GANGS GET BRAZEN VALLEY HIT HARD BY LOSS OF CRASH UNITS.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen and Jesse Hiestand Staff Writers

Despite a decline in crime citywide, violent crime has risen in much of the San Fernando Valley, and police blame the loss of anti-gang CRASH patrols because of the Rampart Division police scandal.

Violent crimes rose during the first four months of the year in the Foothill, North Hollywood and Devonshire police divisions as compared with the same period last year, while the citywide trend continued downward.

Statistics for gang crime citywide also show a decline since the anti- gang CRASH units were disbanded March 11 because of the Rampart scandal. Whether the dismantling of CRASH created a statistical quirk is unclear, but the experience of officers on the streets has been that gang activity has escalated.

``After CRASH was disbanded, the gangs began to get much more aggressive, with direct physical confrontations,'' said Los Angeles police Officer Don Graham, who runs the Volunteer Surveillance Team at the Devonshire Division.

After several years of a gang truce, the number of brazen attacks has increased.

Last week, a gunman yelled a gang epithet and fired as many as 10 shots toward a crowded recreation field at Canoga Park High School, wounding two young men who police say were not gang members.

A 45-year-old woman was shot last week in the doorway of her Panorama City apartment as she watched a confrontation involving gang members. She is fighting to stay alive.

On Easter, a 43-year-old man who had been battling with graffiti vandals was shot and killed outside his home. Neighbors and police found fresh gang graffiti on his wall.

But police have a message for gangs: Watch out.

This week, the department rolls out its reformulated anti-gang patrols, called special enforcement units.

Relief in sight

At least half of the former CRASH officers in the Valley will return with other officers to the new anti-gang forces.

Lt. Gary Nanson, who oversees these new units in the Valley, said he realizes gang members have felt they could exploit CRASH's absence.

``The perception is going to be quashed,'' he predicted.

And not a minute too soon.

Violent crime is up 0.7 percent in Devonshire Division, 7.6 percent in Foothill and 2.2 percent in North Hollywood, although it was down 1.4 percent in West Valley and 12.6 percent in Van Nuys.

After a rogue police officer told investigators he had framed several people and even paralyzed one with a gunshot, the LAPD began examining the operations of its anti-gang Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums unit. The effect was to chill anti-gang activity.

Detectives throughout the Valley said word spread quickly among the gangs.

``They definitely know about it because they talk about it,'' said Detective Carlos Sanchez of the Foothill Division.

``If there are no gang officers to keep track of them, then they feel they can get away with the crimes.''

In some cases, gang members are even bragging that they helped dismantle the CRASH program, officers said.

From more graffiti and blatant, open drug dealing to a marked increase in public calls about gangs gathering, gang members do not seem concerned about being arrested, the officers said.

On one Valley street where a resident's car was stolen, gang members brazenly spray-painted, ``Ha! Ha! We took your car,'' Graham said. And it's signed by the Bryant Street gang.

``Not only did they steal the car, but they took credit for it,'' Graham said. ``The fact that they actually signed it says they are not afraid of prosecution.''

A serious blow

For neighborhoods already plagued by gangs, the loss of the CRASH officers has been a serious blow.

``We are paying the price. But why? Just because - OK, they had some bad cops - but they should continue doing their work,'' said 43-year-old aircraft machinist John Juarez, whose Pacoima neighborhood was shaken by the Easter slaying of Liborio Cesareo.

Cesareo, who for years painted over gang graffiti on his brick wall, was fatally shot by suspected gang members when he again found them tagging his wall.

As police continue to search for the suspects, neighbors of Cesareo pleaded for a return of the anti-gang units that were keeping the violence in check.

``We need some kind of specialized team because gangbangers here in the Valley are going crazy - they need something to be in fear of, to respect,'' said Esteban Arreola, 29, of Pacoima.

Even at the Van Nuys Division, which saw violent crime drop by 12.6 percent in the year's first four months, detectives say gang violence has shot up despite the efforts of patrol officers to pick up in the absence of the CRASH unit.

``Without the CRASH officers, it's really hard to keep track of the gang members,'' said Van Nuys Detective Harold Rhudy. ``And since they know there's no CRASH officers out there, they're out causing trouble.''

Rhudy attributed the drop in violent crime to success in targeting trouble spots using the FASTRAC statistical analysis system. FASTRAC stands for focus, accountability, strategy, training, resources and coordination.

Gang outreach groups welcome the return to the streets of officers with special training in dealing with gang members. And they credit patrol officers with working to stem the tide of gang violence in the interim.

``I see the patrol officers taking up the slack after CRASH was disbanded,'' said Steve Martinez, associate director of the Communities in Schools program.

Capt. Donald Floyd of the West Valley Division said he has received eight to 10 calls in the past month from residents complaining about an increased presence of gang members on the streets.

``They see them more often, they go out and flash signs and hang out as a group, and that's what our CRASH officers dealt with,'' Floyd said.

``We've not been paying attention to the gangs as closely as CRASH. It emboldens the gang members.''

CAPTION(S):

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Chart: Violent crime

Reported incidence of violent crime in the Valley, broken down by LAPD division, for the first four months of the year.