GANG FIGHTERS GET HELP DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CASH A RESPONSE TO CRIME WAVE.

Byline: LISA FRIEDMAN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Responding to a crescendo of gang violence in Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities, the Department of Justice plans to inject $200 million into local anti-crime programs.

The strategy, expected to be unveiled next week, will help pay for overtime and equipment for crime-fighting operations that could involve local, state and federal agencies.

The nationwide effort will allow agencies to apply for grants of $30,000 to $200,000 as they aim to stem the rising tide of gang activity.

In Los Angeles, gang membership has soared to more than 70,000 and violence has escalated. Gangs were blamed for four dozen homicides in the San Fernando Valley last year, and authorities say they are increasingly concerned about the growing involvement of adolescents and young teens.

``Any time there's new funds added, it will help,'' said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore. ``We welcome any new infusion of funds to address the gang crisis in Los Angeles County.''

It remains to be seen, however, how effective the new money will be in Southern California. A recent report by respected civil-rights attorney Connie Rice found that Los Angeles already spends more than $80 million annually on anti-gang programs.

And while city officials are weighing whether to ask voters to approve a property tax to fund more anti-gang programs, some say the city's approach is piecemeal and ineffective.

The Mayor's Office is expected to release a comprehensive gang report this month, but local officials said any additional resources are welcome.

``It's obviously a step in the right direction,'' said Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.

Still, some are skeptical.

``They're bailing out the ocean with a bucket,'' said Jorja Leap, professor of social welfare at UCLA. ``It's not enough. It's not enough for suppression, it's not enough for this problem, and this is a problem that is going to be affecting our country for a generation.''

Funding for the new federal Violent Crime Reduction Partnership Initiative is set to be officially unveiled Monday as part of President George W. Bush's proposed 2008 budget.

It is said to be the only new federal initiative the administration will propose to address gangs.

California lawmakers, including Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, who now sits on the funding panel that oversees the Justice Department's budget, praised the program.

But they also said they intend to examine other ways Congress can fight gangs.

Schiff, a former federal prosecutor, said he would like to see Congress take up a version of legislation he helped spearhead in the state Legislature that invests as much into prevention as enforcement.

Meanwhile, Boxer reintroduced a bill this year called Mynesha's Law, in memory of a San Bernardino girl who was killed in a gang-related shooting in 2005. It would create a federal task force and would study which gang-prevention efforts are most effective.

``The Violent Crime Reduction Partnership Initiative is an important step in the right direction,'' Boxer said. ``Crime is going up and the national government needs to be aggressive in reducing it once again.''

Delgadillo noted that since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Justice Department has put most of its resources toward fighting terrorism. But he argued Tuesday that Congress and the Bush administration must start thinking of gangs as a homeland security issue.

``If you wanted to access a criminal infrastructure in the United States, where would you go?'' Delgadillo said.

There are about 731,000 gangs nationwide -- about 39,000 of them in Los Angeles -- whose members ``don't have an allegiance to our country,'' he said. ``They are not patriots and they rarely even have an allegiance to their neighborhoods other than to the extent that it identifies the gang.''

Delgadillo said he has seen a shift in attention toward gangs since Democrats took control of Congress this year and noted that several lawmakers have reached out to his office for advice.

He will be traveling to Washington, D.C., in March to push for changes in federal gun laws and other legislation that could help cities like L.A.

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse defended the agency's attention toward gang issues and the amount it spends. He noted that the DOJ funds several programs, including one aimed at gun-crime reduction and Project Safe Neighborhood.

In addition, the attorney general established an anti-gang coordinating committee in 2005 to coordinate the agency's efforts.

``There has been significant efforts taken over the last several years to address gang violence,'' Roehrkasse said. ``This is just one component of our budget.''

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com

[phone]