federal law enforcement officers. A group of LAPD and Los Angeles school police officers also received the Sherwood prize for their efforts in the Van Nuys Juvenile Impact Boot Camp, a program aimed at helping at-risk youth deal with anger, behavioral problems and other issues.

-- Scott Glover