FEDS TO TRACK GANGS' GUNS; FEDERAL AGENTS TO AID VALLEY POLICE.Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Staff Writer Battling a 25 percent rise in gang violence in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , police said Friday that they have enlisted help from federal agents to stem illegal guns that are fueling crime. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents will bring to bear special surveillance equipment and formidable expertise in tracking guns, which police said are fueling the violence. ``We want to get the guns out of the hands of gang members,'' said 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. police Lt. Gary Nanson, officer in charge of the Valley Bureau's gang unit. Los Angeles police also are in talks with the FBI to join the battle against street thugs. ``Federal law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). are becoming more active in gang enforcement because they realize that this is a form of organized crime and it's a very violent crime,'' he said. ``It's a very intensive, very directed effort.'' ATF ATF Molecular virology Activating transcription factor A cellular protein that stimulates transcription of adenovirus E4 transcription unit, which acts early in infection at any of several 'enhancer' binding sites will begin providing agents and equipment to the Valley this month to track the guns that gang members use, said Nanson, who took charge of the CRASH - Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums, usually known as CRASH, was a special unit of the Los Angeles Police Department established in the early 1970s to combat the rising problem of gangs in Los Angeles, California. - unit in the Valley three months ago. Police also are stepping up intervention efforts with youngsters lured by gangs, and they are reaching out to the community for help in rooting out gang members. ``There are so many law-abiding citizens out there. We want to give them the opportunity to solve crimes,'' Nanson said. A gang truce brokered in 1993 had brought drive-by shootings drive-by shooting Public health A phenomenon in which one or more persons–commonly members of street gangs, open fire à la Al Capone from moving vehicles, often in retaliation for an alleged wrong-doing by a rival gang and similar crimes to new lows, but began falling apart about a year ago and now appears to have dissolved entirely, detectives said. Driving the violence are new rivalries and membership changes as gang members age, quit, go to jail or die. ``The gang truce is not what it used to be. Seven years into it, it's certainly diminished a great deal,'' said Detective Lance Steaman of the San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Police Department. ``Some of the kids getting into the gangs now were 5 and 6 years old when the truce started and they're not recognizing it.'' It is a phenomenon borne out in lives lost. Despite a plunge in overall serious crimes, violent gang crimes in the Valley increased 25 percent in 1999 over 1998, with 1,506 crimes in 1999 compared with 1,204 in 1998, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. police statistics. Citywide, violent gang crimes increased 3.3 percent, with 6,506 crimes in 1999, vs. 6,300 in 1998. These crimes include homicide, attempted homicide, felony assault, robbery, shots fired at inhabited dwellings, kidnapping kidnapping, in law, the taking away of a person by force, threat, or deceit, with intent to cause him to be detained against his will. Kidnapping may be done for ransom or for political or other purposes. , rape, arson, witness intimidation Witness intimidation involves witnesses crucial to court proceedings being threatened in order to pressure or extort them not to testify. The refusal of key witnesses to testify commonly renders a case with inadequate physical evidence void in a court of law. , extortion extortion, in law, unlawful demanding or receiving by an officer, in his official capacity, of any property or money not legally due to him. Examples include requesting and accepting fees in excess of those allowed to him by statute or arresting a person and, with and carjacking The criminal taking of a motor vehicle from its driver by force, violence, or intimidation. The u.s. justice department categorizes the crime of carjacking as a "completed or attempted Robbery of a motor vehicle by a stranger . GANG RIVALRIES With a growing population in the Valley, there are new cliques being formed and rivalries for gang turf, particularly in the Northeast Valley, officials said. In the LAPD's Foothill Division alone, there are about 40 gangs. ``It seems like everybody is in a gang today. Every day, I'm getting a new gang ... It just seems to be the way now for kids, and the music and movies glorify it,'' said LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. Detective Kandi Schmidt, in charge of the Foothill Division's gang unit. Foothill saw a 54 percent increase in serious gang crimes last year, with 409 crimes reported in 1999, compared with 266 in 1998. From Aug. 1 to Nov. 30, Foothill officers responded to a series of gang-related shootings, including one weekend in November in which six people were shot in three shootings, said Schmidt. In the first seven days of the year, police have logged at least two gang-related incidents in the Valley, including a shooting at San Fernando High School San Fernando High School, located in San Fernando, California, is a secondary school that is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school colors are black and gold. All girl teams are referred to as Lady Tigers, all boy teams simply as Tigers. that left two students wounded. Five suspects remain on the run, but police have arrested three young men, including a 14-year-old who was believed to have fired the shots. San Fernando is also experiencing an increase in the amount of graffiti spray-painted and crossed out on buildings and walls - a precursor to gang violence, police said. ``Gang members are hanging out in the neighborhoods and looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. action,'' Steaman said. ``These are the types of incidents that are precursors to shootings and assaults. In the West Valley, a Winnetka boy was recovering Friday from a stab wound to his abdomen after a confrontation Wednesday night. A suspected gang member was arrested Wednesday. The Devonshire Division shows an 84 percent increase in serious gang crimes, but that figure is distorted because in January 1999 it took over a two-square-mile area in Panorama City formerly under Van Nuys' jurisdiction that accounts for a high amount of gang crimes. The 1998 figure does not account for that gang-infested area. If you add that area's crime to Devonshire's 1998 figures, there's only about a 10 percent increase in gang crimes, said Capt. Joseph Curreri. And Van Nuys' 2 percent increase should actually be higher, officials said. KIDS AT RISK School police officers stepped up patrols in the park near Sylmar High School Sylmar High School is a public school in the northeast San Fernando Valley in the Sylmar district of Los Angeles, California. Established in the 1950s, it is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, District 2, and serves more than 3,600 students in grades 9-12. at the end of last year when there was an increase in gang-on-gang fights. ``During dismissal and after school, they were grouping and fighting. We hit them real hard and moved them to other areas,'' said Lt. Stephen Dodson, commander of the Los Angeles Unified School District's police department. To deter youths from gangs, San Fernando officials plan to place a full-time police officer in the schools this summer. ``It's basically a DARE program for gangs. The officer will try to ID borderline kids and try to redirect them in a positive manner away from gangs,'' Steaman said. In Devonshire, Curreri is working to combat gangs with the CLEAR unit - or Community Law Enforcement and Recovery, a federally funded program that gives officers quick access to records and suspends the probable cause Apparent facts discovered through logical inquiry that would lead a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe that an accused person has committed a crime, thereby warranting his or her prosecution, or that a Cause of Action has accrued, justifying a civil lawsuit. requirement for searches of homes of probation violation suspects. About a month ago, Curreri also had traffic barriers installed on Langdon Street to detour 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. trafficking by gang members in the area. Gang units from all six Valley divisions, including the Valley Narcotics unit, will meet at least weekly to assure ``strong coordination'' among officers, Nanson said. And every CRASH officer will be sent to schools for better training. ``We're trying to work more strongly as a team,'' he said. VIOLENT GANG CRIME INCREASES Violent gang crime is on the increase citywide and valleywide. The graphic includes homicide, attempted homicide, felony assault, assault on police officers, robbery, shots fired into inhabited dwellings, kidnapping, rape, arson, witness intimidation, extortion and carjacking. Citywide..............1999 6,506 Citywide..............1998 6,300 Valleywide............1999 1,506 Valleywide............1998 1,204 Devonshire Division...1999...359* Devonshire Division...1998...195 Foothill Division.....1999...409 Foothill Division.....1998...266 North Hollywood Div...1999...197 North Hollywood Div...1998...224 Van Nuys Division.....1999...337 Van Nuys Division.....1998...330 West Valley Division..1999...204 West Valley Division..1998...189 *The sharp rise in gang crimes in Devonshire Division is partly attributed to its takeover of a two-square-mile area from Van Nuys Division. SOURCE: Los Angeles Police Department's Detective Support Bureau CAPTION(S): chart Chart: VIOLENT GANG CRIME INCREASES (see text) |
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