Gang Activity in L.A. County

Gangrelated crime is a major social and criminal justice problem in Los Angeles County (Brantley and DiRosa, 1994, pp. 16). In the face of numerous initiatives from all levels of government, this activity has continued to flourish. This research presents the results of a study designed to develop information that will facilitate the formulation of a program that will effectively control gagrelated criminal activity in Los Angeles County.

Since 1979, gangrelated homicides in Los Angeles County have increased over 250 percent (Brantley and DiRosa, 1994, pp. 16). Other types of violent crime also increased markedly. The Federal Bureau of Investigation implemented two programs designed to control gangrelated crime in the countythe Major Gang Initiative and Operation Safe Streets. The City of Los Angeles launched Operation HAMMER. Los Angeles County and the State of California continue to devote massive resources to combating gangrelated crime in the county. Youth activists, community organizers, and gang representatives organized socalled peace talks (Cotton, 1992, pp. 443444). None of these efforts, however, has led to longterm reductions in the incidence of crime related to gangs.

This study was designed to develop information that will facilitate the development of initiatives that will have higher probabilities of success in the control of gangrelated criminal activities tha

. . .
eadly force, in particular. 3. Police departments are expected to respond to a growing number of domestic disputes, where the potential for injury to polices officers is significant. Police responses to domestic incidents, however, often result in charges of police brutality being lodged against individual police officers. Operation HAMMER was a program launched in Los Angeles to reduce the level of criminal activity in the city's neighborhoods. The coalition that originally supported Operation HAMMER included the City of Los Angeles Police Department, black community leaders, the Urban league, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and members of the Los Angeles County Council. Pointedly, this coalition did not include the majority of the residents of the Los Angeles communities that were the targets of Operation HAMMER. The federal government failed to respond to protests by Los Angeles residents of the neighborhoods targeted by Operation HAMMER over the methods employed by the Los Angeles Police Department led by Chief Darrell Gates because federal administrations were largely in agreement with those methods. Operation HAMMER was viewed by both the Reagan and Bush Administrations as a part of the drug war because
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Los Angeles, Justice Statistics, Phillips Votey, Angeles Lasley, Steinbrenner Bent, Reagan Bush, Isaac Michael, Corbett Simon, Brantley DiRosa, GangRelated Crime, los angeles, police officers, los angeles county, angeles county, criminal behavior, gangrelated crime, urban riots, violent crime, 1991 pp, street gang, persons age, isaac michael 1994, michael 1994 128, responses gangrelated crime, central los angeles,
Approximate Word count = 5276
Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Gang Activity in L.A. County