YOUNG TEENS DRAWN TO VIOLENCE.

Byline: RICK COCA Staff Writer

Teens -- particularly Latino boys -- are joining street gangs at ever-younger ages, and police and community activists are scrambling to create more diversion programs to stem the growing violence.

The Los Angeles Police Department recorded 48 gang-related homicides in 2006, up nearly 30 percent from the previous year -- including the slayings of two 15-year-olds. Equally disturbing, activists say, is that 85 percent of the victims of San Fernando Valley gang violence were Latino -- even though Latinos comprise only about 42 percent of the area's population.

``This has been the roughest year ever,'' said Bobby Arias, president of a Community in Schools, a Valley-based gang-intervention and prevention program. ``Any time you're burying 36 kids, that's unacceptable.''

Authorities blame the increase in violence on rivalries and retaliation between Latino and black gangs, as well as Latino gangs battling one another for turf.

Arias and William ``Blinky'' Rodriguez, executive director of Community in Schools, have organized dozens of events and marches for members of feuding gangs to ease tensions.

Gang crimes up

Authorities estimate that the Valley is now home to 20,000 gang members, with many of the newest members barely in their teens. Authorities say their eagerness to impress older counterparts is one reason the Valley recorded 1,343 gang-related crimes through November -- up nearly 43 percent from the previous year even as overall violent crime ticked up just 3 percent.

Deputy Chief Michel Moore, the LAPD's commander in the Valley, said his officers plan to work with federal agents and probation officials this year to clamp down on gang activity.

``The troubling trend we have seen is the resurgence in the instances of gang violence, particularly in homicides, but also shootings,'' Moore said.

He praised community groups involved with the San Fernando Valley Coalition on Gangs, including those working on gang intervention such as Rodriguez's program.

``I think they're one of the best intervention groups in all of the city,'' Moore said.

Rodriguez started the program after his son was killed in a gang-related drive-by shooting in 1990. It relies on former gang members to reach out to current ones and help them forge more-positive relationships.

Moore said they and his officers have forged an understanding that they both play important roles in reducing gang violence.

``We don't put them in the same room, make peace and go out and have a beer,'' Moore said. ``People are involved in solving a problem. They honor and respect that this is the playbook we're dealing with.''

While most gang members target only their rivals, innocent victims can get caught in the crossfire, veteran LAPD Detective Mike Coffey said.

``The clothing, the shaved head -- that's just the style,'' Coffey said. ``Some of those kids are on the football team for North Hollywood High School, but if they're walking in that neighborhood ... they could be mistaken for gangsters and get shot.''

Turning lives around

Coffey and other police officials said ``tag bangers'' -- graffiti crews that have become violent -- contributed to the increase in gang-related homicides last year.

While Coffey said many gang members are deeply troubled, he also said some have been able to turn their lives around.

Steve Martinez is one of them.

A gangster while growing up in Pacoima, Martinez said he left the gang life and now has worked for years in gang-prevention and other programs for at-risk youths and their families.

In some cases, gang culture is passed from generation to generation in Latino communities, so breaking the cycle is difficult, he said.

``You need to have the dedication of counselors who are willing to knock on doors and say, `Why didn't you come to school today?''' said Martinez, 40. ``You have to hold their hands at first.''

Some conflicts are surfacing between recent Latino immigrants and Mexican-Americans with generations of ties to L.A. and the Valley.

In some immigrant families, Martinez said, the children are more knowledgeable about American culture than their parents, so parents might not know their kids are gang members.

Helping parents

At Casa Esperanza, an agency that serves economically disadvantaged Latino families of the Blythe Street area in Panorama City, project director Maritza Artan said parents in her program are savvy about figuring out whether their children are gangsters. The area was the first in L.A. to have an injunction imposed against members of the Blythe Street gang.

``On Blythe Street, parents know about gangs,'' Artan said. ``Our parents know how to differentiate between a child dressing in gang attire and wearing regular clothes.''

Casa Esperanza offers after-school programs and summer camping trips and serves more than 300 families a year. It recently opened a 6,700- square-foot facility on Blythe.

``What we try to do is get our kids into something positive and get them off of the streets,'' Artan said. ``Some of these kids who join gangs, they don't have the opportunity to participate in these type of programs.

``If they would have these opportunities, they would probably choose to be part of something positive.''

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Source: Los Angeles Police Department

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