CORRESPONDENCE - 65B - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

federal prosecutors convicted four of them of violating hate crime laws in 2006. Those days are gone. What changed? The business imperatives in the gang and drug-trafficking underworld, for one thing. The focus is now on making money. Tit-for-tat shooting feuds that were so much a part of street gang life attract police attention and are now frowned upon. Why risk business over petty street beefs? New families, with no gang connections, are moving into traditional gang areas as old families depart. Kids spend far more time indoors on the Internet and less time on the street. Better policing strategies are a big part of the story. Federal racketeering indictments and CompStat, the data analysis of crimes and where they happen, have proved effective. Gang injunctions have sent many gangs indoors or at least elsewhere. The Los Angeles Police Department also underwent a profound change over 20 years, embracing community policing and becoming more racially diverse. Officers now cultivate alliances and partnerships with residents in a way impossible to imagine a generation ago — and that combats much of what had atomized neighborhoods and allowed gangs to flourish. Officers have fostered neighbors' confidence in reporting crimes. They'll call a city crew to remove a discarded sofa. Other law enfocement has followed suit. In 2010, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department brought this philosophy to parks. It formed a bureau to take over patrolling of 174 parks around the county from the Office of Public Safety. Deputies were assigned specific parks. With accountability and consistent deputy presence, problem parks — in Lennox, Lynwood, Lancaster — are now safe for families. At Sycamore Grove Park, the city put in new jungle gyms a few years back. It also installed workout equipment, so, without the presence of gang members, locals now have what amounts to a health club with no membership fee. Still, I guess nothing comes for free.