FEDS PROVIDE MUSCLE $2.5 MILLION PROMISED TO BATTLE L.A.'S GANGS.Byline: Dan Laidman Staff Writer Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. will receive $2.5 million to fight gangs as one of six U.S. cities tapped for a new Justice Department initiative, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales For the New York Yankees infielder, see . Alberto Gonzales (born August 4 1955) is an American jurist who served as the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. said Friday. Gonzales joined Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. to unveil the plan at a U.S. Conference of Mayors summit on gangs in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or . ``In these six communities, gangs are shattering the hopes of young people who succumb to their false promises,'' Gonzales said. Locally, the money will go toward programs and enforcement at three Southeast Los Angeles housing projects with famously intractable gang problems - Imperial Courts, Jordan Downs and Nickerson Gardens. Villaraigosa visited Jordan Downs earlier this week to promote a new surveillance operation by the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . . ``This is a community that's vibrant and healthy, but a community that needs support,'' Villaraigosa said of the city-owned projects that have recently seen a resurgence in deadly gang rivalries. Gonzales offered only a vague outline of the three-prong anti-gang initiative, which he touted as a ``comprehensive'' strategy. U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang Debra W. Yang (楊黃金玉; pinyin: Yáng Huáng Jīnyù) was the United States Attorney for the Central District of California. She was appointed in May 2002 by President George W. said the $1 million law enforcement aspect of the program will help pay for investigating and prosecuting gang members under racketeering Traditionally, obtaining or extorting money illegally or carrying on illegal business activities, usually by Organized Crime . A pattern of illegal activity carried out as part of an enterprise that is owned or controlled by those who are engaged in the illegal activity. , narcotics narcotics n. 1) techinically, drugs which dull the senses. 2) a popular generic term for drugs which cannot be legally possessed, sold, or transported except for medicinal uses for which a physician or dentist's prescription is required. and firearms statutes. Gang expert Malcolm Klein, an emeritus professor at the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission , said he is skeptical of the reliance on racketeering prosecutions. ``There's an assumption that gangs are terribly organized cartels and hierarchically organized in the business of selling drugs, and all of that is nonsense,'' he said. Beyond suppression efforts, the grants will provide $1 million to programs aimed at keeping young people out of gangs, while $500,000 will go toward transitional housing, job placement and substance abuse, and mental health treatment for reformed criminals released from prison. Police Chief William Bratton said he was still waiting for details of the new programs but that the department welcomes any help it can get. Speaking at one of the gang conference seminars, Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell said it is important for the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. to work with federal officials because a tendency to work alone undermined crime-fighting in the past. ``We didn't reach out and work with others to make use of the tools we had and as a result, we had escalating levels of violence, especially gang violence,'' he said. Los Angeles spends millions of dollars a year on gang prevention and intervention efforts, but the effectiveness has been questioned by critics. As the city considers creating a new department headed by a single ``gang czar,'' it has hired the Advancement Project The Advancement Project is an US nonprofit public charity founded in 2001. It has offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.. Co-Directors The Advancement Project's co-directors are Stephen English, Molly Munger (daughter of Charlie Munger), Constance L. , a nonprofit run by civil-rights lawyer Connie Rice, to analyze the existing programs and draw a new road map. Rice attended Friday's seminar and noted that Villaraigosa and Bratton are the first mayor and police chief in recent memory she has not sued. She said they are making progress, but that the city needs to complement law enforcement fixes with stronger youth and community development. ``We have hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. where paramedics can't go in without a police escort and I can't go in without the permission of the Grape Street Crips in city-owned property,'' she said. The announcement of the anti-gang efforts marked the second meeting for Villaraigosa and Gonzales, two of the most prominent Latino political figures in the country. They first met to discuss public safety issues during one of the mayor's trips to Washington, D.C. Villaraigosa is a former labor and civil-liberties activist and Gonzales is a trusted confidant of President George W. Bush, but despite their divergent politics, they referred Friday to shared humble origins. ``The mayor and I know firsthand the consequences of making good decisions,'' Gonzales said. ``And we know there is no future in being a member of a gang.'' Dan Laidman, (213) 978-0390 dan.laidman(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, left, speaks at Friday's U.S. Conference of Mayors summit. (2) Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill has her say at Friday's mayor's summit in downtown Los Angeles. (3) Attorney General Alberto Gonzales promised funding and collaboration between the federal government and Los Angeles to combat gang violence. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion