Los Angeles 2007 Gang Enforcement Initiatives Announced

Published: February 12, 2007Author: CS Staff

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced four initiatives designed to combat gang crime.

The following were the result of the International Chiefs of Police’s Summit on Transnational Gangs that took place this past weekend. Among the international attendees were Mexico, Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. Nearly all the police agencies within Los Angeles County as well as the DEA, ATF, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Marshal’s Office were also present at the conference.The initiatives include:

The Top-20 Fugitive Initiative, which will identify 20 of the most-wanted gang fugitives within North and Central America.
Summit attendees formed a working group to develop intelligence and information sharing mechanisms with the El Salvador national police agency. The group will report on its progress at an annual anti-gang conference in El Salvador during the week of April 25.
Create an officer-exchange program among the foreign agencies and local police and sheriff departments to expose officers to challenges in the foreign countries and see how they may affect enforcement.
Identify ways in which law enforcement can affect prevention and intervention efforts to keep new members from joining gangs.

The initiatives were prompted by a significant increase in gang related crimes in 2006. Compared to 2005, total gang-related violent crimes rose 15.7 percent. Homicides were up 4.6 percent; attempted homicides were up 21.9 percent; felony assaults were up 9 percent; attacks on police officers were up 9.3 percent; robberies were up 24.4 percent; rapes were up 12.1 percent; witness intimidation was up 26.3 percent; and car jackings were up 15.6 percent.

According to the LAPD Web site, it plans to do the following to combat gangs:

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LAUNCH OF THE SOUTH BUREAU CRIMINAL GANG HOMICIDE GROUP

This new LAPD command will bring together over 120 of the most experienced and ambitious homicide and gang detectives in the City. A staff officer at the rank of Police Commander has already been selected as the commanding officer and is currently overseeing and developing the architecture of this entity. This innovative organization will focus exclusively on gang-related murders and attempt murders. Discussions with the following agencies have yielded strong commitments from themto provide resources to this group: Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD), Office of the District Attorney (DA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), County Probation, Community Gang Intervention Specialists.

DESIGNATION OF THE DEPARTMENT GANG COORDINATOR

Coordination with the Office of the Mayor and other partner agencies and community groups has been achieved by the designation of the Commanding Officer, Detective Bureau, as the Department Gang Coordinator (DGC). This executive-level police official is already in place and will be responsible for bringing continuity, cohesion and consistency to the Department’s overall gang reduction strategy. Additionally, the DGC is responsible for providing solution-based strategies designed to drive our gang initiative agenda.

PLACEMENT OF L. A. GANG MEMBERS ON THE FBI’S “TEN MOST WANTED LIST”

The LAPD recently identified a Los Angeles (LA) area gang member whose name was provided to the FBI for placement on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List. The placement of criminal fugitives from LA represents the Department’s intention to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate the most notorious gang criminals in this region. Upon the capture of that gang member, the name of another local gang member who meets the FBI criteria for placement on the list will be provided to the FBI.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE CITY’S “TOP TARGETED STREET GANGS”

Previously, law enforcement officials did not divulge the names of individual gangs who were involved in crimes because of a widely held perception that doing so elevated the criminals’ influence and standing in the gang community. This new strategy abandons the earlier posture and challenges these menaces by exposing their corrosive behavior to the scrutiny of a more informed and confident community.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE “COMMUNITY SAFETY OPERATIONS CENTER”

Operations-Valley Bureau (OVB) will soon activate the OVB Community Safety Operations Center, which combines the enforcement capability of law enforcement with the advocacy of involved community members. This special enforcement group of over fifty officers, motor personnel and supervisors will analyze real-time crime data and otherinformation to rapidly and strategically deploy officers in crime-ridden regions of the Valley. They will deploy in a variety of configurations to include high-visibility patrols and other, less traditional covert means of apprehending violent criminals.

PATROL PROLIFERATION STRATEGY

This proliferation strategy allows patrol officers (with appropriate training and oversight) to engage in the enforcement of civil injunctions and the service of arrest warrants on which gang members are named. This initiative is designed to take full advantage of the LAPD field force and dramatically increase LAPD’s ability to protect lawabidingcitizens.

204TH STREET GANG ABATEMENT STRATEGY

As a result of numerous assaults committed by the 204th Street gang, including recent racially motivated homicides, the 204th Street gang will be targeted for enforcement action using a number of strategies previously outlined in this document. The primary goal is to protect law-abiding citizens from crimes motivated by prejudice, while easing tensions in the community.

GANG ABATEMENT LEGISLATION

As still another strategic dimension of our scholastic approach to regulate gang violence, our Department will submit to local and State policymakers for consideration, recommendations for comprehensive and thoughtful gang abatement legislation that will enhance the ability of law enforcement agencies in this State to address indiscriminate acts of gang violence and conditions that perpetuate them. This effort is intended to solidify our resolve to dismantle the very notion of criminal street gangs within the borders of this City and beyond.

CONVERGENCE OF LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Unprecedented partnerships have been established with the following agencies: LASD, FBI, ATF, Drug Enforcement Administration, State Parole, County Probation, LA Unified School District Police, Local Municipal Police Departments.

COMMUNITY AWARENESS BULLETINS

Gangs create fear in the communities through violent acts and by manipulating the community’s lack of understanding and awareness of the resources and tools that are available to them to thwart this growing menace. The LAPD will soon distribute mailers and other media in an effort to enlighten our community partners and cultivate theirconsciousness concerning the things they must do to sustain their sense of neighborhood independence.

LAPD TOP TARGETED STREET GANGS:

18th Street Westside (Southwest Area)
204th Street (Harbor Area)
Avenues (Northeast Area)
Black P-Stones (Southwest, Wilshire Areas)
Canoga Park Alabama (West Valley Area)
Grape Street Crips (Southeast Area)
La Mirada Locos (Rampart, Northeast Areas)
Mara Salvatrucha (Rampart, Hollywood, andWilshire Areas)
Rollin 40s (Southwest Area)
Rollin 30s Harlem Crips (Southwest Area)
Rolling 60s (77th Area)

COMMUNITY SYMPOSIUMS ON GANG AWARENESS

Each Operations bureau commanding officer will coordinate and convene special educational seminars in various regions of their command, designed to heighten the community’s awareness of gang cultures and trends. Groups that will have an opportunity to participate in these special learning institutes will include: