Los Angeles County is home to the largest number of gangs and gang members compared to any single region in the nation: the County has over 1,100 gangs with approximately 88,000 gang members. This complex community crisis is addressed through a coordinated effort involving innovative law enforcement strategies, participation by social service agencies, schools, public and mental health professionals, faith and community-based organizations, and community leaders.
In June 2007, Sheriff Leroy D. Baca announced The War on Gangs and the War on Tagging and provided a new vision for addressing the gang crisis. This Gang Strategy aims to achieve long-lasting success through prevention, intervention, and technology, while deploying aggressive suppression strategies. This comprehensive, four-pronged strategy has proven effective in lowering the crime rate, specifically violent crime, and improving the quality-of-life in our communities.
Prevention
Prevention programs furnish our youth with tools to make positive decisions and promotes the self-esteem needed to abstain from the peer pressure used in gang recruitment and involvement. The Sheriff’s Youth Activities League (YAL), the Explorer Program and Success Through Awareness and Resistance (STAR) program are three well-established and proven prevention programs currently in use. Each year approximately 5,000 youth participate in the YAL, 25,000 students attend STAR classes, and 417 of our potential future leaders serve in the Explorer program.
Intervention
Intervention programs are directed toward youth that have shown a movement toward juvenile delinquency and who have been identified as being a candidate for intervention services. One of the most successful intervention programs is the Vital Intervention Directional Alternatives (VIDA) program. Since the inception of VIDA in 1997, over 7,000 at-risk youth have successfully completed the program.
Suppression
Suppression is a coordinated and unified response to the gang crisis and is the most critical component in impacting gang violence. The Gang Strategy uses a strategic and comprehensive approach to suppression, and includes the following resources dedicated to combating the gang crisis: the Gang Enforcement Team, Operation Safe Street investigators, Crime Impact Team, High Impact Team, crime analysts and others. With this coordinated and unified suppression response to the gang crisis, violent crime has decreased steadily throughout the County.
Technology
Multiple instruments of technology compliment each other to identify, track, and gather information related to gang activity. The Crime Analysis Center (CAC) was created to provide real-time information and data analysis for immediate redeployment of personnel and reallocation of resources to impacted areas. Other technologies make it possible to: catalog and manage gang information in various jurisdictional boundaries; set up and monitor video surveillance; detect acoustic gunshots; and, automatically recognize license plates when in the field. Additionally, the e-Trace firearms tracing system tracks the movement of firearms from manufacturer to purchaser, and provides instant web access to nationwide gun crime records.
Does it Work?
The Gang Strategy of Prevention, Intervention, Suppression, and Technology has proven effective in the overall reduction of crime. Since the implementation of this four-pronged Strategy in 2007, compared to the same time period the previous year, there were 36 fewer homicides, 581 fewer assaults with firearms, and 1434 fewer Part-1 crimes (criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson) reported.
What is in L.A. County’s Future?
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department continues to seek new and innovative ways to measurably impact gang crime. The Department has embarked on a focused campaign to direct resources and address the gang problem in all 23 Sheriff’s Station areas. Also being explored is the development of an intervention center aimed at coordinating services to prevent gang violence. The result of the War on Gangs has produced remarkable reductions in criminal gang activity and the Sheriff’s Department will continue its work to create safer communities throughout Los Angeles County.