GANGBUSTERS TO HIT L.A. STREETS CITY, COUNTY TO JOIN FORCES, LAUNCH FIGHT.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

Amid soaring gang violence, Los Angeles city and county officials are preparing this week to launch a coordinated attack aimed at beefing up anti-gang efforts in the San Fernando Valley.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky are expected to announce Tuesday in North Hollywood that county Probation Department officers will be assigned to work with anti-gang units in the Valley.

The long-sought program will be equally funded by the city and county, although details were not immediately available on total cost or where the money will come from.

On Saturday, Villaraigosa delivered a citywide message of comfort and condolence to the families of victims of gang-related violence -- and a warning to thugs.

``We will do all we can to prevent and intervene and help,'' Villaraigosa told a crowd of nearly 250 in the Harbor Gateway area, which has been wracked by recent violence.

``But to those who do harm to others, particularly innocent victims, you should know you will be asked to pay the consequences.''

Already this year, the San Fernando Valley has seen several teens shot in what police said have been gang-related incidents. Last year, gang-related homicides in the Valley jumped nearly 30percent.

Officials have said closer cooperation between probation officers and anti-gang officers will help reinforce the effort to control gangs.

`Public Enemy No. 1'

Having probation officers work with the teams would be particularly valuable in reducing witness-intimidation cases as well as random acts of violence.

The probation-officer program is part of a broader anti-gang strategy Villaraigosa is pursuing, and it will be the centerpiece for a series of activities this week.

The mayor already has declared gang-related crime ``Public Enemy No.1'' this year, and he is scheduled to meet Friday with officials from the FBI to try to boost their involvement in pursuing gangs beyond the city's borders.

Beefing up patrols

The city also is beefing up police patrols in areas with the heaviest gang activity, and it is seeking additional gang injunctions and ``stay away'' court orders that prohibit gang members from going into neighborhoods where they don't live.

The mayor has met with U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to try to get additional federal funds for the effort, and he has met with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state officials on the issue.

At Harbor Gateway -- a working-class neighborhood made up of Latinos, African-Americans, whites and Asians -- Villaraigosa said the community has to unite to fight gangs.

``We are here to show them that violence will not be tolerated,'' Villaraigosa said. ``We have to promote tolerance and understanding and make it clear that violence against someone because of the way they look will not be allowed.''

Violence is costly

It was in the Harbor Gateway community that 14-year-old Cheryl Green's dreams of being a doctor were shattered Dec.15 when she was shot.

Ernesto Alcarez, a Latino gang member, has been charged with one count of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted premeditated murder, with the special circumstances of murder to further a gang and murder based on race, in connection with the killing.

The killing was believed to be the latest evidence of escalating warfare between blacks and a Latino gang in the area. Police said Green was not involved with gangs and was shot because she was black.

Cheryl's mother, Charlene Lovett, carried a picture of her daughter and fought back tears as Villaraigosa and Councilwoman Janice Hahn embraced her.

Hahn told of how she and Lovett had walked the neighborhood looking for anyone who might have witnessed the shooting.

``As we went door to door, knocking on doors, people were afraid to open them,'' Hahn said. ``I remember one Latino woman, who was just peeking out her door, and when we told her what had happened, she swung her door open and opened her house to us.

``We shouldn't have to do that. We have to take back our neighborhoods. It can be done.''

The City Council this week also is scheduled to consider a study released Friday that reviewed the city's gang problems and what needs to be done.

The sweeping report estimated gang violence costs taxpayers and victims $2billion a year, and only sweeping reforms will be able to reverse the problem.

The report faults the city's previously piecemeal approach to prevention and intervention efforts and said a massive, comprehensive, regional approach is required.

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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