2007 Gang Enforcement Initiatives
from LAPD

February, 2007

In response to an increase in gang related crimes in 2006, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has identified a number of important, wide-ranging initiatives that will be implemented in 2007 and that are designed to significantly reduce the incidence of gang crime. This effort is a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach that navigates the entire criminal justice continuum. Some of the most prominent initiative enforcement features are summarized in this document and are listed below:

Launch of the South Bureau Criminal Gang Homicide Group Designation of the Department Gang Coordinator Placement of a Los Angeles Gang Member on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted List" Identification of the City's "Top Targeted Street Gangs" Implementation of the "Community Safety Operations Center" Patrol Proliferation Strategy 204th Street Gang Abatement Strategy Gang Abatement Legislation Convergence of Local, State, and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Community Symposiums on Gang Awareness Community Awareness Bulletins

GANG INITIATIVES

LAUNCH OF THE SOUTH BUREAU
CRIMINAL GANG HOMICIDE GROUP

This new LAPD command will bring together over 120 of the most experienced and ambitious homicide and gang detectives in the City. A staff officer at the rank of Police Commander has already been selected as the commanding officer and is currently overseeing and developing the architecture of this entity. This innovative organization will focus exclusively on gang-related murders and attempt murders. Discussions with the following agencies have yielded strong commitments from them to provide resources to this group:

DESIGNATION OF THE
DEPARTMENT GANG COORDINATOR

Coordination with the Office of the Mayor and other partner agencies and community groups has been achieved by the designation of the Commanding Officer, Detective Bureau, as the Department Gang Coordinator (DGC). This executive-level police official is already in place and will be responsible for bringing continuity, cohesion and consistency to the Department's overall gang reduction strategy. Additionally, the DGC is responsible for providing solution-based strategies designed to drive our gang initiative agenda.

PLACEMENT OF L. A. GANG MEMBERS
ON THE FBI'S "TEN MOST WANTED LIST"

The LAPD recently identified a Los Angeles (LA) area gang member whose name was provided to the FBI for placement on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. The placement of criminal fugitives from LA represents the Department's intention to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate the most notorious gang criminals in this region.

Upon the capture of that gang member, the name of another local gang member who meets the FBI criteria for placement on the list will be provided to the FBI.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE CITY'S
"TOP TARGETED STREET GANGS"

Previously, law enforcement officials did not divulge the names of individual gangs who were involved in crimes because of a widely held perception that doing so elevated the criminals' influence and standing in the gang community. This new strategy abandons the earlier posture and challenges these menaces by exposing their corrosive behavior to the scrutiny of a more informed and confident community.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
"COMMUNITY SAFETY OPERATIONS CENTER"

Operations-Valley Bureau (OVB) will soon activate the OVB Community Safety Operations Center, which combines the enforcement capability of law enforcement with the advocacy of involved community members. This special enforcement group of over fifty officers, motor personnel and supervisors will analyze real-time crime data and other information to rapidly and strategically deploy officers in crime-ridden regions of the Valley. They will deploy in a variety of configurations to include high-visibility patrols and other, less traditional covert means of apprehending violent criminals.

PATROL PROLIFERATION STRATEGY

This proliferation strategy allows patrol officers (with appropriate training and oversight) to engage in the
enforcement of civil injunctions and the service of arrest warrants on which gang members are named. This initiative is designed to take full advantage of the LAPD field force and dramatically increase LAPD's ability to protect lawabiding citizens.

204TH STREET GANG ABATEMENT STRATEGY

As a result of numerous assaults committed by the 204th Street gang, including recent racially motivated homicides, the 204th Street gang will be targeted for enforcement action using a number of strategies previously outlined in this document. The primary goal is to protect law-abiding citizens from crimes motivated by prejudice, while easing tensions in the community.

GANG ABATEMENT LEGISLATION

As still another strategic dimension of our scholastic approach to regulate gang violence, our Department will submit to local and State policymakers for consideration, recommendations for comprehensive and thoughtful gang abatement legislation that will enhance the ability of law enforcement agencies in this State to address indiscriminate acts of gang violence and conditions that perpetuate them. This effort is intended to solidify our resolve to dismantle the very notion of criminal street gangs within the borders of this City and beyond.

CONVERGENCE OF LOCAL, STATE, AND
FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Unprecedented partnerships have been established with the following agencies:

COMMUNITY AWARENESS BULLETINS

Gangs create fear in the communities through violent acts and by manipulating the community's lack of understanding and awareness of the resources and tools that are available to them to thwart this growing menace. The LAPD will soon distribute mailers and other media in an effort to enlighten our community partners and cultivate their consciousness concerning the things they must do to sustain their sense of neighborhood independence.

LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
TOP TARGETED STREET GANGS:

COMMUNITY SYMPOSIUMS ON GANG AWARENESS

Each Operations bureau commanding officer will coordinate and convene special educational seminars in various regions of their command, designed to heighten the community's awareness of gang cultures and trends. Groups that will have an opportunity to participate in these special learning institutes will include:

2007 DEPARTMENT GOALS

CONCLUSION

In addition to achieving the overarching goals of the Department, the LAPD is steadfastly committed to reducing gang violence in 2007. The gang initiatives summarized in this report reflect many of the dynamic and holistic strategies that are being developed and implemented by the LAPD to achieve a community free from gang violence.