A CURE FOR GANG VIOLENCE CITY-FUNDED STUDY SAYS ALL-OUT EFFORT NEEDED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

Byline: BETH BARRETT Staff Writer

Gang violence in Los Angeles has soared to epidemic proportions, and only sweeping reforms will be able to reverse a problem that now costs taxpayers and victims more than $2 billion a year, a new report released Friday concluded.

The report faults the city's historical piecemeal approach to gang-prevention and intervention programs, noting that the number of gangs has risen over the past quarter-century to 700 with a total of 40,000 members.

And it says that to succeed, local leaders now must give the crisis the kind of attention national leaders gave the rebuilding of Europe after World War II.

``In short, Los Angeles needs a Marshall Plan to end gang violence,'' said civil-rights attorney Connie Rice, the report's author.

Key among the report's more than 100 recommendations is coordination of the region's resources -- from city parks to schools -- in the fight against gangs.

It calls for a massive, comprehensive, regional solution with a single ``entrepreneurial'' entity headed by a gang czar with enough ``political clout'' to cut through red tape and coordinate prevention and intervention services.

``The report moves the city to a comprehensive level of response,'' Rice said.

It comes as the San Fernando Valley continues to wrestle with gang-related violence. Already this year, several teens have been shot in what police said have been gang-related incidents.

Late Friday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky announced that they would release a plan Tuesday for fighting violence in the Valley, where 48 gang-related homicides occurred last year, a 30 percent jump from 2005.

City Councilman Tony Cardenas, chairman of the ad hoc Committee on Gang Violence and Youth Development that commissioned the 9-inch-thick report for more than $500,000, said it's a blueprint for fundamentally changing the city's anti-gang efforts.

``The report as a whole points out a lot of issues we need to address: We don't have accountability and we need that. There's no strategic plan and we need that. We're not coordinated or efficient,'' Cardenas said.

Attack the crisis

Villaraigosa said in a statement that the report will contribute to developing a wide-ranging gang strategy.

``There is no question that we must attack the gang crisis from every angle of the problem. I am currently working with (Los Angeles Police) Chief (William) Bratton and members of the City Council, and over the course of the next several weeks we will lay out a strategy to do just that,'' he said.

Bratton had no comment Friday pending a review of the study.

But Cardenas said city leaders are in the preliminary stages of considering options, including creating a gang czar and department or adding a gang deputy in the Mayor's Office.

Among the names being bandied about City Hall for such a post is retired LAPD Deputy Chief Ron Bergmann, who as the Valley's top commander formed the San Fernando Valley Coalition on Gangs, Cardenas said.

Others include Gerald Chaleff, commanding officer of the LAPD's Consent Decree Bureau, and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.

One strategy needed

Bergmann said the Valley coalition's approach has been similar to the strategy recommended in the study released Friday.

The coalition consolidates effective prevention and intervention programs while working with schools and faith-based and community organizations.

``There's not enough emphasis on a cohesive anti-gang program for the city,'' Bergmann said. ``I agree there are too many fragmented, little programs around the city that may be successful, but not enough to turn the problem around.''

Delgadillo, who would be termed out in 2009, is focused on the City Attorney's Office, where a top priority is fighting gangs, said Jonathan Diamond, his spokesman. Chaleff didn't return calls seeking comment Friday.

With City Hall hearings on the report set to start Wednesday, Cardenas said gang reforms with ``accountability'' will be a priority.

The report contends that the city's dismal record in quelling gang violence is the result of a myopic focus on ``tiny programs'' lacking accountability, and addressing less than 5 percent of the gang problem.

``In order to have accountability, somebody needs to be accountable,'' Cardenas said. ``Today, no one can honestly say they're personally accountable.''

The report said accountability measures the need to include documented results for current monies spent.

And it said bold leadership of a city entity that can operate in an entrepreneurial fashion, free of bureaucratic restraints, is needed to execute comprehensive, multifaceted strategies.

``City approaches also must address the precursors to violence that may originate in the home, such as domestic violence, negative parenting and tolerance of gang culture,'' it said.

Schools must help

Regional coordination also is needed, as well as enlisting the Los Angeles Unified School District in the effort for such things as keeping schools open late into the night to provide activities for at-risk kids, Rice said.

LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer III said the district is willing to work closely with the city, but that details must be worked out so it retains control of its schools.

``We have to have a community effort,'' Brewer said. ``I can't do it alone; the mayor can't do it alone. To the extent we can partner with all those community entities to stem gang violence, we will be very proactive.''

The report noted the city has long sought solutions to the problem -- and has received such advice in the past.

``Ultimately, it is a question of leadership's will to overcome the inherent political aversion to confronting complex issues,'' the report said. ``The challenge is not what to do, but finding the will to do it.''

beth.barrett(at)dailynews.com

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Curbing L.A.'s gangs

The report by The Advancement Project outlines more than 100 recommendations for boosting Los Angeles' gang-prevention and intervention efforts, including:

Stop using piecemeal, low-impact programs and develop a comprehensive strategy.

Accelerate the Los Angeles Police Department's use of problem-solving community policing.

Make the Los Angeles Unified School District a key partner in reducing gang violence.

Establish a centralized Department of Neighborhood Safety responsible for accountability and results in reducing gang violence.

Create and fund a Research, Evaluation and Policy Institute to develop accurate and independent data on gang issues.

Maximize impact from and document results for all current anti-gang expenditures.

Develop formal agreements for joint reduction efforts with the county and other regional entities.

Create, support and fund community, faith-based, business and educational campaigns against gang violence.

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Curbing L.A.'s gangs (see text)