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The
Anti-Gang Initiative
"SNAP" !!!
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Safe
Neighborhood Action Plan ... SNAP !!!
LACP.org Hollenbeck C-PAB members and Central Bureau's Deputy Chief
Margaret York have been actively coordinating an event scheduled for
June 1st at Bravo High School, which is being developed with the cooperation
of many local community groups.
United Communities to Stop Violence has created a workshop style summit
entitled "Gangs
and Drugs; understanding the issues".
The half day event is designed to get community members actively engaged
in both understanding and participating in gang and drug suppression.
But today, April 23, Los Angeles Community Policing was pleased to
attend a press conference held in Lincoln Heights, an Eastside neighborhood
in Hollenbeck Division, recently troubled by gang related homicides.
Mayor James Hahn visited the area to unveil a new Citywide anti-gang
initiative.
"Though increasing the number of police is important, it takes more
than simply putting more cops on our streets to fight gangs," said
Councilman Ed Reyes, who represents the Lincoln Heights neighborhood
where the press conference was held.
"If we are going to be successful, then we need to get behind the
Mayor's program, which is more comprehensive. I've said all along,
positive activity fights gang activity any day of the week. Give our
youth good jobs, and a safe place to play, and you'd be surprised
how quickly we can turn-around a neighborhood like Lincoln Heights."
Los Angeles City Council President Alex Padilla, Councilmembers Ed
Reyes, Nick Pacheco, and Jan Perry, and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo
joined Mayor Hahn for the announcement of the Los Angeles Safe Neighborhood
Action Plan (L.A. SNAP) at Gates Elementary School in Lincoln Heights
where an alleged gang member was murdered in front of children who
were playing in the schoolyard.
"My five-point plan will address the issue of gang violence by empowering
communities, offering our kids alternatives to gangs, and working
to increase police presence," said Mayor Hahn.
Mayor Hahn's five-point anti-gang initiative proposes the following
actions to prevent Los Angeles youth from joining gangs and to help
young people get out of gangs:
1. JOB CREATION
To give young people greater economic opportunities and to keep them
off the streets, Mayor Hahn will hire at-risk youth for 6-month paid
vocational training periods in over 200 currently vacant positions
with the City of Los Angeles. These training periods are intended
to prepare youth for full-time paid positions with the City. He also
proposes continuing to fully-fund over 17,000 youth job positions
with the City and an additional $2 million for the Summer Youth Employment
program, which provides jobs to at-risk youth during the summer and
throughout the year for students who are off-track. Mayor Hahn is
working with Council President Padilla to expand the Valley Youth
Initiative to create "YO Valley." He will also explore the idea of
issuing an Executive Directive mandating that a local and at-risk
hiring component be included in bid documents and project-labor agreements
on projects funded by Proposition Q and other appropriate public works
projects.
2. RECREATION ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH
To provide young people with positive alternatives to joining gangs,
Mayor Hahn has proposed increasing sports and youth programs through
the Department of Recreation and Parks. He has requested that drop-in
police centers be located in the 40 most dangerous parks to increase
police visibility and enhance safety. The anti-gang initiative also
calls for increased collaboration between the Department of Recreation
and Parks, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the L.A. Bridges
II gang intervention program to share information and resources.
3. ANTI-GANG OFFICERS
In his fiscal year 2002-03 proposed budget, Mayor Hahn calls for the
redeployment of 100 officers from administrative duties to patrol
in the highest crime areas and to the LAPD's Special Enforcement Units.
He is also working with the Police Commission to fully reinstate the
LAPD's community policing program called the Senior Lead Officer program,
which will work in tandem with anti-gang officers to prevent crime
in neighborhoods. His anti-gang plan includes re-establishment of
a citywide "cold phone," which allows community residents to report
crimes over the phone and avoid having a patrol car arrive at their
homes, potentially inviting retaliation by gang members. To increase
recruitment and retention of LAPD officers available to address gang
crime, Mayor Hahn has also implemented a flexible work schedule and
shortened the Department's application process.
4. COLLABORATION WITH PAROLE AND PROBATION
As more gang members are finishing their prison sentences and returning
to the streets, Mayor Hahn supports improved supervision of parolees
and probationers with respect to illegal firearm and narcotics possession.
5. GANG INTERVENTION
Mayor Hahn has proposed $1.3 million in his fiscal year 2002-03 budget
to fully fund the L.A. Bridges II program, which provides gang intervention
for at-risk youth.
"L.A. SNAP will fight gang violence head-on by providing positive
alternatives for youth and by expanding successful programs such as
the Valley Youth Initiative," said Council President Alex Padilla.
"We are committed to finding innovative ways to enable at-risk youth
to acquire the skills that will help them get a job - and keep a job."
"With a 46% increase in gang violence in Los Angeles since last year,
it is clear that we must step up our efforts on every possible front
to reduce gang activity in our city," said City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.
"The Mayor's five point initiative combines an essential mix of enforcement
programs and prevention measures which will give young Angelenos a
healthy alternative to the destructive lifestyle of gangs."
"It is exciting to know the joint efforts of the Mayor's Office and
City Council have culminated into a 5-point anti-gang initiative,"
said Councilman Nick Pacheco. "This initiative will provide jobs for
at-risk youth and will fight gang activity through greater deployment
of sworn police officers and expansion of the senior lead officer
program. In my district alone we have had 17 shootings since the beginning
of the year. I believe this is an important step to secure safe neighborhoods."
"It is time to put an end to gang violence and send a strong message
that it will not be tolerated in our communities," said Councilwoman
Perry. "It's time the City of Los Angeles take a proactive role."
In addition to his five-point anti-gang initiative, earlier this month
Mayor Hahn requested federal assistance from U.S. President George
W. Bush for the Community Law Enforcement and Recover (CLEAR) program,
which brings together city and county law enforcement to address gang-related
crime. Mayor Hahn has also been working with U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein
and U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard to secure funding for
CLEAR. |
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