EDITORIAL PREVENTABLE CRIME SANTA CLARITA COULD TEACH L.A. ABOUT FIGHTING GANGS.

CONNIE Rice worries that the Los Angeles City Council won't take her warning about the city's gang problem seriously. It's easy to see why. The council hasn't taken L.A.'s gang problem seriously for decades. Only now, with Rice -- a prominent civil-rights attorney -- getting headlines for her report on the epidemic, are members even taking notice.

Speaking before the Empowerment Congress' interfaith dialogue last week, Rice said, ``I'm afraid the process is slowing down too much,'' encouraging religious leaders to hold our politicians' feet to the fire.

As we all should.

There's no reason why Los Angeles' streets have to be under the control of violent gangs. What's needed is well known: Programs for youth, community and parental involvement, quality education, better-paying jobs.

Many communities provide these, and one of them is L.A.'s neighbor to the north, Santa Clarita. Just 40 years old, the city has been named one of the 100 best for raising kids in America.

What folks are doing in Santa Clarita isn't rocket science. They've pushed development plans that encourage parks, public facilities and walking-friendly environments that lead to greater sociability and more opportunities for kids. They've also placed an emphasis on education and public safety.

And, most of all, they have invested -- in time and money -- in a wide array of programs for kids. Baseball leagues. Music, theater and the arts. A skate park. Plus countless community events. Santa Clarita also has an anti-gang task force that provides job training and employment.

Santa Clarita is different than L.A. It's more affluent while L.A. has vast numbers of poor people, but there's also a difference in civic culture. In Santa Clarita, they aggressively deal with the concerns of the city's residents. In L.A., the concerns of the public are neglected.

Like Connie Rice, the people of Los Angeles have been calling for action to deal with the root causes of gangs as well as deal with the criminal acts of gangsters. But is the City Council listening?